AI-powered
podcast player
Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features
Anxiety is described as an alarm system in the body that triggers a physiological response. It starts with the amygdala, which recognizes potential threats and sends signals to the body, leading to increased heart rate, blood pressure, and respiration. The alarm system is rooted in childhood experiences of feeling separate from parents or caregivers. This feeling of separation generates an alarm in the body, which can manifest as anxiety later in life. Understanding anxiety as an alarm system helps shift the focus from the thoughts to the physiological sensations. By paying attention to the alarm and providing reassurance or attention to the body, one can begin the process of healing anxiety.
According to Dr. Russ Kennedy, all anxiety is triggered by separation anxiety, typically beginning with a sense of separation from parents or caregivers. This separation can be due to factors like parental mismatch, where there is a mismatch in interests or connection. As children blame themselves for the separation, they may develop a self-critical inner voice. These experiences create an alarm that gets stuck in the body, leading to worries and anxious thoughts in adulthood. Recognizing separation anxiety as the root cause of anxiety allows individuals to provide themselves with the compassion and attention they need to heal.
The usual approach to addressing anxiety is to focus on thinking and cognitive therapies, but Dr. Kennedy suggests a neck-down approach that involves addressing the sensations in the body. Rather than trying to fix anxiety through more thinking, individuals can practice locating the alarm in their bodies and creating a safe space within themselves. This can be done by placing a hand on the heart or other neutral or safe parts of the body. By acknowledging and comforting the alarm, individuals can gradually reduce anxiety and break the alarm-anxiety cycle.
Finding a safe space in the body involves identifying a neutral or safe place where one can focus attention during anxious moments. This could be the breath, a specific body part, or a physical sensation. By mentally directing attention to this safe place, individuals can create a sense of control and regulate their nervous system. This practice helps to train the brain to acknowledge the alarm but not allow it to overpower or define one's experience. Over time, practicing this technique can help individuals feel more grounded and have a healthier response to anxiety.
The podcast episode explores the connection between the alarm system in our bodies and the need for love and reassurance. It is discussed that anxiety and alarm are rooted in experiences of separation and mismatched parental connections during childhood. The speaker emphasizes that to heal anxiety, it is crucial to learn how to turn inward and provide love and support to oneself. The alarm in the body is seen as a call for love, and by going neck down and regulating the body, one can calm the mind and dissipate anxiety. The importance of practicing self-love, soothing techniques, and regulating the nervous system is highlighted as key to quieting the alarm and experiencing a sense of safety.
The podcast episode delves into the role of self-love in managing anxieties and addressing addictive behaviors. It is explained that anxiety often leads individuals to seek external coping mechanisms, such as addictive substances or behaviors, to drown out the alarm in their bodies. However, the speaker emphasizes that true healing requires turning inward and learning to love oneself. By understanding and acknowledging the blocks to self-love, one can start to heal the root cause of anxiety. The importance of recognizing that nobody else can save or heal oneself, and taking responsibility for regulating one's own nervous system is emphasized. The episode concludes by highlighting the need to go neck down and connect with the body in order to quiet the alarm and experience self-love.
Everything you think about anxiety is wrong.
Yes, we’re starting there.
And yes, we’re going deep.
I know that this episode will change your life. It has done the same for mine.
It’s not a secret that I’ve struggled with anxiety for pretty much my whole life. I swear I came out of the womb in a full-blown panic attack, and I was just warming up for a life of worry on a very elite, professional level.
I have been sharing my anxiety journey, and the tools that have helped me, for the past five years.
And in this episode, things go deeper than they have ever have before.
No exaggeration when I say that my takeaway from this interview today is so revolutionary, it’s forever changed the way I think about my anxiety and my relationship to it.
Which is why it’s my honor to introduce you to Dr. Russell Kennedy, MD.
I’m willing to bet that what you learn today you haven’t heard yet.
Like the real reason you’re anxious in the first place.
It’s not what you’re thinking.
No lie, I’ve been stalking Dr. Kennedy on Instagram for the past year because I just love his stuff.
Like me, he’s lived with his own anxiety since childhood. As a neuroscientist and a medical doctor, he also has the clinical experience to teach us how to HEAL our anxiety.
Did you catch that?
You don’t have to stop at managing your anxiety; you can actually heal it.
I see you if you’re living with a constant “nervous stomach.”
I see you if you can’t sleep.
I see you if your heart races and your muscles are often tense.
What Dr. Kennedy shares with you today has changed my relationship to anxiety, and I know it can do the same for you.
It will blow your mind when Dr. Kennedy tells you that we’ve been attacking this all wrong, and he’ll give you simple science and research-backed tools that will change your life immediately!
I ask all the questions you are thinking about anxiety and Dr. Kennedy and I get real with the answers.
You are not only going to learn how to deal with your anxiety in a very simple but effective way, you are going to learn why it’s there, what it’s trying to tell you, and how to heal it for good.
This episode has changed my life and I know it will do the same for you and your loved ones. Bookmark this episode and share it with those in your life who need it.
It’s time. You deserve what you’re about to learn.
Xo Mel
For full show notes, visit www.melrobbins.com
Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features
Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode
Hear something you like? Tap your headphones to save it with AI-generated key takeaways
Send highlights to Twitter, WhatsApp or export them to Notion, Readwise & more
Listen to all your favourite podcasts with AI-powered features
Listen to the best highlights from the podcasts you love and dive into the full episode