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

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Even when we work with a therapist, listen to podcasts, watch videos, and read books, some parts of the recovery process remain completely our responsibility. There are recovery things that other people cannot do for us. We’re responsible for:

• Showing up and being an active participant in recovery
• Being consistent in the work we do
• Finding and displaying courage when we need to
• Remaining willing and open to the process and the experiences we have to have as part of the process

Let’s talk about this today on episode 227 of The Anxious Truth!

For full show notes on this episode:

https://theanxioustruth.com/227

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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

Support 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.

Send in a question or comment via text.

We know about exposure. Going toward the thing we fear rather than trying to avoid it, escape from it, or engineer life so that it is never “triggered”. We know that exposure is en effective tool when it comes to anxiety disorders. But how does it actually work?  Why does it sometimes only work halfway?  Why does it sometimes not last?  What is habituation?  What is inhibitory learning?  Let's get geeky with it this week!

For full show notes on this episode:

https://theanxioustruth.com/226

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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

Support 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.

Send in a question or comment via text.

Many people dealing with anxiety disorders experience problems sleeping from time to time. Many anxious people also wind up stuck in mental loops where they obsess about sleep and worry excessively about not sleeping and not sleeping "properly".  This can result in a few common themes that revolve around disastrous feared outcomes associated with sleep or sleep distrubances.

"If I don't sleep enough, I can't heal and will never get better!"

"If I don't sleep enough, I will seriously harm my body and get very sick or die!"

"If I don't sleep enough, my anxiety will go through the roof!"

Let's examine these three common sleep-related anxiety themes this week.

For full show notes on this episode:

https://theanxioustruth.com/225

---

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

Support 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.

Send in a question or comment via text.

Everyone loves a good success story.  Katie's story certainly qualifies! When I first met Katie she was crippled with fear, riddled with anxiety and panic, and generally spending her time on the floor with a fan blowing trying to calm down.  Now she's living her life and even traveling solo to Europe multiple times. What a difference 18-24 months can make!

Go Katie!

For full show notes on this episode:

https://theanxioustruth.com/224

---

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

Support 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.

Send in a question or comment via text.

This week I'm joined by therapist and author Jennifer Swantowski as she shares her ongoing experience with benzodiazepine withdrawal and anxiety.  Jennifer is the author of "The Waiting Room" a most excellent book that anyone dealing with this challenge will find useful and inspiring.

For full show notes on this episode:

https://theanxioustruth.com/223

---

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

Support 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.

Send in a question or comment via text.

This week on the podcast we're talking about the difference between a survival mindset and a defiant mindset when it comes to anxiety, panic, and fear.

Like it or not, we all have an anxiety mindset.  We have a framework or a conceptualization of our anxiety situation. We formulate a platform that we stand on when it comes to anxiety.  This influences how we interact with anxiety, fear, and discomfort. Your mindset is formed over time based on your experiences, how you interpret them, and your beliefs about yourself and the world in general. Your anxiety mindset dictates to some extent how you approach anxiety when it makes an appearance.  

For full show notes on this episode:

theanxioustruth.com/222

---

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

Support 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.

Send in a question or comment via text.

Flying Anxiety

It's a thing. This is not the same as fear of flying.  In this episode of The Anxious Truth we're talking about flying anxiety - being afraid to fly because of your anxiety issues.  This is a topic I've been asked to cover for quite some time, so let's get to it!

For full show notes on this episode:

theanxioustruth.com/221

---

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

Support 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.

Send in a question or comment via text.

I am asked all the time if it is OK to use safe people when doing exposures or facing anxiety challenges.  Let's do our best to answer that question.

We'll define the term "safe person" then explore situations where use of a safe person is perfectly fine. Then we'll look at situations where we must leave our safe people behind to go it alone for full and lasting recovery.

For full show notes on this episode:

theanxioustruth.com/220

---

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

Support 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.

Send in a question or comment via text.

Many people in our community worry about the long term health effects of chronic anxiety.  For some this is concern that pops up from time to time. For others, this can become an obsession and  the primary driver of anxiety.  Regardless of which situation you are in, we can acknowledge that the question is a reasonable one.  This is a thing that we are justified in expressing concern about.  Today we need to take a look at why concern may be warranted but going into complete freak out mode is not.

For full show notes on this episode:

theanxioustruth.com/219

---

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

Support 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.

Send in a question or comment via text.

Sometimes podcasts like this one can become soothing rituals, safety devices, and crutches in your recovery. While it might seem crazy for a podcaster to warn you against listening to his podcast, it's not in your best recovery interests to rely on crutches for too long.  So stick with me, because there's a method to my madness and we examine this important concept in recovery.

For full show notes on this episode:

theanxioustruth.com/218

---

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

Support 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.