The Transforming Anxiety Podcast

I think we could all use a little break, a deep breath, ​ a mid-year check-in ​ ... And sure, we can touch base with those goals and resolutions from January. That's not a bad idea. But I'm more interested in a mid-year return to self . We live our days, our hours, and our minutes smack dab up close to whatever's happening: what we need to do, all the stuff we have to accomplish, where we need to...

We've all had those experiences where something seemingly trivial happens and we *explode* in response. A spilled cup of coffee. A stubbed toe. A snarky comment from a tween. And we get apoplectic. Similarly (but opposite) we've completely utterly totally *shut down* when someone says the wrong thing at the wrong moment on the wrong day with the wrong stars aligned. What's up with that? We're goin...

This week on ​ The Transforming Anxiety Podcast ​ , I want to offer a simple, but pretty profound way to practice acceptance. We're going to explore the teaching: ​ right now, it's like this ​ . This one isn't full of practical, tactical steps that you can take. Or things you can go and DO. Nope. This is more of a quiet, meditative sort of thing. A sit-with-it-and-see-what-comes-up kind of practic...

If you've been hanging out with me for a while, then you know I'm *super* stuffy and serious about things... ...hahaha, just kidding. And this week, I'm gonna embrace it. On ​ The Transforming Anxiety Podcast ​ we're exploring 5 high-brow mindfulness tips . You're probably already guessing these things are the exact opposite of "high-brow." Aaaand you'd be right. I've found that mindfulness and me...

This week's episode of ​ The Transforming Anxiety Podcast ​ starts out with a funny story about my brother's granny-in-law...and then segues into an exploration on how we can refuel, restore, and recharge our bodies in order to create a deeper well of resilience and, ultimately, less anxiety for ourselves. In my experience, we have to consistently and continuously refill our buckets. Throughout ou...

It's time for another talk about: rest . But listen, we aren't talking about rest so that you can get more done. It's not about resting so that you can go more, power through, and push harder. This isn't about overcoming a necessary evil (meaning: rest) so that you can get to the "real" part of life (meaning: productivity). Nope. This is about resting in the interest of cultivating more resilience...

How are we doing? It's Wednesday...again. Morning...again. Are we ready? I know - I'm not sure we're ready either. But here we are. We're in it together. Let's do this...yeah? I have a simple idea for you this week on The Transforming Anxiety Podcast. In fact, it's just 2 words: Oh. Really. Oh really. ​ Oh really​ ...? I wanna explore using these 2 words as a way to curb our collective death grip...

How are you? How's summer treating you so far? Sunscreen, sweat, and late summer nights are all a *thing* over here, and I'm loving it. I went for years craving the fall and winter months; there's something so cozy about that time of year. But I tell ya what: these days, there's something about the brightness and vibrancy of summer that brings me alive in another way. And I'm here for it. I'm curi...

It seems like if we know something, we should act accordingly, right? If you know what you want or should do, then...do it! I mean, according to the 80's G.I. Joe cartoon, "knowing is half the battle" so it only makes sense that if we *know* what we want to do, we will *do* it. And yet... ... we don't . Turns out knowing is knowing and doing is doing, and the knowing actually has very little to do...

Are you a control freak? Are you a *secret* control freak and don't want to admit it? Are you surrounded by control freaks and feeling the pressure of complying with their wishes? I'm going to guess: yes, yes, and yes . Why do we seek to control? How come control freaks get such a bum rap? What can we do instead of plugging down the same old, ill-fated, control-grabbing path? On this week's episod...

Over the last few years, I've found a handful of things that are true when they're put in action, but don't SEEM like they'd be true when you find yourself in a situation that you're not sure how to get out of, how to take care of, or how to navigate. So I pulled together this motley crew of practices and we're going to talk about it today on The Transforming Anxiety Podcast. Today, we're talking...

So, a while back, my therapist called me a "people-pleaser." Which, to be honest, I thought was totally rude. 🙃 It's just a term I've never personally identified with and the idea that some under current of making everyone happy was yanking me around didn't feel great. But I got curious... What if I AM a people-pleaser? So I started researching. How do people-pleasing behaviors show up? What are...

I have another interview for you this week on The Transforming Anxiety Podcas t; this week, I'm talking to author, long-distance hiker, and community-creator, Nicole Antoinette, about her new book  How To Be Alone   . Nicole hiked all 800 miles of the Arizona Trail from the Utah border to Mexico...alone. She camped and rationed water in the desert and dealt with all the wildlife one imagines comin...

Today on The Transforming Anxiety Podcast we're going to do an exercise in awareness...and we're going to use the vehicle of complaining to practice. We all complain. It's a very socially-acceptable way of relating and conversing with others. I'm pretty sure it's some peoples' love language (SO FUN!). What is complaining? Why do we go there so often? Does it get us anywhere? This isn't a conversat...

A few weeks ago I did a podcast about your daily routine and I heard from a lot of you that it was helpful and gave you a new way to think about and set up your day. And then I got a great question: what about the WEEKEND? And it made a lot of sense to me; after all, there's a completely different vibe to the weekends than there is to the regular ol' work day. And we still want to feel productive,...

You know I like to come at anxiety from all angles and I want to consider something that we haven't talked about on The Transforming Anxiety Podcast yet: victim mentality . This is different from being the victim of a crime, of a natural disaster, of random violence or an accident or disease or some other action or event. Those are real and traumatic and difficult and that is NOT what we're discus...

This week on The Transforming Anxiety Podcast   we're going to explore how you talk to yourself in a really specific way: we're going to find your story . We all have one. A story that we tell about ourselves, our circumstances, our experiences, our LIVES. And this story isn't true, in a real sense. It's "true" only because we tell it over and over and over again...until we absolutely completely t...

We have another interview this week, this time it's with Dr. Ellen Vora, author of The Anatomy of Anxiety: Understanding and Overcoming the Body's Fear Response .  I read this about Ellen's work: "This is a paradigm shift in how we view anxiety and the mind-body connection... Anxiety truly is our teacher, and this book is a must-have for anyone looking to heal." ~ Dr. Nicole LePera I. Couldn't. Ag...

If I were to ask you, " what is the opposite of anxiety?   " I'm guessing you'd say something like: calm, peace, relaxation. Right? Sounds pretty good. And on the surface of things, I think this makes sense. If anxiety is an agitated, wound up, nervous energy, then something soothing like calm or peace seems to be the opposing emotional experience. Except...I'm teaching a path out of anxiety. I'm...

It's the little, ordinary, daily things that we do that make the biggest difference in our lives because: we do them so often. It's what makes up the biggest part of our lives. Today on The Transforming Anxiety Podcast , I want to focus on your daily routine   and how it's working, or not working, for you. In talking with students, I get the sense that it's not WHAT they're doing throughout the da...

For most of us, there are things we know we want to change in our lives: habits, thoughts, ways of showing up in our relationships, career paths, how we're spending our time, what we do with our money... But knowing we want, or even need, to change something vs. actually making the change? Well. That's tricky. Because: change is hard . You follow The Transforming Anxiety Podcast   and, I'm guessin...

This week on The Transforming Anxiety Podcast   I have another interview for you: this time with Dr. Kirk J. Schneider about his brand-new book, Life-Enhancing Anxiety ...and can we talk about how amazing just that phrase is?? What if anxiety were life ENHANCING instead of, as he talks about, life DENYING? In this interview we explore: Life-denying anxiety - the pull towards black-and-white thinki...

This week on The Transforming Anxiety Podcast   we're talking about intense, negative, or uncomfortable emotional experiences...and how you can allow yourself to ebb and flow   through them. When you're up against something difficult, it can be tempting to avoid the hell out of it. Cut and run. Push it all WAY down so that you don't have to look at it. But I want to offer you a way to intentionall...

This week on The Transforming Anxiety Podcast , I want to talk about something important: sleep . And not just that you should get quality sleep (sure) or that sleep is good for you (duh), but I want to explore the idea of befriending sleep   with you. This is more of a mindset kind of thing. How do you approach sleep in your head? How do you talk to yourself about sleep? When you go to bed, are y...

"I feel so bad about it..."