The Anxious Truth - A Panic, Anxiety, and Mental Health Podcast

• Questions and Answers About Anxiety And Recovery | EP 328

  Send in a question or comment via text.This week we're doing a special "no frills" edition of The Anxious Truth (just like the old days). I asked my Instagram audience for questions, and I'm here to do my best to answer them. If you're dealing with panic disorder, agoraphobia, OCD, health anxiety, or generalized anxiety disorder, you've probably asked yourself many of these same questions.I cover the most common questions about anxiety symptoms—heart palpitations, dizziness, nausea, breathing difficulties—and explain why treating them as individual problems to solve actually keeps you stuck. We also tackle common questions about intrusive thoughts, including fears about insanity, self-harm, death, and never recovering.One of the biggest categories of questions revolves around control: How do I stop feeling this way? How do I quiet my mind? How do I prevent panic attacks? I explain the fundamental difference between acceptance-based approaches and control strategies, and why the frantic attempt to control your internal experiences is part of what creates the disordered state.I also address:The often-overlooked meta-emotions (frustration, despair, feeling like you've lost yourself)Whether lifestyle changes like diet and exercise help with anxiety recoveryHow to handle family dynamics and unsupportive relationshipsMorning anxiety and nocturnal panic attacksHow to actually learn from exposure experiences instead of wasting themThis episode clarifies why most common questions about anxiety point to the same answer: you don't need special instructions for your specific symptom or thought. Recovery is about building a new relationship with your own body and mind.Resources mentioned:Books by Dr. Sally Winston and Dr. Martin SeifDisordered podcast (Disordered.FM)The Anxious Truth website (theanxioustruth.com)Remember: Small changes and experiments add up over time. Any move in the right direction counts, no matter how small.For full show notes on this episode:https://theanxioustruth.com/328Support 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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• How Anxiety Is Constructed In The Brain | Ep 327

  Send in a question or comment via text.Anxiety that you cannot control, that keeps coming back, that you don't understand and are terrified of, will trick you into believing that something is really wrong. But what if that intense fear you experience—while absolutely real—is based on a prediction your brain is making that isn't actually true?In this episode, I speak with Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett, neuroscientist and author of How Emotions Are Made and 7 1/2 Lessons About The Brain about how anxiety is constructed in the brain. Dr. Barrett explains the theory of constructed emotions and how your brain uses predictive processing to create your internal experience of fear and anxiety.In this conversation, we explore:How anxiety is constructed in the brain through predictive processing, not reactive circuitsWhy your brain's primary job is managing your "body budget" and how this relates to anxietyThe difference between your experience being real versus the prediction being accurateHow your brain uses past experiences to construct categories and predict future threatsWhy anxiety disorders may involve predictions that are either too general or too specificWhat "practicing predicting differently" means and how it can help with anxiety recoveryDr. Barrett's personal experience using these principles to manage stage fright before her TED talkThe role of interoception in how your brain constructs anxietyWhy changing how anxiety is constructed in your brain is hard work that requires practiceThis conversation gets technical at times, but offers valuable insights into why anxiety feels so real and compelling, even when you're not actually in danger. Understanding how anxiety is constructed in the brain has important implications for how we approach recovery from panic disorder, agoraphobia, OCD, and other anxiety disorders.Resources mentioned:Dr. Lisa Feldman Barrett's website: LisaFeldmanBarrett.comHow Emotions Are Made by Dr. Lisa Feldman BarrettDr. Barrett's TED Talk7 1/2 Lessons About The Brain by Dr Lisa Feldman BarrettFor Show Notes On This Episode:https://theanxioustruth.com/327Support 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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• How To Calm Your Anxious Feelings | Ep 326

  Send in a question or comment via text.If you're struggling with anxiety and searching for ways of calming your feelings, this episode is for you.I break down why the most popular strategies for calming your feelings - like using logic to talk yourself out of anxiety, trying to replace negative emotions with positive ones, attempting to control your body's responses, or avoiding triggers - often backfire when you're dealing with anxiety disorders.Drawing from mindfulness principles and acceptance-based therapy approaches, I explain a counterintuitive truth: calming your feelings often happens when you learn to be with difficult emotions rather than fighting them. Using the metaphor of a loving parent comforting a crying child, I explore how harsh judgment and control attempts often increase distress, while kind acknowledgment and acceptance can lead to genuine relief.You'll learn why calm follows capacity rather than control, and how developing the ability to tolerate and navigate through difficult internal experiences can reduce the fear of your own thoughts and feelings. I address the reality that this approach is challenging to implement when you're triggered, while offering practical insights into building emotional capacity over time.This episode focuses on working with the reality of being human rather than fighting against uncomfortable emotions - an approach that may help you discover how to move through anxiety and distressing feelings in a more adaptive way.Topics covered:Why common calming strategies fail for anxiety sufferersThe difference between capacity and control in calming your feelingsHow acceptance can lead to genuine relief from emotional distressPractical insights for building tolerance to difficult emotionsLearning to navigate through anxiety rather than against itPerfect for anyone dealing with panic disorder, generalized anxiety, OCD, health anxiety, or agoraphobia who wants to move beyond quick fixes toward lasting change.For full show notes on this episode:https://theanxioustruth.com/326Support 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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• Anxiety Recovery: Feeling Good About Feeling Bad? | Ep 325

  Send in a question or comment via text.There's whole industry built around helping people feel good about feeling bad, and while validation has its place, this endless cycle of anxiety content might actually be keeping you stuck. In this episode, we explore how consuming validation-focused content can become a form of modern reassurance-seeking that maintains anxiety disorders rather than promoting recovery.We'll discuss the research showing that excessive reassurance-seeking provides immediate relief but leads to increased anxiety over time. You'll learn the difference between helpful validation and the validation trap, and why automatically turning to anxiety content when you feel uncomfortable might be functioning as a safety behavior.This episode covers the distinction between feeling understood and actually moving forward in recovery, how social media consumption patterns affect anxiety levels, and practical guidelines for consuming mental health content in ways that support rather than sabotage your progress.If you've been consuming anxiety content for months or years but still feel stuck, this episode will help you examine whether feeling good about feeling bad has become another way to avoid the discomfort that comes with real change.Topics covered:The research on reassurance-seeking and anxiety maintenanceHow validation content can become a safety behaviorThe difference between active and passive content consumptionRed flags in wellness and mental health contentMoving from understanding to action in anxiety recoveryWhy you don't need to feel good about anxiety to live your lifeRecovery isn't about feeling good about your anxiety. It's about learning that you don't need to feel good about it in order to build a life worth living.For full show notes on this episode:https://theanxioustruth.com/325Support 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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• Anxiety Recovery: Mindset, Belief, and Motivation? | EP 324

  Send in a question or comment via text.If you're struggling with anxiety disorders and constantly being told you need a positive mindset, stronger beliefs, and better motivation to recover, this episode is for you. I'm breaking down why these three concepts are tragically misunderstood and misapplied in anxiety recovery—and why they might actually be keeping you stuck.What You'll Learn:Why you can't just "decide" to believe in yourself or adopt a positive mindsetThe counterproductive fantasy that words will change how you think and feelWhy motivation follows action, not the other way aroundHow to work with your current negative beliefs instead of fighting themThe only "mindset" that actually matters in recoveryWhy it's normal (and okay) to doubt yourself and lack motivationEpisode Timestamps:[0:00 - 3:30] Introduction and why belief, mindset, and motivation advice often backfires[3:30 - 6:00] The fantasy that words will fix us and why we want to avoid difficult action[6:00 - 9:30] Where bad advice comes from and why helpers sometimes rely on oversimplified approaches[9:30 - 12:30] Why you can't manufacture beliefs, mindset, or motivation on demand[12:30 - 16:30] The reality: action comes before belief change, not after[16:30 - 19:00] The only mindset that matters: awareness over positivity[19:00 - 23:00] Why it's normal and okay to have negative beliefs and lack motivation[23:00 - 27:00] Challenging helpers who rely on "you just need to want it more"[27:00 - 29:30] Final thoughts and permission to be where you are right nowKey Takeaways:You don't need to wake up believing you're a warrior who can vanquish anxiety. You don't need a positive mindset or perfect motivation. What you need is willingness to take small risks and experiment with new behaviors, even when everything inside you is saying "don't do that." Recovery happens when you act anyway—despite doubt, fear, and negative beliefs.Remember: if you're struggling to "just think positive" or get motivated, that's not a character flaw. You're encountering advice that doesn't match how humans actually change and recover from anxiety disorders.For full show notes on this episode:https://theanxioustruth.com/324Support 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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