Disordered: Anxiety Help

Emetophobia - an intense fear of vomiting and any thoughts or sensations associated with vomiting - is a more common struggle among anxious people than anyone might initial think. But Emetophobia can make its way into virtually every aspect of life, often resulting in a highly restricted lifestyle and a dramatic decrease in the ability to function.

This week Dara Lovitz and Dr. David Yusko join Drew and Josh to talk about emetophobia. Dara suffered for over 30 years before finally overcoming emetophobia through exposure based treatment with Dr. Yusko. Now they're sharing this experience with others in need of help, which is pretty awesome.

If your anxiety is driven by an intense fear of vomiting, this episode is absolutely worth a listen.

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One of the perfect storms in the anxiety disorder world is the combination of existential related anxiety with the sensations/experiences of depersonalization and derealization. Unfortunately for many, this is a common combination and it can be so difficult to understand and address that it seemed an episode dedicated to this issue was in order.

As you might expect, the overall message in this episode is that while this is a very scary combination that be difficult to accept without fighting or resisting, in the end having existentially based thoughts/fears alongside this common anxiety symptom (DP/DR) is safe. It really is OK - though difficult - to take an acceptance based approach in this situation too.

The discussion touches on how anxiety can turn curiosity and wonder into dread, how an anxious mind will try very hard to answer un-answerable questions, and how DP/DR might seem to confirm the important/dangerous nature of existential thoughts and fears (but it really doesn't confirm anything except the fact that you are afraid and anxious).

As usual, the guys share some of their own experience, add clinical experience and expertise, and sprinkle a dash of humor and a helping of kindness and understanding into the discussion.

If you feel like DP/DR alongside existential anxiety is a deal breaker or show-stopper for you .... tune in. This one might be helpful.

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Do you feel like you've "mostly" overcome your chronic or disordered anxiety issues but there are still challenges that linger? Maybe you've felt fully recovered once before, or even several times before, but you keep finding yourself back in the thick of it or unable to overcome a few specific challenges.

If this is you, then tune in as Josh and Drew talk about the concept of "incomplete" anxiety disorder recovery.

• We're looking at the red zone concept - that set of triggers or circumstances that you may still deem unapproachable or too triggering to fully face.
• We'll look at the very definition of what recovery means and why sometimes that word itself can be problematic.
• There's some discussion of how earlier recovery can sometimes accidentally hinge on learning to do things without being triggered rather than working through triggered states.

And as usual, there's a healthy dose of understanding and a few laughs along the way!

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When working to overcome an anxiety disorder, the biggest challenge many in our community can identify is flying. For chronically anxious people, the idea of getting on a plane, being trapped for hours, and being terrified or out of control for that long seems like something they will never be able to.

Even for people that are well on the way to recovery, flying can still feel like the "ultimate test" of recovery. The fear that they will crumble and be in a totally uncontrollable, inconsolable state while in the air can be powerful. It leads some to avoid travel completely.

This week Drew and Josh had a chat with Dr. David Carbonell about the intersection of anxiety disorders and flying. Dave is well known in the anxiety disorder community and brings us not only a wealth of knowledge and experience in this area, but also a healthy dose of understanding and much needed humor.

We're covering all the usual issues:

• anticipatory anxiety
• struggling to decide if you should get on the plane or not
• the worry over losing control or being in a full panic for hours while at 35,000 feet
• storming the cockpit
• trying to get out of the aircraft while its in the air
• causing a scene and/or needing to be restrained in some way
• experiencing a psychotic break
• panic that leads to a medical emergency

If you're struggling with disordered anxiety and terrified at the thought of flying not because you fear a crash but because you fear your own thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations, tune in. This episode is for you.

For more on Dr. David Carbonell visit his website:

How can I learn to self-soothe when I get anxious and I'm terrified of my body or my thoughts?

Well ... while it might seem like launching into a soothing technique designed to control the fight or flight response is a good idea, this week Josh and Drew are talking about why the concept of self-soothing doesn't automatically make sense in the context of anxiety disorders.

Self-soothing, supporting yourself while you naturally work through difficult moments and experiences, is awesome. There are a few excellent examples in this episode of what that might look like (including a reference to Josh in a cozy onesie), but when we feel like we must immediately escape from feelings inside us because we are in what feels like an urgent situation, self-soothing can be counterproductive.

If you're struggling with the idea that you should be learning how to forcibly soothe your anxiety and frustrated because you can't find ways to reliably or consistently do this on demand, this episode is worth a listen ... even if it took us almost 30 minutes to mention crying, which is one of the greatest organic natural soothing responses of all time.

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