Ep. 93: How to WANT Anxiety with Dr. Reid Wilson

Welcome back to another episode of Your Anxiety Toolkit.  You are going to LOVE this week's podcast interview with Dr. Reid Wilson.  For those who don’t know Dr. Reid Wilson, he is a world-class specialist in the area of Anxiety Disorders.  Dr. Reid Wilson is the Director of the Anxiety Disorders Treatment Center in Chapel Hill and Durham, NC, and is Adjunct Associate Professor of Psychiatry at the University of North Carolina School of Medicine.

Dr. Reid Wilson is the author of the amazing book for Panic Disorder, called Don’t Panic, and the co-author of wonderful books such as Anxious Kids, Anxious Parents, Stop Obsessing! and Playing with Anxiety.

Dr. Reid Wilson is a Founding Clinical Fellow of the Anxiety and Depression Association of America and a Fellow of the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies.  So, I am sure you are wowed already, but wait for it! This episode will blow your mind even more.  

In this week’s episode, I talk with Dr. Reid Wilson about a perspective change and an attitude change from one where we do not want anxiety to one where we WANT anxiety.   I know this may seem strange, but believe me, this will change your whole game when it comes to the treatment of anxiety, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and other anxiety disorders.   

In this episode, we address the following topics. 

• Why do we want anxiety? 
• What is going on in our brains when we have anxiety and when we face our fears 
• How to get a client to do Exposure & Response Prevention 
• How to Engage the Ambivalent or resistant OCD Client
• A different approach to the ERP hierarchy? 
• How to have a complete Attitude change about fear and anxiety.  

Please consult Reid’s other site, Anxieties.com, for additional information, videos, resources, and treatment options.

Before we go, I have a few exciting events to tell you about!  I’ll be speaking at both the OCD SoCal Conference and OCDeconstruct.

On Saturday, March 30, I will be speaking at the OCD Southern California 4thAnnual Conference alongside other OCD specialists and advocates.  I’ll be speaking during the breakout session titled Managing OCD Roadblocks: Creative and Effective Tools to Tackle ERP. For registration information, visit ocdsocal.org or click HERE.

OCDeconstruct is a free online conference designed to give those with OCD, and their loved ones, the information needed to understand key concepts related to the disorder so they can get a productive start on treatment. During the conference, six therapists will present on topics including intrusive thoughts, ERP, family dynamics, medicine and more. OCDeconstruct happens on Saturday, April 13 and will run about 4 hours.  

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