Claim OwnershipThe Anxious Truth - A Panic, Anxiety, and Mental Health Podcast
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© 2025 Drew Linsalata
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Struggling with panic attacks, agoraphobia, or other anxiety problems? The Anxious Truth will educate you, empower you, encourage you, and inspire you to get your life back!
* Featured in the New York Times: "6 Podcasts to Soothe An Anxious Mind" (April 27, 2024)
* Featured in Vogue Magazine: "The 15 Best Mental Health Podcasts Recommended by Therapists" (October 2023)
Listen to the podcast, read the books, join the social media community, and get on the path to recovery.
316 Episodes
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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 is...
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 ...
1Send 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 d...
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 a...
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...
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 acceptanceWhy mindfulness is essential for breaking automatic responsesHow psychological flexib...
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 anxietyThe difference between "doing mode" and "being mode"What mindfulness actually means in anxiety recoveryHow to ...
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 normalThe paradox of anxiety recoveryUnderstanding avoidance vs. strategic restH...
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 ho...
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 d...
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 ...
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...
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 capa...
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 healin...
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 str...
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 gradua...
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 ...
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 inv...
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 therap...
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? ...
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I love the crumple it up visual! Thanks, this was helpful.
I f.i.n.a.l.l.y get it!!!
Thanks for that last warning paragraph. Beyond poor mental health outcomes abruptly stopping benzos can cause physically life threatening complications.
this is a great way to get through an anxiety attack.
thank you I think this is my hardest subject.