Disordered: Anxiety Help

This week on Disordered we kick off a new feature. From time to time we'll do episodes that are entirely community-based, showcasing "did it anyway" stories from listeners. In this episode we take a closer look at a few of these stories, examining exactly what made them into big wins. We had a great time with this one and we hope you find it inspirational and encouraging to hear from your peers. ---- If you love Disordered and think you might benefit from spending 30 full days in an everyday intensive small group recovery support group led by Josh and Drew,⁠⁠ check out Disordered Boost:⁠ ⁠https://disordered.fm/boost⁠⁠ ----- Want to ask us questions, share your wins, or get more information about Josh, Drew, and the Disordered podcast? Visit us on the web at ⁠⁠https://disordered.fm⁠⁠ Disclaimer: Disordered is not therapy or a replacement for therapy. Listening to Disordered does not create a therapeutic relationship between you and the hosts of the podcast. Information here is provided for psychoeducational purposes. As always, when you have questions about your own well-being, please consult your mental health and/or medical care providers. If you are having a mental health crisis, always reach out immediately for in-person help.

White knuckling. What is it? Why do we use that phrase all the time in the context of anxiety recovery? This week Drew and Josh talk about what "white knuckling" means in recovery, why it's a natural and expected part of the process for almost everyone, and how to kindly and compassionately take small incremental steps toward letting go of your tight grip. How do you stop white-knuckling and holding on so tightly when anxious and afraid? A little bit at a time. :-) ----- Want to ask us questions, share your wins, or get more information about Josh, Drew, and the Disordered podcast? Visit us on the web at ⁠⁠https://disordered.fm⁠⁠ Disclaimer: Disordered is not therapy or a replacement for therapy. Listening to Disordered does not create a therapeutic relationship between you and the hosts of the podcast. Information here is provided for psychoeducational purposes. As always, when you have questions about your own well-being, please consult your mental health and/or medical care providers. If you are having a mental health crisis, always reach out immediately for in-person help.

This week on Disordered Josh and Drew address the topic of setback or relapse. What is it? Does it even exist, or is a "setback" just another experience along the way to recovery? Of special note is the concept of "reversion" which frames this issue not as failure or return of some anxiety monster, but as a return to hold habits. Did you get triggered and fall back into old habits? No problem! You're human like everyone else and this can happen to all of us. When you see that you're back in those old habits, now you can make new choices and "get back on that horse". Being triggered or feeling intense anxiety after having a long break is certainly discouraging and disappointing. You're allowed to have emotions about that. Just don't set up permanent residence in "It's back, I'm powerless, and I've failed" land. That's not fair to you. ----- Want to ask us questions, share your wins, or get more information about Josh, Drew, and the Disordered podcast? Visit us on the web at ⁠⁠https://disordered.fm⁠⁠ Disclaimer: Disordered is not therapy or a replacement for therapy. Listening to Disordered does not create a therapeutic relationship between you and the hosts of the podcast. Information here is provided for psychoeducational purposes. As always, when you have questions about your own well-being, please consult your mental health and/or medical care providers. If you are having a mental health crisis, always reach out immediately for in-person help.

This week on Disordered Josh and Drew tackle the topic of distraction. Trying to find ways to distract yourself when anxious is a common and popular strategy, but is it a good strategy? The answer is no ... and yes! In this episode, we look at how distraction is almost always going to be part of the equation no matter what we do, why intent matters, and how using distraction as a way to focus on something other than how you feel teaches us important recovery lessons. Bonus: Listen to Josh and Drew do an epic role-play where Josh plays the triggered amygdala and Drew plays the wise mind guiding us through acknowledgment and intentional focus. Distraction ... used in a positive way! ----- Want to ask us questions, share your wins, or get more information about Josh, Drew, and the Disordered podcast? Visit us on the web at ⁠⁠https://disordered.fm⁠⁠ Disclaimer: Disordered is not therapy or a replacement for therapy. Listening to Disordered does not create a therapeutic relationship between you and the hosts of the podcast. Information here is provided for psychoeducational purposes. As always, when you have questions about your own well-being, please consult your mental health and/or medical care providers. If you are having a mental health crisis, always reach out immediately for in-person help.

Depersonalization and Derealization - AKA "DP/DR" This week Drew and Josh get into the nuts and bolts of this most common anxiety and stress response. This is the sense that you're not real, that you're detached from yourself, or that the world around you suddenly feels unreal or out of reach. As scary as this experience is, and as much as it is difficult to face, it is not permanent or dangerous and can't actually harm you. Adopting a more accepting and tolerant approach to DP/DR - allowing it to be there without fighting so hard or trying to figure it out - helps your brain learn that it's OK to leave it alone. Over time this means you're not really frightened of the sensation any longer which makes it far less likely to hang around like it does now. ---- ----- Want to ask us questions, share your wins, or get more information about Josh, Drew, and the Disordered podcast? Visit us on the web at ⁠⁠https://disordered.fm⁠⁠ Disclaimer: Disordered is not therapy or a replacement for therapy. Listening to Disordered does not create a therapeutic relationship between you and the hosts of the podcast. Information here is provided for psychoeducational purposes. As always, when you have questions about your own well-being, please consult your mental health and/or medical care providers. If you are having a mental health crisis, always reach out immediately for in-person help.

I'm obsessed with anxiety and anxiety recovery! This week on Disordered Josh and Drew examine what happens when we become obsessed with anxiety and then obsessed with anxiety recovery. This is a thing that happens to many in this community, so it's worth examining. As usual, we share our own personal experiences with anxiety and recovery, then we throw in our professional knowledge and experience alongside the usual dose of humor and compassion. It's a good listen! Oh, and this one has more yummy quotes per minute than any other podcast episode ever recorded, so check it out. ----- Want to ask us questions, share your wins, or get more information about Josh, Drew, and the Disordered podcast? Visit us on the web at ⁠https://disordered.fm⁠ ---- Disclaimer: Disordered is not therapy or a replacement for therapy. Listening to Disordered does not create a therapeutic relationship between you and the hosts of the podcast. Information here is provided for psychoeducational purposes. As always, when you have questions about your own well-being, please consult your mental health and/or medical care providers. If you are having a mental health crisis, always reach out immediately for in-person help.

DRIVING ANXIETY! This week on Disordered, Josh and Drew take a look at a very common concern in the anxiety disorder community - driving anxiety. Many many people that suffer from panic disorder, agoraphobia, OCD, and other anxiety disorders often experience intense anxiety or even full-scale panic attacks when driving or when driving under certain circumstances or conditions. We'll talk about what driving anxiety is, a slightly more productive and less overwhelming way to frame it as not a special form of anxiety, some of the most common fears associated with driving anxiety, and how to best address this issue. As usual, the episode combines professional experience, clinical knowledge, our own lived experiences, a bit of humor, and plenty of understanding and compassion. ----- Want to ask us questions, share your wins, or get more information about Josh, Drew, and the Disordered podcast? Visit us on the web at ⁠https://disordered.fm⁠ ---- Disclaimer: Disordered is not therapy or a replacement for therapy. Listening to Disordered does not create a therapeutic relationship between you and the hosts of the podcast. Information here is provided for psychoeducational purposes. As always, when you have questions about your own well-being, please consult your mental health and/or medical care providers. If you are having a mental health crisis, always reach out immediately for in-person help.

This week on Disordered, Drew and Josh tackle the topic of health anxiety. Health anxiety is an obsession with one's physical or mental health that drives a continuous series of compulsions designed to soothe the fear, uncertainty, and worry about well-being and safety. The episode covers intolerance of uncertainty, repetitive compulsive checking and seeking of reassurance, and how leaning into probability and reality rather than fear is the way out. As usual, the guys share some of their own personal struggles with health anxiety, along with a healthy serving of compassion, humor, and professional expertise. ----- Want to ask us questions, share your wins, or get more information about Josh, Drew, and the Disordered podcast? Visit us on the web at ⁠https://disordered.fm⁠ ---- Disclaimer: Disordered is not therapy or a replacement for therapy. Listening to Disordered does not create a therapeutic relationship between you and the hosts of the podcast. Information here is provided for psychoeducational purposes. As always, when you have questions about your own well-being, please consult your mental health and/or medical care providers. If you are having a mental health crisis, always reach out immediately for in-person help.

Accepting anxiety and acceptance are two of the most difficult to grasp and misapplied concepts in the entire anxiety recovery sphere. This week on Disordered, Josh and Drew dig into the idea of acceptance. What is accepting? How do I accept anxiety? What happens when I accept? What things are most certainly NOT acceptance? As usual, this episode combines professional knowledge and training, professional experience, personal lived experience, and big helpings of both compassion and humor to shed some light on an important part of the anxiety recovery process. We hope you find it useful in some way. ----- Want to ask us questions, share your wins, or get more information about Josh, Drew, and the Disordered podcast? Visit us on the web at ⁠https://disordered.fm⁠ ---- Disclaimer: Disordered is not therapy or a replacement for therapy. Listening to Disordered does not create a therapeutic relationship between you and the hosts of the podcast. Information here is provided for psychoeducational purposes. As always, when you have questions about your own well-being, please consult your mental health and/or medical care providers. If you are having a mental health crisis, always reach out immediately for in-person help.

My Loved Ones Don't Understand My Anxiety This week on Disordered Drew and Josh talk about how anxiety disorders have impact not just on the person struggling to recover, but on the people close to them. When your loved ones want to help you, but just don't understand or "get it", this can cause frustration, conflict, and even anger and resentment. The guys talk about how our loved ones can be helpful, and how we can help them to help us in recovery. This is a great episode to share with someone close to you that might be frustrated by your anxiety struggles and looking for guidance. ----- Want to ask us questions, share your wins, or get more information about Josh, Drew, and the Disordered podcast? Visit us on the web at ⁠https://disordered.fm⁠ ---- Disclaimer: Disordered is not therapy or a replacement for therapy. Listening to Disordered does not create a therapeutic relationship between you and the hosts of the podcast. Information here is provided for psychoeducational purposes. As always, when you have questions about your own well-being, please consult your mental health and/or medical care providers. If you are having a mental health crisis, always reach out immediately for in-person help.