This week on The Anxious Truth we're talking about the concept of “white knuckling” through exposures and through anxiety and fear in general. White knuckling is the term we use to describe the act of holding on tightly and fighting through an exposure or a challenging anxiety experience just to get through it and back to safety.  Imagine gripping something so hard that your knuckles turn white.  That’s what we’re talking about. I’m often asked when white knuckling ends, so let's talk about that. For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/204 --- My books, social, and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links Support The Anxious Truth: https://theanxioustruth.com/support Music Credit: AfterGlow by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com 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 204 - When Does The Anxious "White Knuckling" End?

Struggling 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! Listen to the podcast, read the books, join the social media community, and get on the path to recovery.

Health & Fitness

Mental Health

People struggling with chronic or disordered states of anxiety often find themselves in a situation where they are hyper aware and therefore overwhelmed by sensory input. 

Non-anxious humans are so oblivious to what we sense that we sometimes pay to have people tell us to notice what our eyes, ears, noses, and skin are sending and perceiving. But for anxious people dealing with chronic or disordered forms of anxiety, this is not a problem at all. We have the opposite issue. We are constantly paying very close attention to sensory input. We are hyper aware. Why are we hyper aware?  Because we MUST evaluate ourselves constantly to stay ahead of our triggers. Anxious people are continually checking themselves for physical sensations that don’t seem right, thoughts that might be going south, or emotions that they won’t be able to handle.  If you’re here today listening or watching, I would wager a large sum that a good portion of your time is spend checking on yourself, then evaluating the results of that internal scan to to see if you’re OK, or you have to start taking evasive action to stay safe … from yourself.

Episode 290 of The Anxious Truth provides a reframe on sensory overload and overwhelm that ties the experience directly to an overactive, overprotective threat detection and response system. This reframe and explanation could be helpful in informing new action that helps us learn the experiential lessons we need to learn in recovery.

For full show notes on this episode:
https://theanxioustruth.com/290

For more anxiety and recovery resources:
https://theanxioustruth.com

 
 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.

Anxious Sensory Overload & Overwhelm | EP 290

Sometimes the toughest opponent we have in anxiety recovery is the belief we can't outrun. This episode challenges you to question the certainties that have defined your battle with anxiety. Is the intensity of our emotions a reliable compass? Is our self-knowledge as accurate as we believe? We'll explore the potential for a fleeting moment of power even amidst the storm of fear, and how reassessing our core beliefs can unlock new possibilities. The thought that what was once unthinkable can become thinkable, what felt impossible can indeed become possible. Reflect on the resilience hidden in your stories and perceptions as we navigate through the complexities of anxiety together.

For full show notes on this episode:
https://theanxioustruth.com/289 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 289 - We Do Have A Choice When Triggered. Even When We Don't Believe That Yet.

DO I HAVE TO STOP BEING AFRAID TO TRULY ACCEPT ANXIETY (AND TO GET BETTER)? Good question.  But this is a backwards interpretation of acceptance so let’s clarify.Acceptance is not finding a way to turn off your fearAcceptance is not figuring out some method for hating your anxiety lessAcceptance is not about creating a new state of being or feeling from an emotional or mental standpointAcceptance is an ACTION, not a feeling. 

Acceptance is a precursor to less fear, acceptance is not the result of less fear.   This is critical because it keeps quite a number of people stuck, so let's talk about it on episode 288 of The Anxious Truth.

For full show notes on this episode:
https://theanxioustruth.com/288 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 288 - Do I Have To Stop Fearing Anxiety To Fully Accept It?

Anxiety Triggers: When The List Is Growing Many members of our community will find that over time their list of anxiety triggers or panic attack triggers is growing. More and more things become triggers, which starts to get frustrating and disheartening.  Let's talk about why that happens, and what it means in the recovery process. Important Timestamps:

02:17 - Everything becomes an anxiety trigger when you're in an anxious state

08:08 - If you feel like everything is a possible anxiety trigger, remember this 13:15 - Learning to face fear requires courage and it requires repetition

Full show notes on this episode:

https://theanxioustruth.com/287 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 287 - When Everything Becomes An Anxiety Trigger (Foundations of Panic #6)

Let's do an old fashioned anxiety questions and answers session, shall we?  Today we're answering questions from our friends on Facebook.

02:24 How do I face a scary exposure?05:58 Is it normal to still have symptoms or scary thoughts in recovery?08:48 What do I do when I'm not anxious and have no symptoms or thoughts to deal with?10:40 Which comes first, scary sensations or scary thoughts?12:37 How can I be sure if it's just anxiety or my intuition?15:01 The selfish nature of anxiety and anxiety disorders
For full show notes on this episode or to access more anxiety recovery resources:
https://theanxioustruth.com/286 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 204 - When Does The Anxious "White Knuckling" End?

Download our free app to listen on your phone