Fxck Fear

"It’s not wrong to feel fear," says Nicole Keller, fear researcher at Dell Medical School's Institute of Neuroscience at UT Austin. "It’s like a completely actual adaptive feeling and we need it, so just being afraid doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t do something or go through that process. It shows that you are doing ok and that your brain is responding in a correct way." On this new episode of Fuck Fear, we take a deep dive into the study and science of fear, what happens in our brains when we feel fear and how to change our brains to inhibit it.

*New Episodes on Thursdays*

"What I know for sure," says host Catenya McHenry, "is that all children really want is the truth and love." On this episode, she opens up and talks about her fears of being completely transparent and truthful with her teenage children, how truth changes their family dynamic, but how it truth helps build their self-esteem and confidence.

*New Episodes on Thursdays*

"All of my individual fears were just little things that I knew were gonna happen. I just had to tell myself, that this is gonna happen regardless, and that’s not a reason to stay silent about it. Over the years, he has definitely gaslighted me a lot."

On this episode, Catenya's teenage daughter talks about fear of the bully in her life but it's not the typical school bully she's had to face. As the single mom of three children, Catenya has worked hard to teach her children the importance of finding their voice and not be silent of mental and verbal abuse they may be enduring.

*New Episodes on Thursdays*

"When I see frightened employees, it’s typically correlated to leaders who only know their legitimate power," says Dr. Kristie Loescher at the University of Texas at Austin. If you have ever cried before showing up to work or you're afraid of what management will do to you if you speak up, this episode is for you.

On this episode, we talk about fear of management in the workplace, how it negatively affects productivity, and how to free yourself from the toxic work environment.

"A lot of what we’re afraid of is really just made up in our heads and a lot of people feel like we do, they want to make a change too, but they’re just too scared," says Austin-based certified Life Coach Ellen Torreyson. On this episode, we unlock the three most common adult fears and she tells us what to do about them. You may be surprised to learn that according to Ellen, one of them is not public speaking.

On the very first episode of Fuck Fear, host Catenya McHenry talks about the night she reached her breaking point. It started with an overnight conversation she had with her then six-year old daughter about not being afraid of monsters. During that talk, Catenya realized the monster metaphor would have a bigger meaning as she continued recovering from a toxic narcissistic relationship, which she writes about in her first book, Married to a Narcissist. She now sheds light on ways the emotional and psychological abuser used fear to try and control her. But when Catenya verbalized the words, "fuck fear," her entire world changed. What would be her second book is now reimagined into a podcast about fear and ways fear has affected us in life, career, relationships, and parenting. Guests share their struggles with fear and experts offer proven strategies for how to find your courage to let go of that fear so that you can live more freely.

The Fuck Fear podcast is packed with real and honest conversations about how and why fear cripples us into complacency. Fear is an influential force and spirit that can motivate or bind and keep us from making life-changing decisions.

Hosted by award-winning journalist, author and storyteller Catenya McHenry, Fuck Fear explores fears in life, career, parenting, and relationships. Guests share their struggles with fear and experts offer strategies for finding courage, your voice, and your bravery to do the thing you know in your heart you need to do.

*Tune in to new episodes on Thursdays*

What is your greatest fear is the first question Fxck Fear podcast host Catenya McHenry asks each of her guests. Without fail, there’s always an answer because everyone has experienced the paralyzing force of fear.

The Fxck Fear podcast is rich with honest conversations about the science of fear, where it stems from and its negative and positive impacts in life, career, relationships, and parenting. Guests are everyday people who not only openly share their greatest fears but also their struggles overcoming fear. Scientists and other experts join the conversations too, teaching us how to conquer fear, how to be more brave and what it means to live peacefully fulfilled.

Recovering from a toxic narcissistic relationship, journalist, storyteller and author of Married to a Narcissist host Catenya McHenry reached a breaking point of the ways her abuser weaponized fear to control her into submission. But when she finally said “fuck fear,” and remembered to harness her own power, she broke the cycle of abuse and became her own savior.

The hope and intention is that Fuck Fear empowers you to give fear the finger, find your bravery, and finally do the thing you were afraid to do.

*Tune in to new episodes every other Thursday*