Is Anxiety the Same for Everyone?

#526: This week on the Anxiety Slayer Podcast we’re responding to the following question from our private Facebook Group: “Do you think there’s a general way to clear anxiety that’s applicable for everyone, or do you think everyone is different, and there're different ways that work for other people?”

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Today’s Anxiety Slayer podcast is sponsored by Betterhelp.

Are stress and anxiety interfering with your happiness? Have you been considering seeing a therapist but not sure where to start? Betterhelp will assess your counseling needs and match you with your own licensed professional therapist so you can start getting the support you need online in under 24 hours. Special offer for Anxiety Slayer listeners - get 10% off your first month at http://betterhelp.com/slayer  

Be Mighty with Jill A. Stoddard PhD

#525: Shann is speaking with Dr. Jill Stoddard about her new book, Be Mighty: A Woman's Guide to Liberation from Anxiety, Worry, and Stress Using Mindfulness and Acceptance.

Dr. Jill Stoddard’s Be Mighty leads you on a bold quest to gain a deeper understanding of your anxiety by exploring your own “origin story”—how your early experiences led to thoughts and behaviors that may have offered comfort and protection at one time, but are now keeping you from living your best life.

After reading this book you’ll learn to respond to present-day triggers in a new way, making choices from a more conscious, values-driven place.

Jill A. Stoddard, PhD, is founder and director of The Center for Stress and Anxiety Management, a multisite outpatient clinic in San Diego, CA. She specializes in acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) for anxiety and related issues. She lives in San Diego with her husband, two kids, and two French bulldogs.

About a year ago I had the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Stephen Hayes, Originator of Acceptance and Commitment Therapy. He pioneered ACT to help people with mental health issues feel fully, think freely, and live lives that reflect the qualities they choose.

Today Jill and I discuss how ACT can support women who often struggle with health anxiety and anxiety attacks.

We discuss the Anxiety Triumvirate  

1. Intolerance of uncertainty
2. A lack of perceived control
3. An overinflated sense of responsibility

Jill shares how we can cultivate Might through mindfulness and acceptance to help us move through our anxiety

We explore the cycle of anxious uncertainty: uncertainty + anxiety + get my fix + temporary relief + more questions and back to the beginning of the cycle with uncertainty.

And finally, we dig into the questions we can ask about ourselves (and our anxiety) to help us live with more confidence

Be Mighty Acronym

• Breathe
• Explore present experience
• Make space for feelings
• Impartially observe thoughts
• Give self-compassion
• Highlight values
• Take action
• Yell from the rooftops

You can get a copy of Jill's new book, Be Mighty wherever books are sold.

Celebrate every step you take to feel better

#524: This week on the Anxiety Slayer Podcast we’re talking about the importance of celebrating every step you take to feel better

Anxiety is such a big issue that we sometimes forget the power of the little things - little things like your breath, meditation, and other different ways to relax. Yet, small though they are, the difference these little things can make in managing stress and anxiety is huge.

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Today’s Anxiety Slayer podcast is sponsored by Betterhelp.

Are stress and anxiety interfering with your happiness? Have you been considering seeing a therapist but not sure where to start? Betterhelp will assess your counseling needs and match you with your own licensed professional therapist so you can start getting the support you need online, in under 24 hours. Special offer for Anxiety Slayer listeners - get 10% off your first month at http://betterhelp.com/slayer   

The perfect self-care blend

#523: This week we're talking about the two key elements to self-care that can help us when we're struggling with anxiety or with our health.

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Today’s Anxiety Slayer podcast is sponsored by Betterhelp.

Are stress and anxiety interfering with your happiness? Have you been considering seeing a therapist but not sure where to start? Betterhelp will assess your counseling needs and match you with your own licensed professional therapist so you can start getting the support you need online, in under 24 hours. Special offer for Anxiety Slayer listeners - get 10% off your first month at http://betterhelp.com/slayer   

The benefits of having an anxiety calming practice to begin the New Year

#522 This week we're talking about how having a regular anxiety calming practice can help you feel calm and present as we step into this New Year.

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Today’s Anxiety Slayer podcast is sponsored by Betterhelp.

Are stress and anxiety interfering with your happiness? Have you been considering seeing a therapist but not sure where to start? Betterhelp will assess your counseling needs and match you with your own licensed professional therapist so you can start getting the support you need online, in under 24 hours. Special offer for Anxiety Slayer listeners - get 10% off your first month at http://betterhelp.com/slayer   

Best of Anxiety Slayer: How to regain calm when anxiety hijacks your brain

Happy Holidays! We hope you are enjoying the season with your loved ones. Enjoy the most popular Anxiety Slayer episodes we produced in 2020!

Anxiety frequently hijacks our thinking with a fearful narrative. For example: “what if” thoughts or worst-case scenarios.

How Yoga can help you make peace with stress with Stephannie Weikert

#521: Welcome back to the Anxiety Slayer podcast. Today Shann is speaking with Stephannie Weikert. Stephanie is a Certified Yoga Therapist, mentor, teacher, and speaker. She teaches individuals and organizations to use challenges as catalysts for growth with the time-tested wisdom of yoga.

We begin our conversation with the story of Stephannie's decade-long battle with stress that manifested itself as overwhelm, anxiety, worry, and exhaustion.

How her experience informed the changes she made that led to her personal growth.

The yoga pose that helped Stephannie reduce the overwhelm when nothing else seemed to work.

We hope you come away from this conversation feeling inspired and will consider a simple yoga practice as a starting point to managing your own stress.

Get the intro of Stephannie's new book, Make Peace with Stress at

www.makepeacewithstress.com

Best of Anxiety Slayer: For freedom from anxiety, ban these words from your self-talk

Enjoy the most popular Anxiety Slayer episodes we produced in 2020! Language is the painter of our psychological experiences. If we think and talk about joy and hope, we will feel joy and hope. But if our thoughts and dialogue are rooted in anxiety and fear, that is how we feel. You can change this by banning certain words from your self-talk.

Best of Anxiety Slayer: Two anxiety relief practices to help you feel more calm and relaxed

Enjoy the most popular Anxiety Slayer episodes we produced in 2020! Listen in for two supportive anxiety relief practices that will help you feel more calm and relaxed.

Best of Anxiety Slayer: How changing your thoughts about anxiety can help you heal

Enjoy the most popular Anxiety Slayer episodes we produced in 2020!

Today we're talking about how our thoughts and feelings about anxiety affect the quality of our life. We'll be looking at the benefits of clearing resistance and resentment towards anxiety, and how that frees up our energy to start taking action steps toward feeling less anxious and more hopeful.