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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're still experiencing anxiety, clarifies what true avoidance looks like, and emphasizes that recovery is about learning from each experience, not just driving farther.

Whether you experience anxiety holding your keys, sitting in your driveway, or on the highway, this episode offers a practical, acceptance-based approach to driving anxiety that breaks down exactly what exposure therapy means in this context.

You'll learn why small steps count, what constitutes real progress, and how to shift your focus from controlling anxiety to building a different relationship with uncomfortable feelings while driving.

Based on empirically supported approaches to treating anxiety and anxiety disorders, this episode provides realistic strategies for living alongside anxiety rather than attempting to eliminate it.

For full show notes on this episode:

https://theanxioustruth.com/315

Support The Anxious Truth: If you find the podcast helpful and want to support my work, you can buy me a coffee. Other ways to support my work like buying a book or signing up for a low cost workshop can be found on my website. None of this is never required, but always appreciated!

Interested in doing therapy with me? For more information on working with me directly to overcome your anxiety, follow this link.

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.

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 acceptance consistently produces better long-term outcomes than trying to control our internal experiences.

You'll learn:

• The critical distinction between externally-generated stress and internally-generated anxiety
• Why popular "anxiety hacks" and nervous system regulation techniques often backfire for disordered anxiety
• What acceptance actually means (and what it doesn't)
• The paradox of how accepting anxiety can ultimately lead to feeling less anxious
• Why it's difficult to combine acceptance and control strategies

Whether you're tired of collecting coping techniques that only provide temporary relief or you're curious about a different approach to anxiety recovery, this episode offers practical insights into a more sustainable path forward—one that doesn't depend on trying to manually control your thoughts, feelings, or bodily sensations.

Remember: there are no wrong experiences in anxiety recovery, only wins or learning opportunities. Whatever small step you take today toward facing rather than retreating from your fears counts.

For full show notes on this episode:

https://theanxioustruth.com/314

Support The Anxious Truth: If you find the podcast helpful and want to support my work, you can buy me a coffee. Other ways to support my work like buying a book or signing up for a low cost workshop can be found on my website. None of this is never required, but always appreciated!

Interested in doing therapy with me? For more information on working with me directly to overcome your anxiety, follow this link.

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.

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 technique?

14:45 - The meta-problem of ruminating about rumination

18:20 - External sources of anxiety in our tumultuous world

22:06 - The fear of becoming suicidal against your will - a surprisingly common anxiety concern

27:40 - Why focusing on specific anxious thoughts misses the bigger picture

As someone who lived through panic disorder, agoraphobia, OCD, and depression, I'm sharing both professional and personal perspectives on these challenging issues. Remember - recovery isn't about eliminating specific fears but changing your relationship with your internal experiences altogether.

There are no magic solutions or quick fixes here, just practical guidance for the long-term journey of anxiety recovery. All sensations, thoughts, and emotions are permissible - even when they're uncomfortable.

For full show notes on this episode:

https://theanxioustruth.com/313

Support The Anxious Truth: If you find the podcast helpful and want to support my work, you can buy me a coffee. Other ways to support my work like buying a book or signing up for a low cost workshop can be found on my website. None of this is never required, but always appreciated!

Interested in doing therapy with me? For more information on working with me directly to overcome your anxiety, follow this link.

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.

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 anxiety disorders follow similar patterns. Your anxiety isn't special because:

• Everyone with anxiety believes their fear is "the worst one"
• All anxiety disorders use the same mechanisms to keep you stuck
• The same recovery principles apply regardless of your specific fear

What makes anxiety "irrational" isn't that these fears are impossible - many feared events do happen in real life. It's how the fear is applied: persistently, disproportionately, and in ways that disrupt your daily functioning.

Recognizing that your anxiety isn't special is empowering. It means you can learn from others who've recovered and apply proven principles instead of searching for specialized techniques for your "unique" situation.

You don't have to fully believe this yet - just consider the possibility. That small opening is your first step toward recovery.

For full show notes on this episode:

https://theanxioustruth.com/312

Support The Anxious Truth: If you find the podcast helpful and want to support my work, you can buy me a coffee. Other ways to support my work like buying a book or signing up for a low cost workshop can be found on my website. None of this is never required, but always appreciated!

Interested in doing therapy with me? For more information on working with me directly to overcome your anxiety, follow this link.

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.

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 work, you can buy me a coffee. Other ways to support my work like buying a book or signing up for a low cost workshop can be found on my website. None of this is never required, but always appreciated!

Interested in doing therapy with me? For more information on working with me directly to overcome your anxiety, follow this link.

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.

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 flexibility develops through small moments of choice
• The paradox of opening up to new options
• Why confusion can actually be a sign of progress

Download A Free Guided Mindful Acceptance Exercise

https://learn.theanxioustruth.com/practical-mindfulness-in-anxiety-recovery

Full Show Notes On This Episode

https://theanxioustruth.com/310

Support The Anxious Truth: If you find the podcast helpful and want to support my work, you can buy me a coffee. Other ways to support my work like buying a book or signing up for a low cost workshop can be found on my website. None of this is never required, but always appreciated!

Interested in doing therapy with me? For more information on working with me directly to overcome your anxiety, follow this link.

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.

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 develop nonjudgmental awareness
• Why automatic reactions aren't truly automatic

QUOTES FROM THE EPISODE:

• "Accepting anxiety is about dropping out of doing and into being."
• "We are essentially judging, evaluating, and resisting machines all day long."
• "There is no difference between automatically reaching for an ice pack when anxious and automatically liking or disliking the weather."

RESOURCES MENTIONED:

• ACT (Acceptance and Commitment Therapy)
• Dr. Russ Harris's ACT Tri-flex
• The Happiness Trap by Russ Harris
• Drew's interview with Dr. Steven Hayes on The Disordered Podcast
• Drew's interview with Dr. Russ Harris on The Disordered Podcast

UPCOMING COURSE: Join Drew's 6-week Practical Mindfulness Skills group starting soon. Limited to 10 participants. Learn more at learn.theanxioustruth.com

For full show notes on this episode:
https://theanxioustruth.com/309

Support The Anxious Truth: If you find the podcast helpful and want to support my work, you can buy me a coffee. Other ways to support my work like buying a book or signing up for a low cost workshop can be found on my website. None of this is never required, but always appreciated!

Interested in doing therapy with me? For more information on working with me directly to overcome your anxiety, follow this link.

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.

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
• How to make decisions that serve your recovery
• Practical alternatives to taking time off
• Using time off effectively if you choose to take it

For full show notes on this episode:
https://theanxioustruth.com/308

Support The Anxious Truth: If you find the podcast helpful and want to support my work, you can buy me a coffee. Other ways to support my work like buying a book or signing up for a low cost workshop can be found on my website. None of this is never required, but always appreciated!

Interested in doing therapy with me? For more information on working with me directly to overcome your anxiety, follow this link.

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.