The Transforming Anxiety Podcast

Happy New Year! We made it to 2025...and so far most of what we've accomplished in Kansas City is a massive snowstorm. ❄️ Kinda fun, even if we're all climbing the walls at this point. Late last year I did an episode about "mental load" and as soon as I recorded that one, I knew I wanted to do a related episode on the sister burden that we all carry every day: ​ emotional load ​ . Mental load is a...

I'm baaaack. Again. 🤦‍♀️ Turns out I have, and will, take sporadic breaks from the podcast. Not because I *want * to. But because sometimes I flirt with burnout and I need to. I missed you. Big time. And I'm so glad to be back with you right as we close out the year... And I'm bringing a real gentle re-entry 😜 to you this week on The Transforming Anxiety Podcast; we're talking about ​ hope vs. h...

Ohhhh, do I have a treat for you today. There are a few books that I recommend to clients, students, friends, family, people in line at the grocery store, you name it...and THIS guy has done it again. Oliver Burkeman is the author of the NYT Bestseller Four Thousand Weeks (that's the one I've been known to push into the hands of anyone who will listen) and he's back at it with the just-released ​...

The idea for this week's episode of ​ The Transforming Anxiety Podcast ​ is something I've personally been practicing with for a while...noticing those little moments or places during the day where things aren't flowing smoothly. When there are hiccups that totally derail my focus. Times when I struggle with something that seems like it should be much easier than it is. ​ Friction points ​ . That'...

I recently got turned on to the idea of ​ mental load ​ ...and I HAD to bring this one to ​ The Transforming Anxiety Podcast ​ and talk about it with you. Have you heard of this concept? Basically, this is all of the behind-the-scenes, "invisible" work that goes on to get the show on the road. The grocery store runs and laundry and organization and calendar finagling that has to happen to get ever...

It's been a while since we've had a guest on ​ The Transforming Anxiety Podcast ​ , but I have some GOOD ones lined up for you in the coming months. And we're starting back in with interviews by talking with THE ​ Karla McLaren ​ . I have been reading, leaning on, referencing, and using Karla's books since I first started down the path of this work. The Language of Emotions is one I don't even bot...

Let's go waaaay back to the basics today. I want to pause for a moment and consider what ​ anxiety in your body ​ looks like and feels like...and how you can approach it. We are taught to fight against, avoid, and try to route around most of our emotions. There's the relentless pursuit of happiness...and anything less is to be dodged at all costs... ... and it does cost us . For this conversation...

Sometimes, we get a little lost in the rabbit holes of our minds and we wind up in the junk food aisle of thought. Y'know, stuff like: Gossip Complaining Quick fixes Self-doubt Things you've thought before... We're going to explore ​ junk food self-talk ​ on ​ The Transforming Anxiety Podcast today ​ . This is something I'm pretty sure, oh, 100% of us do. 🙃 The more we can pay attention to the qu...

  Full show notes are located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/269   Be sure to join my email list so you don't miss announcements, new classes, and podcast updates by visiting www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com   Text PODCAST to +1 (816)354-1279 and I'll send mindfulness reminders, anxiety hacks, and little love notes your way from time to time...

Back to school, time for fall, changes are coming...so let's talk about what sometimes happens which is: we get ​ overwhelmed ​ . 😬 There are a lot of emotional experiences out there and we flow through MANY of them in a day, an hour, a minute sometimes (know what I mean?). But overwhelm is something that doesn't dissipate quite like the others and it requires some special handling. We need to be...

Sooo, I'm thinking we all want to ​ cope better ​ with, well, all the things: work, kids, our own thoughts + feelings, how wild the world feels...y'know, LIFE. And in this week's episode of The Transforming Anxiety Podcast I'm going to break all of it down into: Stress Stressors Maladaptive coping strategies Adapative coping strategies so that we have a practical way to figure out where we are and...

Well, I've tried to do this episode a couple of times and I guess this one is tricky to pinpoint and talk directly about...but we're gonna try it anyway this week. We're talking about ​ your magic ​ on this episode of ​ The Transforming Anxiety Podcast ​ . What do I mean by " your magic ?" I mean: the things that make you YOU. The daily stuff that brings you closer to yourself. The vibe you have w...

So, it's time for another feelings episode on ​ The Transforming Anxiety Podcast ​ BUT! This week we're going to explore how we can feel things without having those feelings ooze into our words and actions... Have you ever totally lost your mind with your kid because you were feeling impatient? Or slammed a door out of frustration at work because your boss is so demanding? Yeah... Turns out: we ca...

Welp, we've reached mid-summer and I thought it was time to take a pause...breathe...and ground ourselves with a few go-to, tried-and-true ideas. I wanted to share ​ a few thoughts to live by ​ that have supported me through good times and really tough times. These are quotes, poems, and lessons I have been practicing with for *years*. These are all straight from my own personal work; reminders an...

I just got back from a week hiking in Colorado and I got to thinking (while I was out of breath on the side of a 14,000+ foot mountain): ​ why do we do these silly hard things ​ ? Over and over again, humans seek ease, comfort, simplicity, and relaxation in life. We'll adjust the thermostat by *one* degree to get more comfortable. We fall back on old habits and patterns (good and bad) because the...

Oh goody, we have a fun one today on ​ The Transforming Anxiety Podcast ​ ...we're talking about ​ resentment ​ . Yes. I know . But this is an important conversation for us to have. Let's be honest: we're already feeling resentful about SOMETHING with SOMEONE. We all do. It's part of the underbelly of relationships. Resentment isn't one of those things a relationship can withstand much of. There's...

Hi again...I've missed you. And I have a GOOD one for you today on ​ The Transforming Anxiety Podcast ​ . Y'know when you have those days where everything just clicks? Things are going your way and you feel like some luck or magic or your benevolent angels must have a hand in ushering good things to you. Aaaand then there's the days where it feels almost comically stupid how awful things are going...

Something we haven't talked about for a while, but need to return to every so often, is ​ self-compassion ​ . On this week's episode of ​ The Transforming Anxiety Podcast ​ , I'm sharing a talk from a mindfulness class I taught a while back. The foundation for growth, change, and transformation HAS TO BE self-compassion. Otherwise, it'll never stick. And as we gear up for the summer (here in the n...

Something *super* simple (but of course these things are never all that easy) for you this week on ​ The Transforming Anxiety Podcast ​ ...3 little words that can change relationships AND anxiety. In a good way. I. Believe. You. When we are willing to say this, I believe you , it creates space for understanding and compassion. When we offer this, I believe you , it has the potential to connect, in...

Happy Wednesday. 😊 I had this interesting epiphany a few weeks ago in a conversation with a friend of mine and thought, yup, we need to talk about that on ​ The Transforming Anxiety Podcast ​ . I think most of us can find ourselves somewhere on the spectrum of *people pleasers*. It's pretty ingrained in us from a young age that making the people around us happy means: we get attention, we get app...

Let's be honest with each other first thing today: we like to be in control. We like to have control. We like to have things under control. We are kinda control freaks. ​ I want to talk about something *really* subtle re: control today ​ so that we don't wind up thinking we have control where we do NOT have control and then find ourselves in a trap of trying to exert control over the outside world...

So this week we are talking about ​ birthdays ​ on ​ The Transforming Anxiety Podcast ​ ...mainly, honestly, because my birthday was Monday the 22nd and because every year, I get all in a tizzy about it... ... and I've found I'm not alone with this . For *years* I've wanted to create something to support us around birthdays so that we can enjoy them. Which is why I want to hear from YOU. In fact,...

Over and over again, I talk with students who describe feeling as if they can't turn the volume down on the thoughts in their minds. That incessant chatter gets relentless. The stories and ideas just swirl around until it all becomes a tornado. *exhausting* Today on ​ The Transforming Anxiety Podcast ​ I want to talk about ​ how to get out of your head ​ so that you can find some breathing room up...

Good morning, happy Wednesday! This week's episode of The Transforming Anxiety Podcast is a discussion about something pretty simple, but a powerful addition to the toolbox that we're all using to take care of ourselves around anxiety. And that is: the inevitable ​ lapses in logic ​ that occur in our minds. Our brains are shameless; they'll think absolutely *anything*. But this concept gives us a...

Well, this may be (as close as we're gonna get to) the piece de resistance of the podcast: today, we're talking about ​ living well ​ . Pretty much everything we do around here points to this: how can you feel okay in your skin? How can you move around the world being alright with who you are? ​ How can you live well? ​ We got pretty caught up in the daily stuff and I think we lose sight of what's...