Send in a question or comment via text. I get asked about medication every single day. Can you get better without it? Is it necessary? What's the best one? Is it cheating to take medication? Today I'm explaining why I don't answer these questions - and why you should be cautious about content creators who do. In this episode, I cover: The three main reasons mental health content creators shouldn't give medication advice Why personal beliefs and autonomy matter more than you might think The count...
Jul 01, 2025•23 min
Send in a question or comment via text. How do real anxiety therapists apply mindfulness principles when working with real anxiety clients in real therapy sessions? Let's check out part two of my chat with therapists Lauren Rosen and Joanna Hardis. We all make heavy use of the principles of mindfulness in our practices, and in our daily lives. What you'll learn in this episode: Why "being present" isn't about feeling calm or peaceful The concept of being "aggressively present" when anxiety strik...
Jun 18, 2025•34 min
Send in a question or comment via text. What happens when three anxiety specialists get together to talk practically about how they use mindfulness in anxiety treatment? This week on The Anxious Truth, we find out. I'm joined by Lauren Rosen, who practices in Los Angeles specializing in OCD and anxiety disorders, and Joanna Hardis from Cleveland, also an expert in treating OCD, anxiety, and anxiety disorders. Together, we break down how mindfulness in anxiety treatment actually works in real the...
Jun 04, 2025•40 min
Send in a question or comment via text. If you've reached the point of declaring "I've tried everything and nothing works for my anxiety," this episode is specifically for you. Many anxiety sufferers fall into this trap and conclude they're uniquely broken or have a special form of anxiety that's resistant to recovery. As both a therapist and someone who personally recovered from panic disorder and agoraphobia, I'll explain why this frustrating experience happens. You'll discover why commonly-tr...
May 21, 2025•24 min
Send in a question or comment via text. Do you find yourself running from difficult emotions or trying desperately to control them? Many people with anxiety disorders develop a deep fear of their own emotions, believing they're too intense or unbearable to experience fully. In this episode of The Anxious Truth, Drew is joined by therapist Joanna Hardis to explore the concept of "emotional allowability" – learning to coexist with our emotions rather than fighting against them. They discuss why tr...
May 07, 2025•42 min
Send in a question or comment via text. Navigating driving anxiety with exposure therapy—but not how you might think. In this episode, Drew Linsalata (therapist, author, and former anxiety sufferer) challenges common misconceptions about addressing driving anxiety. Learn why the feeling is the exposure, not the driving itself, and discover how interoceptive and imaginal exposures can help without ever starting your car. Drew explains why pulling over or listening to music isn't avoidance if you'...
Apr 09, 2025•31 min
Send in a question or comment via text. When struggling with chronic anxiety or anxiety disorders, our instinct is often to search for ways to control, manage, or eliminate our symptoms. But what if that approach is actually keeping us stuck? This week we're looking at the fundamental difference between acceptance-based strategies and control/management-based approaches to anxiety recovery. Drawing from both research evidence and real-world experiences of anxiety sufferers, we'll explain why acc...
Mar 26, 2025•30 min
Send in a question or comment via text. In this no-frills episode of The Anxious Truth, I'm tackling common questions about anxiety sent in by you, the listeners. No fancy production today - just real talk about real anxiety concerns. We're diving into: 00:00 - Introduction 00:58 - Emetophobia (fear of vomiting) - what it is and how it's typically addressed 06:12 - Nocturnal panic attacks - why they're jarring and how to handle them 11:24 - Is focusing on breathing a distraction or helpful techn...
Mar 12, 2025•37 min
Send in a question or comment via text. This week we're looking at why the anxious fear that bothers you most is NOT special - and why that's actually good news for your recovery. After receiving countless messages asking me to address specific fears (passing out, heart attacks, going insane), I've noticed a pattern: everyone thinks their particular anxiety is unique, more dangerous, or requires special treatment. Here's the reality: while your fear feels incredibly real and disturbing, all anxi...
Feb 26, 2025•24 min
Send in a question or comment via text. When anxiety hits, how do you know what to do? This week on The Anxious Truth we're exploring how your personal values can guide your choices in anxious moments. Tune in to learn practical ways to identify and connect with your values. This can inform more productive responses when anxiety gets triggered. For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/311 Support The Anxious Truth: If you find the podcast helpful and want to support my wo...
Feb 12, 2025•21 min
Send in a question or comment via text. How to Accept Anxiety: Opening Up to New Options In this episode, we explore the second component of the ACT Triflex framework for anxiety acceptance: opening up to new possibilities. Learn why considering options when triggered—even without knowing what to do next—is a crucial step in recovery. Key Points: Understanding the ACT Triflex framework for anxiety acceptance Why mindfulness is essential for breaking automatic responses How psychological flexibil...
Jan 29, 2025•15 min
Send in a question or comment via text. HOW DO I ACCEPT ANXIETY?!?!?!?! Let's start a three-part series on accepting anxiety using the ACT Tri-flex framework. As both a therapist and former anxiety sufferer, I'm going to break down the crucial first practical step of getting present and what it really means in a practical way. KEY POINTS: Why there are no "steps" to accepting anxiety The difference between "doing mode" and "being mode" What mindfulness actually means in anxiety recovery How to d...
Jan 15, 2025•28 min
Send in a question or comment via text. In this episode of The Anxious Truth, we tackle a question that comes up constantly in anxiety recovery: Should you take time off from work or school because of anxiety? We explore why this seemingly simple question has a complex answer, and why what feels intuitively right might not always serve your recovery. Key Topics Covered: Why the urge to take time off is completely normal The paradox of anxiety recovery Understanding avoidance vs. strategic rest H...
Jan 01, 2025•21 min
Send in a question or comment via text. Are you tired of trying countless techniques to "rewire" your anxious brain, only to find yourself still stuck in the same patterns? In this eye-opening episode, we're diving deep into the science of neuroplasticity and anxiety recovery to reveal why popular brain rewiring methods might actually be reinforcing your anxiety. You'll learn why your brain doesn't have a delete button (and why that's actually good news), what real recovery looks like, and how t...
Dec 18, 2024•24 min
Send in a question or comment via text. Want to know more about Rational Emotive Behavior Therapy (REBT) and how it might be applied in your situation? Join us this week for insights from the world-renowned therapist Dr. Debbie Joffe-Ellis as she guides us through the origins, core concepts, and application of REBT. Discover how this pioneering cognitive behavioral approach can help you reshape your perceptions and beliefs, offering a path to recovery from anxiety disorders like panic disorder, ...
Dec 04, 2024•45 min
Send in a question or comment via text. Unlock the secret to mastering your mental well-being by embracing the art of doing nothing. Join us as we explore this transformative concept with the insightful Joanna Hardis, an OCD and anxiety specialist from Cleveland. We delve into concepts rooted in Taoism and Buddhism that challenge the relentless drive for constant activity in Western cultures. Learn how surrendering to anxiety and panic attacks, without the urge to fix or solve, can lead to a mor...
Nov 20, 2024•53 min
Send in a question or comment via text. Why is learning to trust your body again so difficult in the face of chronic or disordered anxiety? What if chronic anxiety could make you feel as disconnected from your body as a chronic illness might? Discover the surprising parallels between the two as we unravel the complex relationship anxiety sufferers have with their physical selves. This week on The Anxious Truth we're talking about how anxious people learn to fear their bodies, and lose trust in t...
Nov 06, 2024•26 min
Send in a question or comment via text. Resisting the reality of anxiety - the fact that it does exist in your life even when you are trying really hard to escape it or make it stop - means clinging to "feel good" expectations that are rarely met. This mismatch between expectations, demands, and reality can make overcoming chronic or disordered anxiety even harder than it already is. Let's take a look at how expectations and demands can get in the way of learning valuable acceptance and capabili...
Oct 23, 2024•20 min
Send in a question or comment via text. Journaling can be a useful tool in anxiety recovery, but how do you ensure it works for you and not against you? This episode challenges traditional journaling methods, especially when grappling with chronic or disordered anxiety, by offering a fresh perspective on how to modify these practices to align with your recovery goals. Beware of falling into the trap of rumination and learn how to use journaling as a constructive tool that supports your healing j...
Oct 09, 2024•31 min
Send in a question or comment via text. Can you transform your relationship with anxiety by letting go and dropping your resistance? Well, the most effective acceptance-based treatments for chronic and disordered anxiety are based on this exact principle. The concepts are simple and the theory is sound, yet most anxious people struggle with fully letting to and engaging in mindful acceptance of anxiety, fear, panic, uncertainty, and other difficult internal experiences. Of course they struggle! ...
Sep 25, 2024•29 min
Send in a question or comment via text. Can skipping a daily calming ritual or delaying bedtime slightly really aid in anxiety recovery? Discover how these seemingly insignificant acts can accumulate into substantial progress on your journey to overcoming anxiety. This week on The Anxious Truth, we’re breaking down the concept of micro exposures—those small, yet powerful steps designed to help you face and manage your anxiety. By starting with these tiny, manageable experiments, you'll gradually...
Sep 11, 2024•20 min
Send in a question or comment via text. Are you struggling to identify whether your behaviors are forms of avoidance in your anxiety recovery journey? This episode of The Anxious Truth addresses the often murky and uncertain nature of avoidance habits, emphasizing that nobody navigates these waters flawlessly. We'll share insights on how distinguishing between necessary avoidance for safety and avoidance driven by anxiety can help you better understand your reactions and improve your recovery pr...
Aug 28, 2024•21 min
Send in a question or comment via text. Is it possible to conquer an anxiety disorder without doing exposure? Well ... there are plenty of non-exposure concepts and techniques that can really help. No doubt about that. But in the end, thinking and feeling is rarely if ever all we need to change beliefs in a way that really makes a difference. Behavior and experience are almost always a part of this puzzle in some way, which means that like it or not, there's gonna be some exposure involved in re...
Aug 14, 2024•20 min
Send in a question or comment via text. The Internet is packed with anxiety and mental health advice, but not all of it is useful or helpful. Some of it can be harmful. This week I'm joined by Emma McAdam, the therapist behind the Therapy in a Nutshell YouTube channel, to dissect the often misleading and sometimes dangerous information circulating online about conditions like anxiety, depression, ADHD, and bipolar disorder. Emma shares her professional expertise as a practicing therapist, helpin...
Jul 31, 2024•38 min
Send in a question or comment via text. Healing from chronic or disordered anxiety. How do we do it? Do we do it at all? This week on The Anxious Truth we’re talking about healing from anxiety because this is a topic so many people want to hear more about! For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/296 If you are going to scroll through any of mental health social media today, you WILL see content that includes the word “heal”. Is that bad? Well, not necessarily. I’m not he...
Jul 17, 2024•22 min
Send in a question or comment via text. What if you could transform your relationship with anxiety simply by changing your approach? This week on the Anxious Truth, we tackle the misunderstood phrase "sitting with anxiety" and reveal how it doesn't mean you have to be physically still. We'll break down the true essence of this concept, emphasizing the importance of allowing yourself to experience anxiety without trying to escape or fix it. Whether you're at work, running errands, or simply relax...
Jul 03, 2024•23 min
Send in a question or comment via text. HELP! My panic attacks come totally out of the blue! I don't know how to handle that! For an anxious person struggling with the process of anxiety disorder recovery, it can sometimes seem like panic attacks strike completely randomly and "out of the blue", where no clear source of anxiety can be identified as triggering the attack. This can be frustrating, especially if you've been working overtime to manage your anxiety and prevent panic from happening. B...
Jun 19, 2024•26 min
Send in a question or comment via text. Thinking and feeling are important to humans. Thinking and feeling about thinking and feeling is important to anxious humans! In the world of recovery from disordered or chronic anxiety, what we thinking and feeling about thinking and feeling - our metacognitive beliefs - play an important role in the process but are often overlooked. This week on The Anxious Truth I'm pretty exhausted so we're going to take a look at that to highlight some important recov...
Jun 05, 2024•25 min
Send in a question or comment via text. You’re in the middle of a huge wave of intense anxiety and fear, or maybe you’re experiencing a full blown panic attack. Someone with all the best intentions and trying to be helpful instructs you to identify five things you can see, four things you can touch, three things you can hear, two things you can smell, and one thing you can taste. This is the 5-4-3-2-1 grounding exercise. If you’ve followed along with me for any length of time you know that I don...
May 22, 2024•15 min
Send in a question or comment via text. Among people that struggle with chronic or disordered forms of anxiety, there are a wide range of individual primary fears or concerns. When you ask a large enough number of our friends what they are afraid of, you’re going to get a pretty wide range of answers primarily because everyone experiences fear, worry, concern, and anxiety in a slightly different way. But hidden within this apparently wide range of specific and individual fears are some common th...
May 08, 2024•15 min
