What You're Doing To 'Fix' Your Anxiety Could Be Making It Worse - Uncut with Anna the Anxiety Coach
Feb 13, 2024
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Anna the Anxiety Coach, an expert in the physiological side of anxiety, discusses how common stress reduction techniques can actually intensify anxiety. Personality types linked to anxiety, the nature vs. nurture debate, and the impact of social media on anxiety levels are explored. They also delve into anxiety throughout different life stages and the benefits of identifying its cause. The podcast further covers healing from trauma, chronic anxiety's long-term effects, and addressing anxiety and depression through different approaches.
Anxiety is not solely an emotional or mental issue, but it also has a significant impact on the body, highlighting the need to address the physiological responses associated with anxiety.
Understanding and addressing the gut-brain connection is crucial for managing anxiety, as gut health and symptoms like nervous poos are closely tied to anxiety levels and neurotransmitter activity.
Deep dives
Understanding the Physiological Side of Anxiety
This podcast episode delves into the physiological aspects of anxiety and emphasizes the importance of addressing the physiological responses associated with anxiety. The speaker highlights that anxiety is not solely an emotional or mental issue, but it also has a significant impact on the body. The episode explores the physiological symptoms of anxiety, such as increased heart rate, accelerated breathing, tension, and hyperawareness. It emphasizes the need to recognize these physical manifestations and explores various approaches to regulate the body's stress response, including correcting breathing patterns and engaging in activities that bring calm and connection to the body.
The Complex Connection between the Gut and Mind
The podcast delves into the intricate relationship between the gut and the brain and how it affects anxiety. It explains that gut health and symptoms, such as nervous poos, are closely tied to anxiety. The speaker highlights that when our body enters a state of fight or flight, our digestive system shuts down, resulting in nervous poos. Furthermore, it explores the impact of gut health on neurotransmitters like serotonin and GABA, which influence anxiety levels. The episode emphasizes the importance of understanding and addressing the gut-brain connection in managing anxiety.
Holistic Approaches to Anxiety Management
This podcast episode encourages a holistic approach to managing anxiety. It emphasizes that anxiety cannot be solved solely through talk therapy, but rather requires a comprehensive approach that includes addressing the physiological aspects of anxiety. The speaker suggests attending to the body's signals and triggers, developing healthy coping mechanisms, and creating a safe space to feel and express emotions. The episode highlights the significance of connecting the mind and body to facilitate healing and empowerment, ultimately fostering a deeper understanding of anxiety and its management.
Recognizing and Supporting Childhood Anxiety
The podcast discusses childhood anxiety and provides insights on how to support children experiencing anxiety. It encourages parents or carers to create an open dialogue by engaging children in conversations about their emotions and bodily sensations. The episode suggests encouraging children to express their feelings physically and verbally, modeling how emotions can be expressed, and validating their experiences. The speaker highlights the importance of acknowledging and addressing anxiety early on to enable children to develop resilience and coping strategies for the future.
We’ve spoken about anxiety loads of times before but not in this way. This conversation focused a lot more on the physiological side of anxiety and how we need to use a range of different things to combat the stress of our everyday lives.
We speak about:
The things that people commonly do to try and reduce their stress or anxiety, and how they can actually exacerbate it
Talk therapy is a bandaid, not a solution
Personality types that were more likely to develop anxiety
Whether anxiety is a product of nature or nurture
We also spoke about anxiety throughout different life stages, anxiety developing in kids, whether that be us as kids or in our kids now and whether it actually helps if you can identify the cause or trigger of where your anxiety came from.