The Transforming Anxiety Podcast

We are all *well versed* in the benefits of physical fitness at this point. It's no secret that exercising regularly is great for our bodies, minds, and supports us emotionally, too. And I got to thinking...what about being mentally fit ? What would it look like to extend our ideas of physical fitness to our mental and emotional states, too? And not just the perks of moving our bodies, but intenti...

Women struggle with anxiety for a handful of reasons, but one of the biggies is a lack of confidence .  We treat confidence like we got lucky and have it, or don't. That it's something we may magically feel someday down the road, but can't right now. That it's on the opposite end of the emotional spectrum from anxiety...meaning: we can either feel anxious OR confident, but certainly not both. (Sub...

There's a strong undercurrent of "not enough" in our culture... We are always trying to be better, thinner, funnier, smarter, richer, and further along than we are right now . There's a never-ending striving towards MORE. Having more, producing more, doing more... Have you noticed?? This week on The Transforming Anxiety Podcast we're going to explore the idea of "enoughness"...because: you are eno...

We are constantly making decisions: this or that? In or out? Option A or option B? And I'd like to consider the opportunity cost of one of these (emotional) decisions in this week's episode of The Transforming Anxiety Podcast. Specifically: what do we give up when we "choose" (however subconsciously) anxiety? What is the opportunity cost of anxiety? Anxiety is something we assume we're stuck with....

One of the really fun 🙄 hallmarks of anxiety is that we take it so personally. Have you noticed? We make it mean something about us as individuals, like we alone are to "blame" for this experience. But: what if the anxiety isn't yours? You inherited your height, your talent for music, and the way you laugh from your ancestors. What if you inherited your tendency to worry, your sorta-kinda-a-littl...

Tell me, how often have you said something like: I can't handle it when my boss is so demanding I can't go through with that conversation I can't handle it when the kids are sick I can't imagine how I'd get through that kind of situation... Our vocabulary is filled with "I can't..." And what I want to explore with you on today's episode of The Transforming Anxiety Podcast is can't vs. don't want t...

This week's episode of The Transforming Anxiety Podcast is one that cuts straight to the heart of *so much* of the anxiety that we create for ourselves... Like, have you noticed when you do something that puts you on edge (say, going to the dentist, or being in a large crowd) your tendency is to pretend that everything is fine and you are totally cool? Or when faced with a difficult family member...

Anyone else find themselves going through the day, just trying to keep the peace? Between the kids, the co-workers, the family, and the love-her-but-she's-kinda-tricky friend...not to mention the bigger world and all the COVID disagreements and social injustice and political upheaval...well, my friend, there's a lot of unrest that could use some peace-keeping. But I have an idea I want to share wi...

One of the truthiest truths I know is that we are all trying to get control. Control of the kids, our schedules, our bank accounts...control of the pandemic news, the political opinions, the understanding we have about what's going on in the world...control of our minds, how we're feeling, and what we're DOING, dammit. This week on The Transforming Anxiety Podcast, I'd like to explore the idea tha...

I'm gonna guess that by now, your inbox + social media feeds + TV ads have crammed the "new year, new you" idea so far down your throat that you're positively choking on the frustration bred in the chasm between that nonsensical (commercial) idea and the reality you're experiencing: which is that today, this week, this month are actually *remarkably* the same as the past day, week, month… I'm with...

Well, ready or not, 2022 is here! And instead of wishing you a "happy new year" I'm just going to say: " new year! " Because really, it doesn't have to be happy. Or easy. Or peaceful. Or certain. If we've learned anything the past 2 years, we've learned to adjust our expectations of what might happen . So I'm going to just stick to the facts here: new year to you! Over the winter break I did a LOT...

Happy (almost) New Year! 2022...and who the hell knows what this year will hold. I think most of us stopped guessing in early 2021 when it became pretty clear life was gonna be just as life-y as it wanted to be... 🙃 And although we're certainly along for this ride (whether we like it or not) and it's obvious we don't have control over how things are gonna go *out there*, there's actually a decent...

It's Christmastime, dear ones, here we go! For so many of us it's like the parenthood superbowl, the to-do list marathon, and the Pinterest-perfect Olympics all wrapped up into ONE DAY. *sigh*  It also doesn't have to be that way... This week on The Transforming Anxiety Podcast we're going to talk about being imperfect ...emphasis on being . We've all read plenty of articles on perfectionism, we'v...

This should be fun, right?? A conversation all about being awkward . I've found that feeling awkward, and even a *fear* of feeling of awkward, can be quite a source of anxiety. And y'know, around here, instead of shying away from those kinds of topics, I like to move towards them and see if we can't make some sense of them together. So this week on The Transforming Anxiety Podcast we're going all...

Have you ever talked to anxiety? Most of the time, we're pushing against anxiety, going to battle with it, and generally hating it...you with me? But this week on the podcast , I'd like to explore the idea of having a conversation with anxiety . When we lean towards anxiety and get to know it, we can understand how and why it's showing up vs. resisting anxiety and losing all of the wisdom and insi...

How are you this week, my friend? We've made it to December (!)...and this year that's no small thing. This ongoing pandemic is taking a toll and I just want to take a quick moment here to say: yay, you're doing it! Well done you . 👏 Sooooo, in light of the end of the year, the holiday season, and (again) an ongoing, soul-sucking,uncertainty-generating global pandemic, I thought it might be helpf...

Happy Thanksgiving week, fellow Americans! Although we *usually* talk about gratitude at this time of year, I'd like to change things up and focus instead on generosity .  Most of the time, when we're feeling grateful, it's because someone was being generous. And one of the quickest ways out of our (anxious) heads and into our (more steady) souls is to show up with generosity . It's hard to feel o...

How are you doing this week, my friend? Here in the States we're on the eve of Thanksgiving, which means the eve of the holiday season...and with that, oh boy, with that comes a whooooole bunch of...well, overwhelming, stressful, anxiety-inducing STUFF. Amiright? So I thought we'd kick off the holiday season with a little talk about kindness . Specifically how (and why) we can be kind, not polite...

This week on the podcast I want to take a look at waiting from 2 different angles: How we're constantly waiting to be better, faster, smarter, stronger...i.e. that some fantasy future is out there for us That we're continuously tumbling towards the next thing, i.e. rarely giving *this thing* the attention it deserves We don't need to fill our lives with so much WAITING. Because PSA: life is happen...

I'm coming at you short-and-sweet on The Transforming Anxiety Podcast this week. Because this one doesn't require a whole lot of words and I know most of us have overanalyzed it beyond reason already. We're talking about anxiety and how it's not personal . Look around. I know you're used to seeing the highlight reels from (for instance) picture-perfect Halloween parties on your friends' social med...

I've joked over the years that asking the question "why" over and over again can lead us straight into the depths of what's going on in our minds. And I'm not *really* joking (although it's a gross oversimplification of the process) because to a large extent, this is what we're doing as we're untangling the stories and belief systems that run our lives.  Why did I say that? Why do I feel this? Why...

Every once in a while I see a theme pop up with my clients and this time it's so universal and so good that I thought we should do an episode of The Transforming Anxiety Podcast all about it. This week we're talking about doing it messy .  Soooo many of us are trying to get through the hard parts of life in a way that "looks pretty" or "feels graceful" or is somehow completely devoid of mistakes a...

I was at the grocery store the other day with my kids and had one of those small moments that kinda changes everything, you know what I mean? We were picking out ice cream. And we were standing there in the freezer section debating between cookie dough and plain chocolate. And all of a sudden, I realized I could get whatever. I. wanted . Pistachio. Butter pecan. Coffee. Something horrendous the ki...

I've found, over years of talking to people about how they're feeling ( I'm always the wallflower at a party, in a corner with one other person talking about the *big* stuff...I can't do the small talk that most get-togethers require ) that not everyone uses the word "anxiety" to describe this experience . In fact, there are a lot of people feeling similar feelings that don't identify with the wor...

We're doing something fun on the podcast this week: we're doing a kind of philosophy lesson a la Alanis Morisette. I've chosen a handful of her songs and pulled out a few lines from each and I want to explore this with you this week on the podcast. Because: Alanis is a truth-teller, poet, and she speaks straight to our souls . She's also kind of life coach-y.  Join me for this episode of The Trans...