Disordered: Anxiety Help7 Marras 2025

Anxious About Feeling ... Calm? (Episode 132)

Panicogenic Relaxation: Why You Feel Anxious When Feeling Calm

You're finally feeling better. The anxiety has lifted. You're relaxed and calm for the first time in months or even years. So why does that feel so weird? And why are you suddenly anxious about feeling calm?

In this episode, Drew and Josh explore "panicogenic relaxation". This is a common experience in anxiety disorder recovery where feeling normal, neutral, or relaxed can trigger concern or even high anxiety and panic. When you've been anxious for so long, that heightened state becomes your predictable default. The absence of anxiety can feel unfamiliar, strange, or even threatening.

In this episode, we discuss:

Why feeling calm or relaxed can feel uncomfortable or even scary during recovery
How your brain's scanning mechanisms continue even when you're no longer anxious
Why anxiety becomes a "predictable pillar" after long periods of struggle
The importance of practicing being relaxed, not just practicing being anxious
How the shock-attention-resistance cycle continues even when you're feeling better
Why all emotional states - including calm - need to be permissible
How to recognize when you're still checking and monitoring even during neutral states

We also share inspiring "Did It Anyway" stories from the community, including someone who kept pushing through fatigue to go to new places, and another who took their first step away from 13 years of self-medication.

---

Want a way to ask questions about this episode or interact with other Disordered listeners? The Disordered app is nearing release! ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Visit our home page and get on our mailing list for more information..

---

Struggling with worry and rumination that you feel you can't stop or control? Check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Worry and Rumination Explained⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, a two hour pre-recorded workshop produced by Josh and Drew. The workshop takes a deep dive into the mechanics of worrying and ruminating, offering some helpful ways to approach the seemingly unsolvable problem of trying to solve seemingly unsolvable problems.

Tämä jakso on lisätty Podme-palveluun avoimen RSS-syötteen kautta eikä se ole Podmen omaa tuotantoa. Siksi jakso saattaa sisältää mainontaa.

Jaksot(158)

Anxiety Recovery ... Chasing "Rest and Digest" (Episode 93)

"I MUST BE CALM OR ALL BETS ARE OFF!" If this feels like a rule you're living by, you may find that you're chasing calm all the time, looking for ways to force your way into the coveted parasympathet...

3 Tammi 202545min

Anxiety Disorders .. The "Default Thought" (Episode 92)

There is a default thought that stands as thread that weaves itself throughout the life of a person struggling with disordered or chronic anxiety. "How do I feel?" This week Josh and Drew are looki...

27 Joulu 202436min

I Get So Anxious When I'm Sick! (Episode 91)

"When I am ill, my anxiety goes through the roof!" Does this sound familiar? Many people struggling with disordered anxiety will say that if they get sick or feel unwell (i.e. a cold, a sore throat, ...

20 Joulu 202440min

Help! I'm In An Anxiety Spiral! (Episode 90)

"Spiraling" is one of the terms heard quite often in the community of people struggling with anxiety disorders. There's a trigger like a thought or a sensation, then in short order you feel complete...

13 Joulu 202439min

Anxiety Recovery: How Important Is Attention? (Episode 89)

How important is the concept of attention in driving an anxiety disorder and influencing the recovery process? VERY important! This week on Disordered we're up to our usual hijinks but also we're digg...

6 Joulu 202444min

Anxiety, ACT, and The Happiness Trap w/ Dr Russ Harris (Episode 88)

The struggle in an anxiety disorder is seen in two almost automatic responses to anxiety - we either obey it and do what it tells us we must do, or we resist it by trying to fight it, argue with it, a...

29 Marras 202447min

Measuring Anxiety Disorder Recovery (Episode 87)

How can you tell if you're getting better? How do you measure or at least see progress when working on recovery from an anxiety disorder? What happens if you're "doing it anyway" but not seeing progre...

22 Marras 202440min

Anxiety, Caffeine, Alcohol, and Cheeseburgers (Episode 86)

Do you have to give up coffee, tea, wine, pizza and cake to recover from an anxiety disorder? Well ... if you ask the Internet and consult general wellness influencers this question you're going to ge...

15 Marras 202446min