The Anxious Truth &#8211; A Panic, Anxiety, and Mental Health Podcast

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Music Credit: AfterGlow by Ben Drake (with permission)

Support The Anxious Truth: If you find the podcast helpful and want to support my work, you can buy me a coffee. Other ways to support my work like buying a book or signing up for a low cost workshop can be found on my website. None of this is never required, but always appreciated!
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Disclaimer: The Anxious Truth is not therapy or a replacement for therapy. Listening to The Anxious Truth does not create a therapeutic relationship between you and the host or guests of the podcast. Information here is provided for psychoeducational purposes. As always, when you have questions about your own well-being, please consult your mental health and/or medical care providers. If you are having a mental health crisis, always reach out immediately for in-person help.

EP 185 - Finding Happiness After Anxiety: Step-By-Step Dec 08, 2021

Show notes

https://theanxioustruth.com/185

"Why can't I feel happiness and joy?!?!?!"

This question gets asked all the time. It's a question I am personally quite familiar with. When we are in the middle of the recovery process, still in the grips of anxiety and fear, we often find that we are unable to experience feelings of happiness, joy, or gratitude, at least not the way we think we should be experiencing them. But really, this is not a matter of being unable to feel happy. This is really a perception problem, and a patience problem. We often carry a somewhat distorted and unrealistically high expectation of what "happy" is supposed to feel like and how often we should feel it. Then we want so badly to feel happy and joyful in contrast to how we feel when we suffer, that we forget that the path to happiness is an incremental path that requires patience.

For full show notes on this episode:

My books, social and other links:

MUSIC CREDIT:

AfterGlow by Ben Drake (with permission)

EP 184 - Anxiety Recovery: Learning To Live Recklessly (But Not Really) Dec 01, 2021

Show notes

Why on Earth am I talking about living recklessly? Most of us would agree that being reckless involves intentionally doing dangerous things and being somewhat responsible. Let’s take a few minutes to relate that to the process of anxiety recovery. And no, I am not going to teach you how to be truly reckless. It might just feel that way.

When we do the hard and scary recovery things that we’re always talking about, that often feels really dangerous. You resist that for two reasons. First, nobody wants to do difficult scary things. This is just human nature. But you may also resist this recovery principle an entirely different level as well. You may resist this because intentionally doing scary and difficult things may FEEL IRRESPONSIBLE, DANGEROUS, AND RECKLESS.

In many ways, the process of recovery actually feels like living irresponsibly and recklessly for many of us. We're not truly doing dangerous things. But when we stop trying to save ourselves from the perceived but false threats and disasters of disordered anxiety, that often feels very wrong. That feels dangerous. That feels irresponsible. That feels reckless. When we engage in the practice of exposure, non-reactivity to fear, and disengaging from the maladaptive thinking habits that fuel conditions like GAD, we may truly feel like we are being reckless.

In this light, the process of recovery can be very much an exercise in learning to live recklessly, even if it really isn’t.

For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/184
My books, social, and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links
MUSIC CREDIT: "AfterGlow" by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com

EP 183 - Revisiting Positive Self-Talk in Anxiety Recovery Nov 24, 2021

Show notes

Positive self-talk is awesome. But not in the way you may think. When I tell people that positive self-talk is bullshit, I mean that it does not belong in your arsenal in the heat of the moment when experiencing that high anxiety spike or a panic attack. Positive self-talk, mantras and affirmations are great as a setup tool BEFORE things get rough for you. Use them when calm. Use them when getting yourself ready to do hard things. But ritualizing positive self-talk as a safety behavior when in the grips of panic is a bad idea and isn't terribly effective anyway.

For full show notes on this episode:

https://theanxioustruth.com/183

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My books, social media, and other links:

MUSIC CREDIT:

"AfterGlow" by Ben Drake (with permission)

EP 182 - Meeting Multiple Challenges At The Same Time: A Success Story Nov 17, 2021

Show notes

https://theanxioustruth.com/182

"BUT WHAT IF THERE ARE REAL HEALTH ISSUES OR LIFE CHALLENGES????"

This is a question I get asked all the time. In this week's episode, we find some inspiration and encouragement from the awesome Jessica Sidener. Jessica is an inspiring example of a real human that was forced to handle two of the most stressful events imaginable at the same time. Jessica not only managed to get through it all intact, but she also turned her experience into something positive in the world. When you are sure that your anxiety struggles are too much, or if you're dealing with anxiety alongside other problems, Jessica's story will provide hope and inspiration that we all need sometimes.

For full show notes on this episode:

My books, social media, and other links:

MUSIC CREDIT:

"AfterGlow" by Ben Drake (with permission)

EP 181 - What Are Anxiety Coping Skills, And Do We Want Them? Nov 10, 2021

Show notes

https://theanxioustruth.com/181

Coping skills. This is a term heard every day in mental health circles when trying to get a handle on anxiety problems. But what are coping skills? What are they designed to do? Do we really want or need them?

Traditionally, the most common coping skills are all targeted at helping you escape the discomfort, fear and distress of anxiety. They may try to distract you, "ground" you, or help you find assistance from people that will help you get away from the anxiety or panic situation. They are offered with the best of intentions, but special evasive maneuvers designed to get you out of an anxious state or to help you "make it" through another panic attack are not really the best options when it comes to long term, durable recovery.

For full show notes on this episode:

My books, social media, and other links:

MUSIC CREDIT:

"AfterGlow" by Ben Drake (with permission)

EP 180 - Anxiety Issues: Are You Trying To Recover BEFORE Recovery? Nov 03, 2021

Show notes

One of the more common mistakes, especially in early recovery, is trying to actually reach a recovered state before you do the recovery work. If you're trying to figure out a way to not be afraid so that you can start your recovery, you're putting the cart before the horse. If you're hoping that you'll find some magic words that will make all this hard stuff "click" so you can get started, you're doing it backwards.

You must do the recovery things first, then you "get it.” It "clicks" after you do the work. And you must do the work of recovery WHILE AFRAID in order to ultimately not be afraid.

If you could find a way to not be afraid first, then there would be no need to recover. You'd already be there!

For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/180

My books, social media, and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links

Music Credit

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"Afterglow" by Ben Drake (with permission)

EP 179 - Anxiety Recovery Principles Or Anxiety Recovery Instructions? Oct 27, 2021

Show notes

While you may want to ask for specific instructions on exactly what to do to feel better right now, this is not always the best approach to recovery in the long term.

Asking for instructions can become a bit frustrating and overwhelming as you find yourself returning again and again for instructions based on today's thought, sensation, or specific fear. Focusing on understanding and applying the concepts and principles of recovery is a better approach that leads to longer lasting and more durable results.

Knowing the principles of anxiety and recovery means that you no longer need specific instructions for every situation. Instead, you become better equipped to stand on your own as you successfully navigate through previously "impossible" situations. Learning and applying principles allows you to give your brain the productive experiences it needs to move down the path to recovery.

For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/179

My books, social media, and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links

Music Credit

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"Afterglow" by Ben Drake (with permission)

EP 178 - The Three C's Of Anxiety Recovery: Courage, Competence, and Confidence (Oct 2021) Oct 20, 2021

Show notes

https://theanxioustruth.com/178

Everyone wants instant competence and confidence in recovery, but unfortunately it does not work that way. Competence and confidence in recovery are things we build through doing the hard things, and the hard things are carried by courage. So the three C's of anxiety recovery are COURAGE, COMPETENCE, AND CONFIDENCE. Start with finding your courage, which will lead to and increased sense of competence, which when used to its fullest potential builds the confidence we desire, and a more lasting and durable recovery.

For full show notes on this episode:

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My books, website, and social media links:

Music credit: Afterglow by Ben Drake (with permission)

EP 177 - The Discomfort Of Hesitation In Anxiety Recovery Oct 13, 2021

Show notes

https://theanxioustruth.com/177

So much of the recovery process brings us discomfort. Discomfort is woven into everything that we talk about with anxiety, panic, exposure, and recovery. Being uncomfortable is something that we unfortunately have to accept as part of the process.

When it comes to doing exposures, we often feel hesitant about it. We have that anticipatory discomfort that builds up and sometimes leads to us choosing not to do the exposure. But then, we have the discomfort of feeling like a failure for not doing the task. Can you relate to this?

Today, we'll examine a third type of discomfort that many of us have experienced but often don’t talk about. The discomfort that happens when you can’t decide whether you will do the task or if you will choose not to do the task.

For full show notes on this episode:

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My books, website, and social media links:

Music credit: Afterglow by Ben Drake (with permission)