S7 E19: How to Thrive With Anxiety With David H. Rosmarin, PhD
Dec 12, 2023
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Anxiety expert, David H. Rosmarin, PhD, teaches us how to change our relationship with anxiety to thrive in our lives. He discusses the difference between anxiety and stress, harnessing the benefits of anxiety, strategies for thriving with anxiety, exploring emotional expression between genders, the role of spirituality in anxiety treatment, and encourages audience engagement.
Anxiety is a normal bodily response that can be harnessed and used as a tool for personal growth, allowing us to gain insights into ourselves and use anxiety as a motivator to prepare ourselves to face challenges.
Understanding the distinction between anxiety and stress is crucial for adopting a healthier mindset towards anxiety, as stress is a normal response to specific situations while anxiety can be harnessed and used to thrive more effectively, leading to a shift in our relationship with anxiety.
Deep dives
Embracing Anxiety for Personal Growth
Thriving with anxiety means accepting that it is a normal part of life and can be used as a tool for personal growth. Anxiety triggers the fear circuit in our brain, releasing adrenaline into our blood. While fear is a response to an immediate threat, anxiety is triggered without a necessary cause. By acknowledging and embracing anxiety, we can gain insights into ourselves and enhance our understanding of our own lives. This shift in perspective allows us to use anxiety as a motivator and prepare ourselves to face challenges.
Understanding the Difference Between Stress and Anxiety
Stress occurs when the demands on us exceed our available resources, whether it be time, emotional capacity, or other factors. It triggers a cascade of symptoms similar to anxiety, but stress is a normal response to specific situations. Anxiety, on the other hand, is not necessary and the trigger may not be present. Despite the similarities, anxiety can be harnessed and used to thrive more effectively than stress. Understanding this distinction can help us adopt a healthier mindset towards anxiety.
Addressing the Rise of Anxiety Diagnoses
Anxiety diagnoses have been on the rise, with a significant increase in recent years. One reason for this is the lack of recognition that anxiety is a normal human emotion. Our culture tends to pathologize anxiety and perceive it as a disease, leading individuals to believe that something is wrong with them when they experience anxiety. This negative judgment and catastrophizing can perpetuate anxiety and worsen its symptoms. By educating ourselves and shifting our perspective, we can change our relationship with anxiety and minimize its impact on our lives.
The Benefits of Accepting and Facing Anxiety
Anxiety can actually have several benefits when embraced and faced head-on. It can increase our empathy and emotional awareness, heighten our problem-solving and planning abilities, enhance our motivation and productivity, and improve our self-preservation instincts. By allowing ourselves to feel anxious and going through the discomfort, we can build resilience and develop a better understanding of ourselves and our connections with others. Embracing anxiety allows us to thrive in various aspects of our lives.
Anxiety has been on the rise for the past several years — and it’s something that can range from feeling uncomfortable to debilitating for those who experience it. David H. Rosmarin, PhD, helps us understand why anxiety is a normal bodily response and how we can change our relationship with it to turn it into something that can actually help us thrive in our lives.
The information in this podcast is intended to provide broad understanding and knowledge of healthcare topics. This information is for educational purposes only and should not be considered complete and should not be used in place of advice from your physician or healthcare provider. We recommend you consult your physician or healthcare professional before beginning or altering your personal exercise, diet or supplementation program.
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