The Anxious Truth - A Panic, Anxiety, and Mental Health Podcast

HOW TO CALM DOWN FROM A PANIC ATTACK?

This is one of the million dollar question in our community, so let's take a look at how to calm down from a panic attack.

I know you likely want tips and tricks for how to stop a panic attack and calm down, but could the act of embracing, rather than fighting off a panic attack, be the hidden doorway to "calm"? Let's look at true acceptance, and unpack the idea that true calmness emerges not from a frantic search for escape but through allowing and riding out the panic storm.

This isn't about finding a quick fix. It's about redefining your relationship with anxiety and recognizing the strength in vulnerability. Remember, every moment of openness to the experience is a step toward lasting improvement and recovery.

Episode Links:

My Recovery Guidebook
https://theanxioustruth.com/recoveryguide

Panic Attacks Explained:
https://learn.theanxioustruth.com/panic-attacks-explained

Agoraphobia Explained:
https://learn.theanxioustruth.com/agoraphobia-explained

My website:
https://theanxioustruth.com

Full show notes for this episode:
https://theanxioustruth.com/282

Disclaimer: The Anxious Truth is not therapy or a replacement for therapy. Listening to The Anxious Truth does not create a therapeutic relationship between you and the host or guests 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 DOES A PANIC ATTACK FEEL LIKE?

Let's unpack the harrowing reality of a panic attack, peeling back the layers to expose the heart-thumping, breath-stealing beast it can be. My journey as a therapist in training, fused with raw personal encounters, brings a unique perspective to the forefront. We dissect those suffocating episodes, where your own body feels like an unwieldy adversary, and thoughts of impending doom loom over you like a dark cloud. In this episode we can work together to comprehend the true gravity of those moments and the relentless quest for an escape hatch.

Links from this episode:

• The Anxious Truth, my panic/agoraphobia recovery guide
• My Panic Attacks Explained Workshop
• My Agoraphobia Explained Workshop
• Episode 239 of The Anxious Truth - Anxiety Symptoms
• Episode 168 of The Anxious Truth - The Panic Attack Hangover
• Episode 152 of The Anxious Truth - Agoraphobia
• Disordered - "Does Anyone Else? (The Symptoms of Anxiety)"
• My Website
• My Workshops and Courses
• Follow me on Instagram
• My YouTube Channel
• Follow me on TikTok

For full show notes on this episode:
https://theanxioustruth.com/281

Disclaimer: The Anxious Truth is not therapy or a replacement for therapy. Listening to The Anxious Truth does not create a therapeutic relationship between you and the host or guests 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.

Ever wondered how to recognize a panic attack? Want to understand the physical and mental symptoms that hint towards an oncoming episode? Not sure if what you're experiencing are panic attacks or something else? This episode of The Anxious Truth is for you. Tune in as we delve into panic and panic attacks, demystifying the sensations, the thoughts, the fear, and the need to escape that often accompany these episodes.

This is the first in my "Foundations of Panic" series so come back in the next 4-5 episodes for a deep dive into the mechanics of panic and panic attacks, how to best approach them, why they happen, why they're not dangerous, and what turns panic attacks into chronic conditions like panic disorder or agoraphobia.

Find the symptoms video I mentioned in this episode:
https://youtu.be/a5xQ2Q5rZp0?si=R1bS1SNshXFPloqL

My Panic Attacks Explained Workshop:
https://theanxioustruth.com/panic

My Books on Anxiety and Recovery:
https://theanxioustruth.com/books

For full show notes on this episode:
https://theanxioustruth.com/280

Disclaimer: The Anxious Truth is not therapy or a replacement for therapy. Listening to The Anxious Truth does not create a therapeutic relationship between you and the host or guests 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.

Struggling to find the right anxiety therapist?

Are you curious about how a therapist becomes a therapist?

Let's take a look through the maze of credentials - from Licensed Mental Health Counselor (LMHC) to Licensed Professional Counselor (LPC), Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist (LMFT), and Licensed Clinical Social Worker (LCSW). Let's shed some light on the demanding journey of training and education, from undergraduate studies to intensive graduate training and clinical experience.

Understanding how a therapist becomes a therapist, and what that means to you, can go a long way toward untangling confusion that comes with finding qualified mental health assistance.

Wondering about the difference between a master's level therapist and a doctoral level psychologist? I've got you covered! I'll also cover the role of psychiatrists and psychiatric nurse practitioners in the mental health field and explain how to determine which therapist is right when struggling with anxiety disorders.

Join me on a stroll through the world of mental health professionals. You might pick up a few things that you can use in your recovery journey. xx

For full show notes on this episode:
https://theanxioustruth.com/278

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For all the resources I offer related to anxiety, anxiety disorders, and recovery visit my website:

https://theanxioustruth.com

Disclaimer: The Anxious Truth is not therapy or a replacement for therapy. Listening to The Anxious Truth does not create a therapeutic relationship between you and the host or guests 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.

Do you need to find a therapist that knows and follows the "Claire Weekes method"?

This week we unpack the impact of Dr. Claire Weekes, shedding light on her influential role in the therapy world, specifically in the realm of anxiety disorders. Dr. Weekes' groundbreaking principles of acceptance have proven to be timeless, remaining relevant in therapy practices today. We go beyond the surface, debunking myths about her work and examining the current relevance of her methods in therapy. It's a bonus if your therapist is familiar, but its definitely not a deal breaker if they aren't.

Dr. Weekes' methods, although foundational, are not the be-all and end-all. We discuss how therapies like ACT or mindfulness-based CBT or metacognitive therapy have broadened and deepened the roots she established. Even if your therapist isn't familiar with Dr. Weekes, there's no cause for alarm - I promise it's not absolutely necessary.

For full show notes on this episode:
https://theanxioustruth.com/278

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For all the resources I offer related to anxiety, anxiety disorders, and recovery visit my website:

https://theanxioustruth.com

Anxiety recovery can be a highly individual journey. This is especially true if you have ADHD, Autism Spectrum Disorder, or otherwise identify as neurodivergent. While there are certainly general principles we rely on, every person will find recovery to present specific and unique challenges that have to be addressed as part of the process. For neurodivergent members of our community, this is also true.

This week Dr. Terri Bacow took some time to chat with me about the intersection of anxiety, recovery, and neurodivergence. Terri is experienced, well trained and qualified in these areas, and does a great job of presenting an accessible, kind, compassionate view of how recovery strategies can be adapted and tailored for neurodivergent folks working on overcoming chronic/disordered anxiety.

Find Dr. Terri Bacow:

https://instagram.com/drterribacow

https://drterribacow.com

For full show notes on this episode:

⁠⁠⁠https://theanxioustruth.com/277

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My books, social, and other links:⁠⁠⁠⁠https://theanxioustruth.com/links⁠⁠⁠⁠

Support The Anxious Truth:⁠⁠⁠⁠https://theanxioustruth.com/support⁠⁠⁠

Anxiety and the recovery process do not exist in a vacuum. You are an entire person, and all the parts of you come into this process. Holistic is not a word you hear me use often, but it is a word we need to acknowledge because when dealing with chronic/disordered anxiety and the recovery process, your background, experiences, beliefs, and views of yourself and the world will enter the picture in various ways.

* They will influence how you conceptualize your anxiety.

* They will influence how you embrace and approach the recovery process.

* They will influence the parts of recovery you "get" and the parts you may need to adjust here and there.

* They will cause you to confront emotions, situations, and challenges that aren't always about anxiety, but may be indicative of other parts of you and other parts of your life.

Forgetting this - forgetting that anxiety and recovery do not exist in a vacuum - can lead you into a trap where you're judging yourself negatively, giving up, or seeing your situation as hopeless when you don't have to see it that way.

As always, comments and questions are welcomed. I hope you find this episode helpful in some way.

For full show notes on this episode:

⁠⁠https://theanxioustruth.com/276

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My books, social, and other links:⁠⁠⁠https://theanxioustruth.com/links⁠⁠⁠

Support The Anxious Truth:⁠⁠⁠https://theanxioustruth.com/support⁠⁠⁠

The anxiety cycle starts as a seemingly never ending loop where you get triggered, you fight through it, you calm down, then you worry and fret over the next time you might get triggered. It can become an exhausting merry-go-ground if you're new to this process and convinced that high anxiety and panic are horrible disasters that must be avoided or "managed" at all costs.

But over time, you will likely begin to notice that your logical brain will question that assertion, and you will start to see that you are not just being triggered into an anxious state, but that you are being TRICKED by that anxious state. When you begin to see the trickery involved in internally focused disordered anxiety, things can begin to change.

When you can nail a "tricked" point to the circle, that can become the point at which you start to peel off the circle on a tangent toward recovery. Noticing and understanding that anxiety is tricking you into behaving as if you are in danger creates a fork in an otherwise endless circular road. It gives you a point at which you can choose a new path and ultimately break the cycle that has trapped you up to this point.

For full show notes on this episode:

⁠⁠https://theanxioustruth.com/275

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My books, social, and other links:⁠⁠⁠https://theanxioustruth.com/links⁠⁠⁠

Support The Anxious Truth:⁠⁠⁠https://theanxioustruth.com/support⁠⁠⁠

No new podcast episode this week, but we will be back next week with a new episode on September 27, 2023. Going forward, new episodes of The Anxious Truth will be produced every other week. I'm making this change based on time constraints and the fact that we are producing episodes of "Disordered" every week, and that's a really good podcast!

Listen to Disordered here:

https://disordered.fm

On the weeks with no new episode of The Anxious Truth, you can catch my "Recovery Monday" livestreams on YouTube (either live or via replay any time):

https://youtube.com/@TheAnxiousTruth

See you next week, and thank you for all your support!

Self-care in anxiety recovery. We hear about it all the time, but is self-care always essential oils and hot baths and candles and soothing? It certainly can by, but self-care is also giving yourself what you really need, which isn't always what you want. Sometimes self-care means challenging yourself a bit to help break the avoidance cycle. Sometimes self-care means you choose to be uncomfortable now to feel better about yourself later.

Let's take a closer look at self-care in a way that might not all that obvious.

For full show notes on this episode:

⁠⁠https://theanxioustruth.com/274

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My books, social, and other links:⁠⁠⁠https://theanxioustruth.com/links⁠⁠⁠

Support The Anxious Truth:⁠⁠⁠https://theanxioustruth.com/support⁠⁠⁠