Disordered: Anxiety Help

This week on Disordered, Drew and Josh look at the relationship between body and mind when it comes to anxiety. Anxiety is absolutely something that one experiences physically, in the body, but the guys discuss how disordered states of anxiety are driven by interpretation and cognition. Highlights include a chat about how so many people experience things like scary thoughts and panic attacks without ever developing anxiety disorders, and an examination of how its the reaction to those experiences drive the disordered state. ----- 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.

WHAT SHOULD I SAY DURING A PANIC ATTACK? "What is the best thing for me to say to myself during a panic attack?" This week on Disordered, Josh and Drew talk about strategies for self-talk, framing statements, action prompts, and non-compulsive ways to talk to yourself during a panic attack or high anxiety spike. The guys spend some time addressing the myth that one needs to be "talked down" from a panic attack and also cover how these concepts can be useful when supporting a friend or loved one that's experiencing panic or high anxiety. Remember that you're supposed to be scared during a panic attack - that's just the mechanism working as designed. Don't judge yourself harshly or negatively for that, and steer clear of trying to find magic words or phrases that will make it go away. That's more harmful than helpful in the long run. ----- 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.

IT SURE FEELS LIKE AN ATTACK ... BUT IS IT? This week on Disordered Drew and Josh deconstruct the idea of a panic attack. It sure feels like you're being attacked, but are you? Is there a more useful and accurate way to frame what's happening? Do we find power when we stop looking at panic as a force that swoops in to attack us? The guys chat about how a panic "attack" is really an adrenaline surge based on natural, expected, bodily functions. It's not dangerous and not indicative of an actual problem, just a misguided threat detection system in your brain. The conversation goes through why panic attacks are all the same from a physiology perspective and how its the context and the interpretation that makes them feel different or sometimes "worse". This can be a really useful reframe for anyone struggling to overcome recurring panic attacks or panic disorder so grab a beverage and a comfortable chair and have a listen. 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.

The Symptoms of Anxiety Anxious people often get completely fixated and consumed by the physical, mental, and emotional symptoms and sensations that come along with anxiety. It's natural to want to talk about them all the time and to keep asking "if anyone else gets" the symptom you are experiencing that scares you at the moment. This week on Disordered, Josh and Drew discuss anxiety symptoms, explaining that they are scary and uncomfortable, but not dangerous and not something to be avoided. The guys, as usual, share their own experiences with scary and disruptive anxiety symptoms and they even end the episode with a little friendly rapid-fire competition to see who can name the most symptoms. Spoiler alert ... that segment comes complete with cheesy video game background music. For 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 walk you through the biological threat response and how it drives states of disordered anxiety.  The guys cover the following important concepts that all anxiety sufferers should understand as part of the recovery process: Anxiety is normal and needed in life. All humans experience anxiety. The threat response system in your brain was designed to keep you alive at all costs. It served - and still serves - an important purpose. Disordered anxiety states are generally driven by an over-sensitive threat response that fires and sounds alarms when it doesn’t have to - there is no danger. Recovery is essentially about re-modulating that overactive threat response to bring it back into a healthy, normal state. You can’t talk to the part of your brain in charge of the threat response.  It doesn’t understand words.  Only behavior and experience. You have to SHOW your brain that you are safe, even when it is convinced that you are not. It is a common mistake to interpret the sensations and experiences of the threat response as a sign that something is broken or wrong.  You are not broken and nothing is wrong that needs to be fixed. Josh and Drew both shared some of their own experiences with respect to how they interacted with the threat response to turn it down over time while they were both working on recovery from anxiety disorders.  They did not heal their threat responses … they were teaching them. As always, the guys answer questions from the community and share a few wins and success stories from listeners.  Always inspiring! Bonus content: Strudel and Copper both chime in today.  Clearly, even dogs have opinions about the threat response and anxiety. For 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.

Join Josh and Drew as they share their own experiences of anxiety recovery and what it means to get better when you're struggling with an anxiety disorder. Common themes in this episode include: Eliminating avoidance Choosing to willfully tolerate anxiety and the sensations/thoughts that come with it Learning that you are capable of handling how you feel - even when highly anxious Defining what it means to "get better" from an anxiety disorder The guys also share listener victories and answer a question or two from the audience. For 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.

Drew and Josh take a whistle-stop tour of some of the most common forms of anxiety disorder. The guys take time to explain the difference between regular anxiety that all humans experience, and disordered anxiety which becomes a major life-impacting mental health issue. In this episode Josh and Drew talk about: Panic Disorder Generalized Anxiety Disorder Agoraphobia/Monophobia OCD Health Anxiety Social Anxiety This episode also answers the question, "Is it normal to be afraid when thinking about or planning anxiety recovery?" For more on Drew, Josh, 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.

Join us for the maiden voyage of Disordered! Josh and Drew talk about what it feels like to be an anxious person and offer a number of suggestions for signs that your anxiety might be more than just "regular" anxiety. You know you're anxious when you're fixated on how you feel and what you think all day long. You know you're anxious when you're suddenly afraid to do things you've been doing your whole life without thinking about them. You know you're anxious when you troll Google for eight hours looking for anxiety cures. You know you're anxious when you compulsively check your heart rate all day long. You know you're anxious when .... For more on Josh, Drew, and the Disordered podcast, find 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.

DISORDERED Is The Podcast With Anxiety Help From Two Anxiety Experts Josh Fletcher and Drew Linsalata are both known for providing real, evidence-based, actionable information about anxiety and anxiety recovery. They’re friendly, they’re funny, and they each have a knack for combining lived experience, formal training, and professional experience into an encouraging, inspiring, kind, and compassionate mental health message. What happens when they get together and turn on the microphones? This happens. And we think you’re gonna really dig it. Find us on the web at https://disordered.fm