Fear Less

What does it take to train for a 62-mile run, and how do you know when to push or back off? In this solo episode of Fear Less, Zack shares five endurance training lessons ahead of the Foundation to Future Run on Sunday, November 15. The 62-mile fundraising run takes him from Mountain Valley Treatment Center's original campus in Pike to its current campus in Plainfield, New Hampshire, following sections of the Appalachian Trail. The run marks Mountain Valley's 15th anniversary and raises funds for a new dorm.

From back-to-back 20-mile training runs to scaling back after foot pain raised concern about a stress fracture, Zack shares what his preparation taught him about pacing, recovery, and the mental side of ultrarunning. He talks about getting through the tough early miles, drawing on different sources of motivation, building confidence through consistent training, knowing when to rest, and starting before you feel ready. He also connects those lessons to his work with young people facing anxiety and OCD, where practicing in small steps can help them do things they once felt unready to try.

Fear Less is sponsored by Mountain Valley Treatment Center.

What can families do when a young adult's world keeps getting smaller—when anxiety, isolation, and avoidance get in the way of friendships, everyday responsibilities, and independence? In this episode Zack welcomes Dr. Danny Recio, co-founder of New Summit Academy and the Bridge, a supportive gap year program in Costa Rica. Drawing on interviews with program alumni, Danny explores how young adults can feel lost, stuck, or shut down when they have too few opportunities to practice navigating everyday challenges. He introduces "experiential deprivation" and discusses how convenience, technology, and well-intentioned help can sometimes remove the very experiences young people need to develop confidence.

For parents concerned about an anxious young adult who is withdrawing from the world, the conversation explores how to support growth without taking over. Zack and Danny discuss manageable challenges, room to make mistakes, and supportive feedback as ingredients for building problem-solving skills and greater independence. From preparing a meal to navigating unfamiliar situations, everyday experiences offer opportunities to practice what Danny calls "response ability"—the capacity to adapt and figure out what to do next. Families will hear a perspective on helping young adults move beyond avoidance through supported practice, meaningful connection, and gradual engagement with life.

Zack's Hack: In this week's anxiety hack Zack shares lyrics from the song "Kingdom of Fear" sung by singer-songwriter Cameron Withcomb.

Fear Less is sponsored by Mountain Valley Treatment Center.

When a teenager struggles with OCD, what happens to the brother or sister trying to hold everything together? In this episode Zack speaks with Austin Kang, a high school senior whose experience growing up alongside an older brother with severe OCD inspired him to create a guide and support community for siblings. Austin shares how he became the "easy child," keeping his own struggles quiet to avoid adding stress at home. Together, they explore the "glass child" experience—when a sibling's needs go unseen—and why parents need to look beyond the child who appears to be doing fine.

For parents and siblings of teens with OCD, this conversation explores how to stay connected while making room for everyone's needs. Austin and Zack discuss family accommodation, how well-intentioned responses can reinforce OCD patterns, and why being a supportive sibling does not mean becoming a therapist or giving up friendships, activities, and personal goals. Austin also introduces his free sibling guide and Behind the Scenes support group, offering families a hopeful message: siblings deserve support, space to share their experiences, and a relationship with their brother or sister that reaches beyond OCD.

Zack's Hack: In this week's anxiety hack Zack shares a quote from Maya Angelo, American Poet, memorist and activist to help you fear less!

Fear Less is sponsored by Mountain Valley Treatment Center.

What makes the transition to adulthood feel overwhelming for many neurodivergent young adults—and how can families help? On this episode, Zack interviews Justin Messinger, LCMHCS, Clinical Director at Intrepid Young Adults in the Asheville, North Carolina, area. Together, they explore how anxiety, executive functioning challenges, and years of feeling misunderstood can affect confidence, relationships, college, and employment. Justin discusses why applying for a job or accessing college support can involve more hurdles than others realize, and how past setbacks can make trying again feel intimidating.

For young adults seeking greater independence and parents wondering how to support them, Justin emphasizes building trust, understanding individual goals, and doing things with young adults rather than for them. He explains how practicing everyday skills in the community, offering the right level of support, and listening to feedback can help young adults build confidence at their own pace. The conversation also considers the value of online friendships, the importance of belonging, and why recognizing small steps forward can nurture hope and make the next challenge feel more manageable.

Zack's Hack: In this week's anxiety hack Zack shares a quote from The Hunger Games movie to help you fear less!

Fear Less is sponsored by Mountain Valley Treatment Center.

How did a family's commitment to education and experiential learning lay the groundwork for Mountain Valley Treatment Center? In this episode Zack speaks with Jay Wolter, president of Moosilauke Visions, the nonprofit organization behind Mountain Valley. Jay traces the organization's roots to his parents, John and Joan Wolter, and the founding of Beckett Academy in Connecticut in 1964. He shares how his father's struggles with dyslexia helped shape an approach that combined academics with outdoor adventure, meaningful work, and community life. From canoe expeditions to farming and residential programming, Jay describes the experiences and challenges that shaped his family's commitment to helping young people find environments where they could thrive.

Jay also recounts leaving his career as a healthcare attorney in 1993 to lead the struggling Pike School in New Hampshire, renaming it Beckett School and rebuilding its programming. That work grew into a broader network of services and eventually created the foundation for Mountain Valley. Jay explains how conversations with Dr. Dan Villiers led to a residential program focused specifically on anxiety, with Dan, Carl Lovejoy, and Jen Fullerton helping bring the vision to life. Combining specialized treatment with the Wolter family's longstanding emphasis on experiential learning and a supportive community, Mountain Valley began on a farm in Pike before moving to Plainfield in 2018. As the program approaches its 15th anniversary, Jay and Zack reflect on that legacy and discuss plans for a new dormitory and expanded services.

Zack's Hack: In this week's anxiety hack Zack shares a quote from experiential educator, John Dewey to help you fear less!

Fear Less is sponsored by Mountain Valley Treatment Center.

Why is it so hard to think clearly when anxiety takes over—and why can telling someone to "calm down" make things worse? In this episode Zack welcomes Dr. Bruce Perry, child and adolescent psychiatrist, neuroscientist, and coauthor of "What Happened to You?" with Oprah Winfrey. Dr. Perry explains how developmental experiences shape our stress responses and why understanding a person's history can help us make sense of their emotional struggles. Drawing on his Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics, he explores how stress can interfere with learning, communication, and interpreting other people's intentions, offering parents and people living with anxiety a more compassionate way to understand these challenges.

The conversation brings these ideas into everyday life through Dr. Perry's practical framework: regulate, relate, reason. Before offering advice or trying to solve a problem, we can attend to our own emotional state, help the other person become more regulated, and establish a sense of connection. For parents supporting an anxious child or teenager, this means paying attention to timing, tone, presence, and basic needs rather than expecting explanations to work during an overwhelming moment. Dr. Perry and Zack also explore how relationships, belonging, and supportive environments can encourage growth—and how shaming or punitive responses can undermine it. Listeners will leave with a clearer understanding of why connection matters and how to approach difficult moments with greater patience and intention.

Zack's Hack: In this week's anxiety hack Zack shares a quote from Dr. Bruce Perry which will help you have less fear!

Fear Less is sponsored by Mountain Valley Treatment Center.

Can marijuana help you feel calmer or fall asleep while gradually becoming something you depend on? In this episode, Zack welcomes back clinical psychologist Dr. Roberto Olivardia to explore the relationship between ADHD, anxiety, and cannabis use. Roberto explains why people with ADHD may be more vulnerable to substance dependence and why marijuana can feel helpful in the short term, even as frequent use begins to affect attention, motivation, and daily life.

Zack also shares his experience of using cannabis and the fears he faced when he stopped using it. Together, they discuss today's high-potency cannabis, what parents and family members may notice when use becomes a concern, and how treatment can address the needs a person has been trying to meet with marijuana. It's a compassionate conversation for people questioning their own use and for families wondering how to understand what is happening.

Zack's Hack: In this week's anxiety hack Zack shares a quote from Ronda Rousey, the former UFC champion to help you be fear less!

Fear Less is sponsored by Mountain Valley Treatment Center.

What will the next chapter of Mountain Valley Treatment Center look like—and how can alumni, parents, families, and community members help make it possible? As Mountain Valley celebrates its 15th anniversary, Executive Director Zack Schafer announces plans to build a new adolescent dormitory at its Plainfield, New Hampshire, campus. The project will strengthen the residential experience for teens with anxiety, OCD, and related challenges while freeing existing space for a future young adult program. The larger vision includes outpatient and day services for local families, educational workshops, professional training, and expanded opportunities for emerging clinicians.

To launch the fundraising campaign, Zack will run approximately 60 miles from Mountain Valley's original campus in Pike to its current home in Plainfield on November 15, 2026. His route includes more than 40 miles of the Appalachian Trail and more than 11,000 feet of climbing. By deliberately choosing the harder path, Zack hopes to honor the courage of Mountain Valley alumni and families who have faced fear, accepted difficult challenges, and found confidence through community. He invites alumni, parents, former families, friends, and members of the broader Mountain Valley community to donate, help crew the run, or join him for part of this journey toward Mountain Valley's future.

To support this fundraising effort please check out Mountain Valley's website

What is it like to return to Mountain Valley Treatment Center as an intern after once being a client? James Norris first arrived at Mountain Valley in 2021 after social anxiety had begun to derail his life. Emerging from the isolation of the pandemic, he struggled with social situations, college tours, advocating for his needs, and imagining a successful transition to college. Although James did not want to spend his final summer before college in residential treatment, Mountain Valley gave him a welcoming community where therapy extended beyond the clinician's office. Through exposure work and everyday challenges, he practiced facing discomfort, managing conflict, speaking up for himself, and moving forward even when anxiety told him to avoid.

James's progress was not a straight line. After initially doing well in college, anxiety, depression, and executive-functioning difficulties contributed to a significant setback that required him to step away and seek additional support. Now studying psychology at the University of Rochester, James returned to Mountain Valley as a residential counselor intern, helping young people facing many of the same fears he once experienced. His story offers families an honest look at Mountain Valley's approach: anxiety may not disappear, but exposure, community, practical support, and the courage to keep trying can help young people develop confidence, independence, and resilience.

Zack's Hack: In this week's anxiety hack Zack shares a quote from Dr. Brene Brown who is a researcher, storyteller and author.

Fear Less is sponsored by Mountain Valley Treatment Center.

When does helping a struggling child become over-accommodating them? Educational and therapeutic consultant Josh Doyle joins host Zack to explore why loving, well-intentioned parents may repeatedly rescue an anxious teenager or young adult—and how that pattern can unintentionally undermine confidence, independence, and resilience. Drawing on more than 30 years of experience with adolescents, young adults, and families, Josh explains the difference between offering compassion and removing every obstacle or uncomfortable experience.

Josh and Zack discuss parental accommodation, anxiety and OCD, failure to launch, and the importance of allowing young people to experience manageable struggle. They explore why parents must learn to tolerate their own discomfort, how rescuing can communicate a lack of confidence in a child's abilities, and why stepping back may be one of the strongest ways to say, "I believe in you." This episode offers parents a thoughtful framework for supporting a child or young adult without taking over—helping them develop the skills to navigate discomfort, solve problems, and build their own path into adulthood.

Zack's Hack: In this week's anxiety hack Zack shares a quote from Franklin D. Roosevelt that will help you to Fear Less!

Fear Less is sponsored by Mountain Valley Treatment Center