Podcast

Ep. 66: Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is REAL and TREATABLE!

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is REAL and TREATABLE!

Seasonal Affective Disorder SAD Depression Emotions Cognitive Behavioral Therapy CBT Mindfulness Obsessive Compulsive Disorder OCD Anxiety Your Anxiety Toolkit Kimberley QuinlanThis podcast episode of Your Anxiety Toolkit is all about the Seasons.   I have received a lot of requests to talk about changing seasons as we move from Summer to Autumn (here in the Northern Hemisphere).  It isn’t just here.  I am sure it is all around the world right now, as the seasons change from Winter to Spring for the Southern Hemisphere (Love you Australia!).

There is no doubt that the seasons impact out mental health.  In this week’s podcast, I look at a few important things to consider when managing anxiety, depression, OCD and other mental health issues.

First let’s look at how the change in temperature impacts us on a Medical level.

Seasonal Affective Disorder, also known as SAD, is understood to be a seasonal depression, affecting 5% of the population of US residents.  Yes!  It’s that high.  If you are someone who is highly impacted by the temperature changes, you are definitely not alone.  Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) can be treated with light therapy, outdoor activity and medication.  Seasonal Affective Disorder isn’t just due to changes in seasons.  It often occurs when daylight saving times changes and we “fall back,” meaning we have less light during the day.  When days get shorter, we have less time to get outdoors and move our bodies and soak up that glorious sunlight, which is linked to Seasonal Affective Disorder symptoms.

We also know that colder weather can affect our circadian rhythms, causing us to have more depressive symptoms.  When we are tired, we have less energy, causing us to feel down or sad or, in some cases, depressed.

We also know that the season changes impact us on a Psychological level.   We can also see changes in our thoughts.

Negative thoughts can create depressive symptoms such as hopelessness, helplessness and worthlessness.  Our job is to correct any negative or faulty thoughts so we are not so impacted by the weather or time changes.   We can also be more mindful when these thoughts arise.

In this episode, we also can look at the seasons from a metaphorical stand point. We need to be careful how we approach the seasons, similar to how we approach our emotions.

We could consider some emotions as winter (like sadness and shame and guilt) and some emotions as summer (like happiness and joy and arousal).  We could consider autumn being patience and letting go and shedding what doesn’t serve us.   We could also consider spring a time where we feel free and hopeful and alive.   Metaphorically, if we treat one season (environmentally or emotionally) like it is less than or worse than, we will in turn start to have aversion to it.   In this episode, we talk about how to be open to all of the seasons, whether you enjoy them or not.

Lastly, Exposure & Response Prevention (ERP) School for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is HERE!  Exposure and Response Prevention School is an online, video-based course that teaches you the tools and skills I teach my clients in my office.  The doors are only open to purchase ERP School from September 6th, 2018 until September 20th, 2018.  Six more days!!  We are so excited to share ERP with you and would love to have you join us and the CBT School community.  Its a beautiful day to do hard things!

 

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Ep. 65: ERP Is the Coolest Thing!

ERP Is the Coolest Thing!

Nathalie Maragoni Interview Obsessive Compulsive Disorder OCD CBT Exposure & Response Prevention ERP Is the Coolest Thing ACT Your Anxiety Toolkit Kimberley Quinlan
If you have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder or any other mental health struggle, you are going to LOVE this episode of Your Anxiety Toolkit.   This week we have Nathalie Maragoni, an Associate Marriage and Family Therapist who not only treats Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and other anxiety disorders, but also knows exactly what it is like the experience the terror of intrusive thoughts, panic attacks and brutal compulsions.   She said it best herself: “ERP is the coolest thing!”

In this episode of Your Anxiety Toolkit, Nathalie talks with us about how she struggles finding the correct therapy for her Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and how she drove for over 1.5 hours to get a treatment specialist who used Exposure & Response Prevention (ERP).  Nathalie also talks about her struggle with different types of obsessions and compulsions.   She says, “Willingness is the key to managing OCD” and she could not be more correct about this.  We just loved how she shared her love for Exposure & Response Prevention and how “ERP is the coolest thing!”

Nathalie shares the importance of continuing ERP after treatment. She found that getting the proper treatment alone (ERP) was not enough to help her live a full and thriving life with OCD.  She discusses the importance of applying Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and how this helps her live a value-based life where she can just allow thoughts to be there, instead of fusing with them.  For more information about Acceptance & Commitment Therapy, click HERE.   Nathalie talks about how she is using the book The Happiness Trap to help her understand that “Every experience comes with a good feeling and a bad feeling.”

In other news, Exposure & Response Prevention (ERP) school is HERE.  Exposure and Response Prevention School is an online course that teaches you the tools and skills I teach my clients in my office.  Just like Nathalie says, ERP is the coolest thing!

Let me tell you a little bit about it.   The course is a video-based course that includes modules on:

  1. The science behind ERP
  2. Identifying YOUR obsessions and your compulsions
  3. The different approaches and types of ERP, including gradual exposure, writing scripts, interoceptive exposures and how to get creative with ERP
  4. Mindfulness tools to help you manage anxiety, panic and uncertainty
  5. Troubleshooting common questions and concerns
  6. BONUS videos explaining the most common subtypes of OCD and how to apply ERP to these obsessions and compulsions.

The course also includes many downloadable PDF’s and activities to help you navigate how to best apply ERP to your specific obsessions and compulsions.

We are so excited to finally share ERP with you and would love to have you join us and the CBT School community.  Its a beautiful day to do hard things!

If you are worried about doing it alone, please don’t fear.  We meet bi-monthly on the FB group and on IG to talk about questions you may have.

 

Nathalie Maragoni is an Associate Marriage and Family Therapist at OCDSpecialists.com.  They now have offices in Bakersfeild and Los Angeles under Supervisor, Stacey Kuhl Wochner.  Nathalie can be found on Instagram at @mindonfire_ocd.

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Ep. 64: Don’t Try Harder, Try Different with Patrick McGrath

Don’t Try Harder, Try Different with Patrick McGrath

Welcome back to YOUR ANXIETY TOOLKIT PODCAST!

Patrick McGrath Dont Try Harder, Try Different OCD CBT ERP Mindfulness Eating Disorder BRFB's Your Anxiety Toolkit Kimberley Quinlan.pngWe have some SUPER exciting news this week.   We are offering a NEW and FREE training called “The 10 Things you absolutely need to know about Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD).”  This webinar will be great if you are new to OCD and looking for some direction.  It will also be a fantastic refresher into the key concepts of OCD treatment, if you are already on your road to recovery.   If you are interested, click HERE to check it out.

Next piece of exciting news! ERP school will be here in less than ONE WEEK!  Heck yes!!  Exposure & Response Prevention (ERP) School is an online course for those who don’t have access to a therapist who practices ERP and science-based skills for OCD.  I will be talking a lot about this in the next few weeks, as the doors are only open to purchase ERP School from September 6th, 2018 until September 20th, 2018.   Keep it in mind that this course will only be available to purchase during that time.    ONE WEEK!!  It is right around the corner and I could not be happier and more excited.

Do you ever feel like you are doing the same thing, over and over, with no change in result?  You realize your fruitless outcomes and you decide you are going to try harder this time.   You might even make a pact with yourself that you will NEVER do that one thing again and you promise yourself that this is the time it will be successful. But, just like last time, you get the same result and you are left feeling overwhelmed and hopeless.   Well, if this is you, this episode is going to change some things for you.

This week we have a wonderful interview with Patrick McGrath, Ph.D., who is a psychologist based out of Illinois specializing in the treatment of anxiety disorders.  In addition to being the president of a private practice group called Anxiety Centers of Illinois, Patrick McGrath is also the Clinical Director of the AMITA Health Alexian Brothers Behavioral Health Hospital’s Center for Anxiety and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Program and President of OCD-Midwest, an affiliate of the International OCD Foundation. I met Patrick at the IOCDF Conference and we immediately hit it off and agreed to do an impromptu interview.   It was so much fun!  You might even notice it was more of a conversation than an interview, but I loved it and was so thrilled to hear Patrick’s wisdom.  If you are at all interested in taking the Exposure & Response Prevention School (ERP SCHOOL) course, Patrick’s talk today might help motivate you towards that goal.  He beautifully talks about how to DON’T TRY HARDER, TRY DIFFERENT and this is definitely a concept you have to consider when starting ERP.

Patrick also discusses the steps his clients need to know to move towards a “Don’t try harder, try different” approach.  Click HERE for more information on his stress management workbook titled Don’t Try Harder, Try Different and HERE for more information on his book titled The OCD Answer Book: Professional Answers to More Than 250 Top Questions about Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.

I hope you enjoy this interview as much as I did!

If you are at all interested in taking the Exposure & Response Prevention School (ERP SCHOOL) online course for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), click HERE.

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Ep. 63: Addressing Fear Like A Scientist

Addressing Fear Like A Scientist

Addressing Fear Anxiety Depression Intrusive Thoughts CBT Mindfulness Uncertainty Obsessive Compulsive Disorder OCD Eating Disorder BRFB's Your Anxiety Toolkit Kimberley QuinlanIn this episode of Your Anxiety Toolkit, we talk about Addressing Fear like Scientists.  Not the scary white haired kind!  In this week’s episode, we talk about becoming scientists who run studies that are rational, evidence-based, and experienced-based.  Each time we have a thought, we have an opportunity to be a scientist.  Don’t worry about those white coats.  You don’t need them for these experiments.  And you don’t need to have a fully fledged scientist degree either.

The human brain has up to 70,000 thoughts per day.   That is a LOT of thoughts.  When it comes to managing anxiety, much of the work is being able to identify which thoughts that are distorted (or errors) and which are not, so we can respond skillfully and mindfully.  This is not an easy feat and takes ongoing work and courage.

The other day, I started thinking about all the lovely people who are being tormented by scary intrusive thoughts, unwanted emotions, and sensations that make them think and feel like there is something wrong with them.   Sometimes these intrusive thoughts make us believe that something bad will happen, or that terror is on its way.  Often when we have these unwanted, intrusive thoughts, we go into a pattern of trying to disprove these possibilities.  We start to shift our day, just to prove that this is in no way possible.  We try to make the uncertain, certain.

The problem with this is that we are not actually resolving the issues in REALITY.  What we do when we have these obsessions is we create a new reality where the fear is less likely to occur.  We do this by avoiding events or people or places. We also try to ensure that our fear won’t come true by mentally reviewing all of the possible scenarios and how they might play out.  Once we have mentally exhausted ourselves with identifying what specific scenarios might cause troublesome outcomes, we promise ourselves to never put ourselves in those situations.

How To Address Fear Like A Scientist

Addressing Fear like a scientist involves asking yourself a few very hard questions.  Take a look at these questions and do a quick review on how you are responding to your anxiety and depression.

  • What hypothesis (theory) is my depression, anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) trying to prove?
  • Is this hypothesis true and based in reality and reason?
  • Can I test the evidence in a non-biased way?
  • Can I look at it from every angle without running away from fear? Or trying to solve it? Or steer the outcomes?
  • Can I sit with the results of the experiment?
  • Am I spending my time trying to prove my hypothesis or am I open to actually doing the work of a scientist, who is unbiased and accepting of the outcomes?

I invite you this week to be more vigilant about addressing fear like a scientist who tests the hypothesis in a non-biased, rational and reality-based way.  I know this is hard, but you know what I am going to say here. It is a beautiful day to do hard things.

Also, CBT School is also excited to share that our lovely friend Stuart Ralph is offering The OCD Summit, an online summit specifically for OCD therapists.  The OCD Summit will be a  6-week webinar series where Stuart Ralph, host of The OCD Stories podcast, will interview some incredible scientists and clinicians in the OCD field, with you the therapist as the audience.   Kimberley is honored to be selected to be one of the panelists for this exciting event.  Registration will include 6 topics curated for your continued development as an OCD therapist, where you can ask questions and network with other therapists in the private FB group community.  Click here to join.

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Ep. 62: The Anxiety of Decision Making

The Anxiety of Decision Making Is REAL and EXHAUSTING!

Anxiety of Decision Making CBT Mindfulness Uncertainty Perfectionism Obsessive Compulsive Disorder OCD Anxiety Eating Disorder BRFB's Your Anxiety Toolkit Kimberley QuinlanExperiencing and managing anxiety is a hard and courageous task.  And you guys know what I am going to say next.  It is a beautiful day to do hard things!

One activity that is made difficult by anxiety is the process of making decisions.    Making decisions can be exhausting and brings up a lot for us.

When making decisions, we might be faced with anxiety about making the “right” decision.  We might also be faced with the anxiety of making the decision that won’t hurt others or impact others negatively.  We might also be faced with anxiety that our decision will cause us to miss out on something better or more beneficial to our long term goals.  This constitutes the anxiety of decision making.
Basically, making decisions is the ULTIMATE exposure to uncertainty and tolerating discomfort.  There is no way to make a decision without acknowledging and facing uncertainty.  Here is a teaser from the episode.  Even when you put the decision making aside, you are actually making a decision.  Not making a decision is technically making a decision you didn’t even know existed.

This weeks podcast is all about The Anxiety of Decision Making.  We go over some of the themes that come up surrounding decision making such as Hyper-responsibility, Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) and Perfectionism.

We also talk about how we must embrace uncertainty in our lives and accept that life doesn’t need to be perfect.  This can be easier said than done, so we discuss some important mindfulness tools which can help us manage perfectionism, hyper-responsibility and Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO) when it comes to decision making.

We hope you enjoy this week’s podcast episode or Your Anxiety Toolkit.

Also guys, we are excited to share that ERP SCHOOL is going to be released VERY soon, so keep your eyes out.

CBT School is also excited to share that our lovely friend Stuart Ralph is offering The OCD Summit, an online summit specifically for OCD therapists.  The OCD Summit will be a 6-week webinar series where Stuart Ralph, host of The OCD Stories podcast, will interview some incredible scientists and clinicians in the OCD field, with you the therapist as the audience.   Kimberley is honored to be selected to be one of the panelists for this exciting event.  Registration will include 6 topics curated for your continued development as an OCD therapist, where you can ask questions and network with other therapists in the private FB group community.  Click here to join.

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Ep. 61: “Trust your capacity to change” – Tara Brach Interview

“Trust your capacity to change” – Tara Brach Interview

Tara Brach Interview CBT Mindfulness Meditation Obsessive Compulsive Disorder OCD Eating Disorder BRFBs Your Anxiety Toolkit Podcast Kimberley Quinlan

I am thrilled and honored to share with you an interview I did with my absolute idol, Tara Brach.  If you don’t know who Tara Brach is, let me introduce to you an amazing and inspirational human.

Tara Brach is a leading Western teacher of Buddhist Meditation, emotional healing and spiritual awakening.  Tara is a Clinical Psychologist, meditation teacher and Author of Radical Acceptance and True Refuge, two of my favorite books.   In addition, Tara Brach, along side Jack Kornfield, co-founded the Awareness Training Institute (ATI) and the Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program (MMTCP).

For me, Tara’s podcast (tarabrach.com) was (and is) one of the most important parts of my own personal development and growth.  For hours I would (and still do) walk the neighborhood while listening to her podcast.  Tara helped me through some of the hardest times in my life and allowed me to access her tools and wisdom through a freely offered podcast and streaming service that inspired me to create CBTschool.com.  Tara taught me to be a fearless mental health advocate, so you may see that much of CBT School follows her goal of offering skillful and generous work.

While I was in Washington, DC for the International OCD Foundation conference, I was lucky enough to meet with Tara in person before her Wednesdays with Tara Meditation Talk and ask her some questions about anxiety and mindfulness.  I am still freaking out with excitement that I had the opportunity to meet her in person and then get to interview her for the Your Anxiety Toolkit Podcast.

My goal for this podcast episode was to zero in to the questions I often get asked and see what Tara’s response would be.  True to form, Tara gives us some BEAUTIFUL responses that are easy to understand and apply.

In this interview, we talk specifically about how uncertainty can be one of the hardest and most challenging parts of anxiety, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), panic attacks and depression.  Tara gives some amazing mindfulness tools to help us approach uncertainty.

We also talked about her book, Radical Acceptance and what some of the road blocks are to radically accepting our discomforts or fears.  If you haven’t read her books, I strongly encourage you to.  Tara has a way of bringing compassion into the room, even if she isn’t physically there.

Tara gives us tips on how to implement Mindfulness practices into our everyday life and normalizes the struggles we all have with this.

One of the questions I was most interested in asking Tara was her advice for those who are deeply suffering with mental health right now.  She so beautifully responded with compassion and deep knowledge of mindfulness practice.  This answer brought me to tears and I am so grateful for having this experience with her.

And, last of all, I just had to ask Tara about why she uses humor in her meditation talks and Tara kindly shared with us one of her favorite jokes.  Tara used humor a lot to help us understand our own reactivity or idiosyncrasies and I just loved having a little chuckle with her.

So, as you can see, I am just a teeny bit in love with Tara (wink, wink).  I really hope you get as much as I did out of this episode.   Thank you so much Tara for your kindness and generosity.

Ok folks!  DO NOT FORGET to stay til the end of the episode because Tara so kindly gives an AMAZING GIFT at the end of the interview for our wonderful CBT School community.

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Ep. 60: My IOCDF Conference Key Takeaways

My IOCDF Conference Key Takeaways

International OCD Foundation IOCDF Anxiety Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Your Anxiety Toolkit ERP CBT ACT BFRBs Eating Disorder Kimberley Quinlan
One of the biggest honors I have as a therapist who treats anxiety disorders is to present at the International OCD Foundation (IOCDF) annual conference.  I just adore these conferences, mostly because they provide a mix of both treatment presentations and support groups for those who struggle with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and for therapist who provide evidence based treatment for those who have OCD.   Another amazing thing about these conferences is that they also provide support groups and presentations on Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors (BFRB’s) such as Trichotillomania (Hail Pulling) and Excoriation Disorder (Skin Picking) and Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) and also co-occuring Eating Disorders and Substance Abuse.

In this episode of Your Anxiety Toolkit, I wanted to share with you some of my reflections from running several support groups and attending some amazing presentations by some of the top treatment providers in the world.   The IOCDF.org put on such an amazing event and I have to admit, this one was by far my favorite.

At this years conference, I was honored to co-facilitate a new support group called the Compassion Collective with a dear friend and colleague, Michelle Massi.  Michelle and I gathered every morning at 7AM (yes, it was VERY early) to meet with attendees who wanted support with self-compassion.  Each morning we provided a new compassion tool to help those who are struggling with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD).  This was such an beautiful experience, as we got to really see inside the minds of the attendees and hear what is getting the way of them practicing self-compassion.  Interestingly, perfectionism and fear of failure were two of the key components or self-compassion sabotage (which I speak a lot about in this weeks podcast episode).

I was also honored to be a part of a presentation called “Let’s Talk about Sex Baby!”  This presentation was a question and answer formatted presentation where attendees asked very intimate questions about how OCD and anxiety can impact sex.  One of the most interesting themes of these presentation was just how uncomfortable people were about discussing sex with their therapist.  We had a very OPEN and HONEST dialog with attendees about sex and normalized it.

Finally, I was lucky enough to get to run the Co-existing OCD and Eating Disorder group this year with Beth Brawly.  Beth and I have ran this group several times and I love it SOOOO much.   There is a fine line where OCD and Eating Disorders combine and we met to help attendees break down faulty views of body, health, body size, food and body image.    It was so wonderful to see some very brave families join together to support their family members who are struggling.

Fore more information on the IOCDF, click here.

Lastly, this is a friendly reminder that ERP School (our online course for Exposure & Response Prevention for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and other Anxiety Disorders) is COMING SOON, so stay tuned.  Sign up HERE to be on the waitlist and be alerted as soon as it is available.
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Ep. 59: “You are right where you need to be” with Cami Julaine

“You are right where you need to be” with Cami Julaine

Cami Julaine interview CBT ERP OCD Anxiety Eating Disorders Your Anxiety Toolkit Podcast Kimberley Quinlan

Well folks! Welcome back to another episode of Your Anxiety Toolkit.  Today, we have another amazing guest interview as a part of our “We can do hard things” series.    I am so excited to share with you an amazing interview with Cami Julaine, an avid mental health advocate, blogger, singer, actor and all-around wonderful person.    In this week’s episode, Cami shares her journey through Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, an Eating Disorder, Trichotillomania, Panic Attacks and Trauma.

One of the things I love the most about Cami is that she is so authentic and open.  I know we all struggle with finding the motivation to keep moving forward sometimes, as managing Anxiety Disorders such as Panic Disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Social Anxiety, Phobias, Health Anxiety can be very difficult.  Cami shares with us a inspiring story of how she went from rock bottom to taking bold steps towards her recovery.  Cami shares her story of being supported by family members and close friends (ahem, Paula Abdul) who urged her to get help.

This is an incredibly interesting and informative interview, as Cami shares how she had to blend many types of tools (and therapy) to get her to where she is today.   Cami shares some wonderful mindfulness tools to help manage Panic Disorder and Panic Attacks.  You will really love these tools, as they are very similar to ones we have discussed in previous episodes of Your Anxiety Toolkit, with a little Cami Juliane-twist. 🙂   Cami also talks about her experience with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP).

Finally, Cami shares with us how she has integrated spirituality with her recovery and how she practices self-care and self-compassion as a part of that practice.  This is a topic that I have’t touched upon much at all and I am sure you will find it inspirational and validating.

You can find Cami Julaine on Instagram @camijulaine and more information on her website here.

One thing before we say goodbye.  GET READY…because ERP School (our online course for Exposure & Response Prevention for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and other Anxiety Disorders) is COMING SOON, so stay tuned.  Sign up HERE to be on the waitlist and be alerted as soon as it is available.   PS: The first 20 people to sign up get a free, exclusive “We Can Do Hard Things Meditation” that you can download and use as often as you like.  YES!

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Ep. 58: How To Be Anxious AND Have Courage At The Same Time

You Can Be Anxious AND Have Courage!

Courage.  Where do we find it? How do we get it? And, once we get it, how do we keep it?

In this era, being courageous or brave comes with great expectations.   Men are expected to show their “brave face” ALL the time, or they run the risk of being called a “sissy.”   That is a lot of pressure!  Women (and many times men too) are expected to multi-task multiple difficult things at once, but also must look pretty and be smiling while doing it.

But, to top it all off, we humans (men, women and children) with anxiety are often expected to meet all of the above criteria AND keep our anxiety to ourselves.  Where did we get this from?! I cannot tell you how many times I have heard stories about family members or partners or parents who have told someone struggling with anxiety or depression (or another mental health struggle) to “be braver” or “toughen up” or “you gotta be stronger through this.”  While I do understand what they are trying to convey, today’s podcast episode is all about approaching courage and bravery with a new (more reasonable) perspective.

You see, I like to think of bravery and courage as something you can experience WITH anxiety.  I actually think they go beautifully together.  We can feel dreadful fear AND be courageous.  We can feel overwhelming sadness AND be strong.   What we have been told about bravery and courage is all off.  It limits us and makes us feel like we must not try things until we have no fear and we can “hold it together.”

I like to believe that the person who decided to go to the party, despite their tremendous social anxiety, is the brave one.   I believe that the person who does that really hard thing (even if it happens to be easy for other people) is the courageous one.   I believe the one who has a tear running down their face as they face their fear is a brave rock star!

I hope you enjoy this podcast episode and begin to challenge your view of what bravery and courage looks like.  As always, thank you for supporting me with this podcast and with CBT School’s online courses.

Enjoy!

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Ep. 57: Mindfulness Skills to Enhance Value-Based Living

Value-Based Living

 

Hello there CBT School Family

Value-Based Living ACT CBT OCD Anxiety Your Anxiety Toolkit Kimberley QuinlanWelcome to another episode of Your Anxiety Toolkit Podcast.

As you may know, each week I do my best to bring you a new tool or idea for you to put in your toolkit, in hope that it will give you some skills to manage anxiety, panic and other difficult thoughts, feelings and sensations.

I always envision that I am slowly handing you one tool after another and that you are carefully packing those tools into your toolkit or tool belt, so that you feel ready to face your day, with or without anxiety.

This week, I want to discuss with you your metaphorical toolkit; the box or belt in which you hold dear to your heart and use daily to help you live your best life.   The most important thing to understand in today’s podcast is that carrying a tool belt/toolbox/toolkit is a choice.  Every week, you freely join me for a weekly discussion about recovery and living a great life, while having anxiety.   You don’t have to carry your toolkit and all the tools around.  Many choose not to carry a tool belt or any tools.  But you, you do.  It’s pretty cool if you ask me.

You see, the tools your put in your toolkit are your mindfulness skills.   Your toolkit, the place you hold these tools, is your values.  If you are on a mission to be a better human, you obviously value your wellbeing.  It is a value that you stand by.  You value your recovery.  You value your quality of life.  Using these tools of yours contributes to value-based living.

Values are very important to our recovery.  The only problem is, that sometimes fear can come in and stomp all over our values.  Sometimes fear can lead us away from our values and away from our toolkit.  Sometimes fear can lead us towards other problematic behaviors, such as compulsions including checking, counting, avoidance, reassurance seeking and mental rumination.  Fear can also lead us towards anger and saying mean things to ourselves.

Today, we talk about identifying our values and ways to use the tools you have to help you lead with values.  We use concepts from Acceptance & Commitment Therapy, also knows as ACT.  ACT is a very helpful treatment modality that beautifully compliments Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Exposure & Response Prevention (ERP).

I hope you find it helpful!

Forward we go,

Kimberley

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