Stay ConnectedStruggling with panic attacks, agoraphobia, or other anxiety problems? The Anxious Truth will educate you, empower you, encourage you, and inspire you to get your life back!
* Featured in the New York Times: “6 Podcasts to Soothe An Anxious Mind” (April 27, 2024)
* Featured in Vogue Magazine: “The 15 Best Mental Health Podcasts Recommended by Therapists” (October 2023)
Listen to the podcast, read the books, join the social media community, and get on the path to recovery.
Copyright: © 2025 Drew Linsalata
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On this episode I was able to spend 30 minutes or so chatting with Joshua Fletcher. Josh is a working therapist in the UK that runs a practice specializing in anxiety disorders. Josh is also the host of The Panic Pod podcast. We covered therapy issues, recovery in general, and we managed to tell a few joke along the way.
For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/144
Thanks to Josh for taking the time to share his knowledge and perspective with us.
Find Josh online here:
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My books, podcast, and social media links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links
Music Credit: "Afterglow" by Ben Drake (https://facebook.com/BenDrakeMusic) 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!
Interested in doing therapy with me? For more information on working with me directly to overcome your anxiety, follow this link.
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.
Send in a question or comment via text.
We often talk about starting recovery by taking small steps, but did you know that those small steps can often be taken right inside your "safe zone"? It's true! Odds are your home base - your safe zone - is chock full of hidden avoidance and anxiety inducing gems that you can uncover and use to start building the foundation of your recovery.
For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/143
My books, podcast, and social media links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links
Music Credit: "Afterglow" by Ben Drake (https://facebook.com/BenDrakeMusic) 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!
Interested in doing therapy with me? For more information on working with me directly to overcome your anxiety, follow this link.
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.
Send in a question or comment via text.
Donna grew up surrounded by discussion of cardiac health and blood pressure. When she started experiencing panic attacks, and the blood pressure spikes that naturally come with them, her struggle with health anxiety and an obsession with her blood pressure was ignited.
For full show notes on this episode, visit https://theanxioustruth.com/142
Donna worked herself into a position where she was obsessed with her blood pressure. She was continuously terrified and convinced that she was on the edge of a fatal blood pressure spike at all times. This obsession drove the compulsion to check and record her blood pressure many times each day. To Donna, the compulsion to check her blood pressure was an attempt to soothe her fear and convince herself that she was safe, even when she was sure that she was not. She became a slave to the blood pressure monitor and was frozen by the irrational fear that she was in mortal danger at all time
In the end, Donna not only conquered her health anxiety and blood pressure obsession, but learned that she is able to handle all kinds of obstacles that life sometimes throws at us. The lessons she learned while conquering her anxiety disorder gave her a strong foundation to stand on when things went south in her personal life. Donna has passed through major relationship changes and a global pandemic and social upheaval and all the things we've all been subject to over the last few years, and she's out there enjoying her life and in her own words ... "living big".
GO DONNA!
My books, podcast, and social media links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links
Music Credit: "Afterglow" by Ben Drake (https://facebook.com/BenDrakeMusic) 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!
Interested in doing therapy with me? For more information on working with me directly to overcome your anxiety, follow this link.
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.
Send in a question or comment via text.
In the field of anxiety disorders and the treatment of anxiety disorders, you will not find anyone with more street cred than Dr. Winston. Dr. Sally Winston knows what she's talking about. Today I had the privilege of spending 25 minutes chatting with her about recovery, the obsessive need for certainty and comfort that drives many disorders, and why reassurance and soothing is decidedly NOT the way.
For full show notes on this episode (you'll WANT to read these):
https://theanxioustruth.com/141
Find Dr. Winston at https://anxietyandstress.com
My books, podcast, and social media links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links
Music Credit: "Afterglow" by Ben Drake (https://facebook.com/BenDrakeMusic) 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!
Interested in doing therapy with me? For more information on working with me directly to overcome your anxiety, follow this link.
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.
Send in a question or comment via text.
I am often asked an important question. "How do I learn to float and accept when one person makes me anxious?" This question is asked by people that will often explain that they experience anxiety or even panic when in the presence of a specific person or group of people. Often, there is a history of abuse, or there is ongoing abuse of varying types (mental, emotional, or even physical). So the question I am really being asked is, "How can I float through being with someone that has harmed me or is harming me right now?"
The answer is simple. You are not required to accept and float through abuse. Not now. Not ever. I am teaching you how to become non-reactive to irrational fear. Fear that feels real, but has no basis in reality. This is why we learn to accept that fear and float through it. This is why we surrender to it. Because in doing so we learn that there is no real danger, and that we no longer have to be afraid. When in an abusive relationship, there is REAL DANGER. REAL HARM is being done. Your fear and your anxiety are justified! I am not teaching you how to float through that.
My old friend Joe Ryan joined me to discuss this important topic and share his experience with abusive relationships.
For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/140
My books, podcast, and social media links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links
Music Credit: "Afterglow" by Ben Drake (https://facebook.com/BenDrakeMusic) 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!
Interested in doing therapy with me? For more information on working with me directly to overcome your anxiety, follow this link.
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.
Send in a question or comment via text.
Building your own personal recovery from an anxiety disorder means using ALL the resources you have available to you. In this podcast episode I talk about combining books, podcasts, social media streams, online support groups, hard work and professional help into a powerful recovery toolkit.
For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/139
My books, podcast, and social media links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links
Music Credit: "Afterglow" by Ben Drake (https://facebook.com/BenDrakeMusic) 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!
Interested in doing therapy with me? For more information on working with me directly to overcome your anxiety, follow this link.
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.
Send in a question or comment via text.
Today Dr. Bridget Cooper (Dr. B) and I talk about gender issues in mental health and anxiety recovery. There are clearly differences between men and women and how we talk about mental health, think about mental health, and approach solving mental health problems like the anxiety disorders we're talking about all the time.
The way we define our roles as men and women and the way we are socialized into those roles make a difference in the way men and women approach mental health and emotional issues. Given that in the end we are all humans with the same emotional and mental health needs and problems, we would do well to learn lessons on how to break down some of the gender based issues that can hold us back in recovery.
For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/138
Find Dr. B online at https://drbridgetcooper.com
My books, podcast, and social media links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links
Music Credit: "Afterglow" by Ben Drake (https://facebook.com/BenDrakeMusic) 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!
Interested in doing therapy with me? For more information on working with me directly to overcome your anxiety, follow this link.
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.
Send in a question or comment via text.
Everyone loves a good anxiety success story and today we have one from our friend, and someone you hear all the time if you're a regular listener, Ben Drake. Ben spent his days for quite a long time just trying to endure anxiety and panic. Bracing, fighting, and "white knuckling" his way through life as a working musician. Things changed for the better when he learned a new way to approach his anxiety issues.
For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/135
My books, podcast, and social media links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links
To find Ben Drake and his music: https://facebook.com/BenDrakeMusic
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!
Interested in doing therapy with me? For more information on working with me directly to overcome your anxiety, follow this link.
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.
Send in a question or comment via text.
When you interact with the number anxiety disorders that I do, you have the opportunity to see patterns emerge in a crowd. Over years of doing this thing I do, and interacting with the large number of people that I have, I can see that when it comes to recovery from an anxiety disorder, there are clear "stages" of recovery that most people progress through. None of these are absolutely set in stone, but the odds are high that you will identify with one of these stages.
For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/134
My books, podcast, and social media links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links
Music Credit: "Afterglow" by Ben Drake (https://facebook.com/BenDrakeMusic) 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!
Interested in doing therapy with me? For more information on working with me directly to overcome your anxiety, follow this link.
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.
Send in a question or comment via text.
One of the more common bits of advice passed around for the last zillion years or so is ... "trust your gut". Regardless of the the circumstance or problem to be solved, if you ask enough people for advice the odds are high that you will have someone ask you what your "gut" is telling you to do, or just telling you to "trust your gut". Sometimes this is good advice. Sometimes it is absolutely horrible advice.
If you're working on solving the problem of an anxiety disorder, trusting your gut is exactly the opposite of what you should be doing. Your gut, and your intuition, are steering you wrong on the daily so it's time to recognize this and clear up some confusion.
For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/133
My books, podcast, and social media links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links
Music Credit: "Afterglow" by Ben Drake (https://facebook.com/BenDrakeMusic) 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!
Interested in doing therapy with me? For more information on working with me directly to overcome your anxiety, follow this link.
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.
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