This week, and as we are at the very beginning of the new year, I'm tackling the subject of anxiety and change. I've covered this subject before but this time I am joined by Dr Harry Barry, author of Embracing Change, and one of my most listened to guests on the podcast thus far (he was on a previous episode where we unpacked anxiety at a more basic level). The change that requires you to take action and the change that comes at us out of the blue; we cover both. Also in this episode we go off on a helpful tangent, talking about our (mostly MY) need to be in control. What's happening in my mind when I get anxious when I can't control things exactly how I want to? And what can I do about it? Read Dr Harry Barry's latest book here.

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/owningittheanxietypodcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Word of warning: My guest's audio wasn't ideal for this episode, there was very little I could do about the feedback issue on Dr Clare's side of the audio, so I hope you can forgive this. Hopefully next time I record with Clare we can be in person in studio.

For this episode of Owning It: The Anxiety Podcast, clinical psychologist Dr Clare Kambamettu joins me to discuss the impact that consuming news around the clock can have on our minds and bodies. Maybe that's social media, maybe that's news on your TV, and it's especially relevant now with Covid. We are facing a very legitimate threat with Covid and keeping tabs of all of the latest news surrounding the virus has become a coping mechanism for many of us. We think it benefits us but if you're aware of it, it might be making you feel more anxious. So what can we do about it? How do we stay informed without overwhelming our threat system?

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/owningittheanxietypodcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Christmas can be a time of high anxiety. In this solo episode I talk through my approach to this time of year and how Covid has given us an opportunity to practise setting boundaries and putting our needs first. Episode includes my coping mechanism and mindset swaps that makes Christmas a far more enjoyable experience.

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/owningittheanxietypodcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For this bonus episode I was so thrilled to sit down with (virtually) Millie Mackintosh. I have long been a fan of Millie's, particularly since becoming pregnant and seeing how open and honest she is about the experience. She keeps it real. Millie has had her fair share of anxiety down through the years and here she shares her story with me. We talk everything from the Made in Chelsea days when panic attacks were a common experience, to pre and postnatal anxiety, the anxiety of having millions of people watching and judging you on social media, IBS and so much more. As she's about to have her second baby, I'm so grateful to Millie for taking the time to chat and be so honest as always and allow herself to be vulnerable.

My books: Owning It: Your BS Free Guide To Living With Anxiety / The Confidence Kit: Your BS Free Guide To Owning Your Fear / NAKED: Ten Truths To Change Your Life all available on amazon.

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/owningittheanxietypodcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For this final episode of season 6, I am joined by the very lovely Cressida Bonas - actor, writer and more recently podcaster. Her podcast Fear Itself is earning rave reviews and features guests such as Ellie Goulding, Sir Richard Branson, Dr Pippa Grange and many more. Her focus is on fear and how fear might actually be at the root of all of our main emotions. Joining me here she tells me her experience of anxiety - including some pretty debilitating catastrophic thinking - as well as navigating a life as a very shy person for whom much of their work is public facing.

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/owningittheanxietypodcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For this episode I am explaining a few key tools that I use again and again when feeling anxious about an upcoming event or a change of some kind. Fear hacking - using catastrophic thinking to work in your favour - followed by positive visualisation which involves a tool in itself called 'anchoring' and much more. This episode is just me and the content I'm discussing is based on what you'll find laid out in my 13 part toolkit in The Confidence Kit, my second book to have been published. Available now on audiobook and in hardback/paperback online and in book stores.

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/owningittheanxietypodcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For this episode I am going back to where it all started for me: with gut issues. Diagnosed and plagued with IBS for most of my teenage years, I had no awareness that a lot of what I was experiencing was anxiety manifesting in this way. My tummy issues made me anxious, my anxiety made me have tummy issues. I am joined here by the world renowned author of The Mind Gut Connection, Dr Emeran Mayer. (I wrongly title it the gut brain connection in my intro so apologies for that!) He is not just a gastroenterologist but a neuroscientist too and where these two disciplines overlap, you know there is a lot to be learned. I hope you find this episode helpful and validating. Dr Emeran Mayer's new book is out now, The Gut-Immune Connection.

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/owningittheanxietypodcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sometimes in life, things change or thing go drastically downhill, without any forewarning. For Jane Enright, author of Butter Side Up, big, negative life changes occurred to her 3 times within the space of one year. 3 changes that would leave almost anyone in the throes of anxiety, negativity and hopelessness. But Jane realised she already had a lot of the skills necessary to get through this, if she just tapped into them, now that she really needed them. In this episode she shares her story with me, and how she handled the anxiety that went along with such traumatic incidents as well as how we can better process the things in life that happen that we do not see coming, so that they don't swallow us up. Her book, Butter Side Up, is available widely now.

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/owningittheanxietypodcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Happiness anxiety sounds oxymoronic but it's a real thing: it's known as Cherophobia which sounds sinister but really it's just the anxiety that can arise intermittently (or it can also be quite all consuming) when you fear that if things are going well, something has to go wrong. For me it manifests as feeling so grateful for what I do have in life that I think it will be taken away from me or that I don't deserve it. For others it can be an actual aversion to joyful experiences which require an element of letting go and being comfortable with being vulnerable and the idea that things are transient and not everything works out. For this episode I am joined by clinical psychologist Dr Malie Coyne to unpack Cherophobia, what it is, why we might struggle with it and crucially what we can do about it.

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/owningittheanxietypodcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For this episode I am joined by Katy Milkman, award winning behavioural scientist and Wharton University Professor to talk about anxiety and more specifically how to change, and how labelling will impact your behaviour in a way that exacerbates your anxiety. Katy is a legend and explains everything so well. Her new book, How To Change is out now. My books are NAKED: Ten Truths To Change Your Life, The Confidence Kit and Owning It: Your BS Free Guide To Living With Anxiety, all widely available online.

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/owningittheanxietypodcast.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.