The Anxious Truth on Instagram - The Anxious Truth

The Anxious Truth

The Anxious Truth

Find me on Instagram at the.anxious.truth!

the.anxious.truth

Anxious About Not Being Anxious? Sometimes when a

Anxious About Not Being Anxious?

Sometimes when anxiety begins to fad, it leaves a space where it used to be. That can feel strange and weird, and it might make you focus in on it and start to be afraid that something is wrong with you. But that’s what neutral feels like. You just don’t remember it. It’s the natural opposite of anxiety. You might be a little freaked out by it now, but you’ll get used to it. Over time you’ll stop thinking about how you feel and this will be the default state. No problem!

So if you feel “empty” when you’re not anxious, and that makes you anxious. It’s OK. You’re OK. Nothing is broken. You’re getting better. 💜

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#panicdisorder #theanxioustruth #agoraphobia #panicattackhelp #panicattacksupport #anxietysucks #anxietyrecovery #anxietytips #anxietyhacks

This is never about finding ways to make less anxi

This is never about finding ways to make less anxiety. This is always about learning how to make it less important. Spoiler alert: When you get there, odds are there will be less anxiety. But only as the happy secondary effect. 💜

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#panicdisorder #theanxioustruth #agoraphobia #panicattackhelp #panicattacksupport #agoraphobiarecovery #nervoussystemregulation #nervoussystemhealth

Uhm … no. “Hidden secrets!” “Secret anxie

Uhm … no.

“Hidden secrets!”
“Secret anxiety hacks!”
“Guaranteed to banish anxiety!”

If you knew how often I get asked to “collab” with these folks. And I’m guessing I’m not the only one. 🚩🚩🚩

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#panicdisorder #theanxioustruth #agoraphobia #panicattackhelp #panicattacksupport #agoraphobiarecovery #anxietycure #redflags

I MUST AVOID TRIGGERS! A common strategy, but one

I MUST AVOID TRIGGERS!

A common strategy, but one that often backfires. When you declare anxiety and panic off-limits, you confirm to yourself that it is dangerous and that you must never allow to happen. So you avoid a few triggers. But you’re still getting anxious. So you avoid more. And more. What seemed like a good plan now puts you in a place where almost EVERYTHING is a trigger!

Why? Because when the anxiety itself is the problem, triggers don’t matter. You are the trigger and you can’t avoid you. Something to think about today.

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#panicdisorder #theanxioustruth #agoraphobia #panicattackhelp #panicattacksupport #agoraphobiarecovery #anxietytriggers #avoidance

CATASTROPHIC THINKING is one of the go-to shenani

CATASTROPHIC THINKING

is one of the go-to shenanigans for anxiety. Have a headache? Its brain cancer. Feeling a little sad today? Clearly you are doomed to a lifetime of treatment resistant depression. Anxiety will start every newscast with this blanket statement … “EVERYTHING IS AWFUL”.  When we know this, we get to make a choice. Should we continue to follow that story and be dragged around, or should we start calling out the distortion? Which one moves us forward?

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#panicdisorder #theanxioustruth #agoraphobia #panicattackhelp #panicattacksupport #catastrophicthoughts #negativethoughts #anxietysucks

ACTION CREATES BELIEF Not the other way around.

ACTION CREATES BELIEF

Not the other way around. When you’re struggling to believe that you are safe or that you can get better, take a step forward even when you don’t believe. The belief you seek is on the other side of that step. This is - unfortunately - where courage and a willingness to take a leap of faith enter the picture. If I could teach you how to be courageous I most certainly would, but I don’t know if there’s a way to do that. So the best I - and people ahead of you on the recovery path - can do is to tell you that we were OK when we took the leap and we know that you will be too.

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#panicdisorder #theanxioustruth #agoraphobia #panicattackhelp #panicattacksupport #facingfear #believe #belief #leapoffaith #beliveinyourself

BUT … MY THOUGHTS!!!! Why are we so quick to di

BUT … MY THOUGHTS!!!!

Why are we so quick to dismiss or even ridicule what other people think while automatically treating our own thoughts as beyond reproach? That makes no sense at all.

I’m not saying that thoughts are nothing. They can be scary and disturbing and they can rock you to your core sometimes. But start from the premise that even then … they can be trash. That would be step one.

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#panicdisorder #theanxioustruth #agoraphobia #panicattackhelp #panicattacksupport #agoraphobiarecovery #anxiousthoughts

Anxiety Q&A 🙂 Feel free to ask your question i

Anxiety Q&A 🙂

Feel free to ask your question in the comments below. This week I’ll answer what I can in short reels. It’s a great way for us to work together while I surf through a super busy week. So … let’s hear em. 🙂

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#panicdisorder #theanxioustruth #agoraphobia #panicattackhelp #panicattacksupport #agoraphobiarecovery #qanda #askmeaquestion

YOUR HEART… is amazing! You might fear it and t

YOUR HEART…

is amazing! You might fear it and think you have to treat it very carefully and gently to be safe. I used to be afraid of my heart. I used to think it was fragile. But I was wrong.

Hearts are powerful and smart and designed to give is what we need when we need it. When your doctor keeps telling you that your heart is fine, try letting your heart do it’s job. It doesn’t need you to protect it. It’s here to protect you and power you through life, whatever that might look like. 🙂❤️

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#panicdisorder #theanxioustruth #agoraphobia #panicattackhelp #panicattacksupport #agoraphobiarecovery #heartanxiety #cardiophobia

A FEW LAUGHS… Because remember yesterday when I

A FEW LAUGHS…

Because remember yesterday when I was torn between sleeping and making silly memes? Well … you do the math. 😉

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#panicdisorder #theanxioustruth #agoraphobia #panicattackhelp #panicattacksupport #agoraphobiarecovery #anxietymemes

AGORAPHOBIA SUCCESS STORIES They are real! This w

AGORAPHOBIA SUCCESS STORIES

They are real! This week on the podcast Katie shares her journey from crippled by panic, agoraphobic, monophobic, and stuck on the floor of her house to getting her life back and even traveling to Europe! If you need some hope and inspiration, follow the links in my bio to listen to this episode or watch on YouTube.

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#panicdisorder #theanxioustruth #agoraphobia #panicattackhelp #panicattacksupport #agoraphobiarecovery #overcominganxiety #anxietyrecovery

THE WISDOM OF ANXIETY? Maybe. When we are in the

THE WISDOM OF ANXIETY?

Maybe. When we are in the grips of disordered anxiety - internally focused anxiety that is itself the source of the threat response - anxiety has NO wisdom for us. None at all. It’s useless and not trying to tell us anything.

When in a non-disordered state where we are not afraid of how we feel and not anxious about being anxious, anxiety can be telling us something. That’s what anxiety is for. To keep us safe and help us make good decisions!

When I was struggling, I only cared about the symptoms of my anxiety. As a recovered person, I can see anxiety as a symptom of something else. See the difference? I don’t like anxiety, but I can use it as a roadmap now. One day you will too.

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#panicdisorder #theanxioustruth #agoraphobia #panicattackhelp #panicattacksupport #thewisdomofanxiety #anxiousthoughts #anxietytips

IFYKYK Man, it sure FELT like the right thing to

IFYKYK

Man, it sure FELT like the right thing to do when I used to run home, then “rest” for days on end. Turns out what it FELT like was steering me wrong in a big way for far too long.

If you can relate to this little scenario. I see you. Don’t get down on yourself. We all follow the fear sometimes, but we can learn new ways if we work at it. 💜

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#panicdisorder #theanxioustruth #agoraphobia #panicattackhelp #panicattacksupport #exposuretherapy #drivinganxiety

NOT LISTENING! Your anxious brain is not “getti

NOT LISTENING!

Your anxious brain is not “getting” your affirmations, positive thoughts, and mantras because it’s just not listening. It doesn’t know how. It doesn’t have a phone and can’t pick up when you try to call. So if you’re wondering why you just can’t get it no matter how often you “tell yourself that you are OK”, this is why.  You’re not failing. You’re just using the wrong language. Your lizard brain only speaks experience and action, not words. Lead with behavior. The rest follows behind. It’s a crappy deal, but its the deal we have so lets work with that.

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#panicdisorder #theanxioustruth #agoraphobia #panicattackhelp #panicattacksupport #affirmations #lizardbrain #fearcenter #amygdala

Even as an American it’s easy to see how importa

Even as an American it’s easy to see how important the Queen is to so many of our friends in the UK and across the Commonwealth. The death of a cultural and societal icon is going to trigger emotions. That’s OK. You’re allowed to be human.

Condolences to any of our friends feeling the loss of Queen Elizabeth II, and strength to those who are experiencing this event through a different lens and experiencing a different set of emotions.

BENZO WITHDRAWAL This week on the podcast we’re

BENZO WITHDRAWAL

This week on the podcast we’re talking about benzo withdrawal, anxiety, and medication injury with Jen Swantowki ( @jenniferswanphd ).

Use the podcast link in my bio to listen or watch and check Jen out. She’s really great and really helpful.

EDIT: I’m gonna turn off commenting on this one only because the episode is NOT a referendum on medication use. It addresses a specific experience that many people are having, which does not invalidate anyone’s different experience nor is it a judgment about anyone else’s medication experience.

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#panicdisorder #theanxioustruth #agoraphobia #panicattackhelp #panicattacksupport #agoraphobiarecovery #benzowithdrawal

WHY???? Has it become so popular to decide that a

WHY????

Has it become so popular to decide that an activated nervous system is automatically a disregulated nervous system? Post after post with “hacks” on how to regulate a thing that largely wasn’t designed to be manipulated. What if we addressed disordered anxiety as an activation error instead of treating ourselves as faulty and in need of repair?

I know. Crazy talk.

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#panicdisorder #theanxioustruth #agoraphobia #panicattackhelp #panicattacksupport #agoraphobiarecovery #nervoussystemregulation #anxietydisorders

EXISTENTIAL ANXIETY TRIGGERS Here are three commo

EXISTENTIAL ANXIETY TRIGGERS

Here are three common triggers for existential anxiety. Existential anxiety is not special or unfixable. Its just normal human thoughts that go off the rails. As you work to rebuild a normal relationship with anxiety and fear, these thoughts return to their normal places too.

So if you’re afraid of sky … its OK. You’re not alone and you’re not weird.

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#panicdisorder #theanxioustruth #agoraphobia #panicattackhelp #panicattacksupport #agoraphobiarecovery #existentialcrisis #existentialanxiety #anxiousthoughts

YOU DID NOT FAIL! Just because you were anxious o

YOU DID NOT FAIL!

Just because you were anxious or felt afraid during your exposure. The anxiety and fear are the whole point of the exposure!

I see this every day so I’m gonna keep banging this drum. The exposure isn’t to drive or walk or stay home alone. The exposure is the discomfort you feel when you do those things. We do exposures to practice being anxious and afraid more productively.

So … no. You did not fail. And yes this is what your insistence that you did fail sounds like to me. 😉💜

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#panicdisorder #theanxioustruth #agoraphobia #panicattackhelp #panicattacksupport #agoraphobiarecovery #exposuretherapy #erp #exposureandresponseprevention

PAYING ATTENTION… You are just one part of a sc

PAYING ATTENTION…

You are just one part of a scene happening all around you. Things happen inside you, and outside of you, at the same time. Is the inside stuff always automatically most important? Does it always matter more than anything else? Why?

You can move your attention around. Attention is a verb. An action. Not a scarce resource that must be totally consumed by your internal experiences. What else is happening in your scene? What about the outside stuff? That matters too. There is an entire universe outside of you.

Try paying attention to the stuff outside you even while the inside stuff is happening. You can be aware of more than one thing at a time. It’s safe to do that, even when you’re convinced that it isn’t. Maybe there’s a light show over your head now too. Are you missing it because you think that only things inside your head matter?

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#panicdisorder #theanxioustruth #agoraphobia #panicattackhelp #panicattacksupport #agoraphobiarecovery #payattention #bemindful

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