
Dr Emily - Am I Sick or Is It Anxiety?
The Imperfects
Practical Tools: Mindfulness, Breathwork, and Urge Surfing
Dr Emily outlines grounding practices, progressive muscle relaxation, mindfulness, and the urge-surfing technique to tolerate uncertainty.
Do you ever feel anxious about your health?
🎟️ Our live show Together Again is on sale now! Tickets here - https://bit.ly/4mEK9Ep
Same. And it is the fundamental uncertainty of our health which can make this anxiety really exhausting, complicated and, well, hard, to live with.
Back in the studio with our resident psychologist Dr Emily Musgrove, we’re going to unpack this perpetual state of worry; how it’s exacerbated by our fight or flight response, how to respond when someone’s seeking assurance and how to surf the urge and sit with your discomfort.
Josh, being Josh, asks some hard hitting questions about accepting the certainty of death, and Dr Em talks through what it looks like to be so fearful of dying that it’s stopping you from living.
Of course, we don’t ever want people to stop getting checked out by a medical professional. This episode is focused on untangling what is worry, what is excessive worry, and when is it reasonable.
Dr Em, it was so great to hang out.
If you’d like to watch this full video on YouTube, follow this link -
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đź«– Other Imperfects episodes mentioned in this episode
- Bryan Brown - The Value of Being Alive - https://bit.ly/4hTxwok
- Dr Emily - Grief Lightening - https://bit.ly/3LnCmxP
- Dr Emily - The Certainty of Uncertainty - https://bit.ly/47XXcfU
- Dyson Heppell - Whatever It Takes … To Forgive - https://bit.ly/4nIym8F
🎧 Things to listen to:
- It’s Not What You Think podcast - https://bit.ly/3LnFg5K
đź“– Things to read:
- The Courage To Be Disliked by Ichiro Kishimi and Fumitake Koga - https://bit.ly/3JJJnZk
đź©·To host your own Vulnerabilitea House, (with the new cards!) purchase here - http://bit.ly/4lyuuWz
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🩵To join our patreon community, A Little More Imperfects, follow this link - http://bit.ly/4mqunxu
đź©· AND you can subscribe to A Little More Imperfects through Apple Podcasts too, here - http://bit.ly/4mq5BO5
Chapters:
0:00 – Our fears for our health
9:54 – Are you a hypochondriac?
15:59 – Exacerbation of the fight / flight response
23:08 – The difficult positions of GP’s
29:48 – Not feeding the loop
35:19 – Body checking and post-diagnosis anxiety
39:50 – Accepting the certainty of death
50:55 – First time parent fear
53:24 – Obsession with being well
The Imperfects is not a licensed mental health service and is not a substitute for professional mental health advice, treatment or assessment. The advice given in this episode is general in nature, but if you’re struggling, please see a healthcare professional, or call lifeline on 13 11 14.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.


