956: Facing Anxiety Head On - Unraveling Its Many Expressions

In today's episode, Gina discusses the medical and psychological definitions of anxiety as found in the DSM. While healing from anxiety does not require these special categorizations mainstream healthcare attaches to it, it can be useful to understand how the medical industry approaches anxiety assessment. Learn about mainstream definitions of anxiety and how this knowledge may help you on your anxiety healing journey.

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What is anxiety?

Quote:

One of the greatest discoveries a man makes, one of his great surprises, is to find he can do what he was afraid he couldn’t do.

-Henry Ford

Chapters

0:00:24 Welcome back to the Anxiety Coaches Podcast.

0:01:29 Understanding the Different Presentations of Anxiety

0:03:51 The Evolution of Anxiety Disorders in Diagnostic Manuals

0:05:12 The Importance of Calming the Nervous System

0:06:40 Exploring the Six Common Anxiety Disorders and Their Meanings

0:08:39 Compassionate Exposure for Panic Disorder and Agoraphobia

0:09:52 Overcoming Social Anxiety Disorder with Compassion

0:11:00 Navigating Specific Phobias with Compassionate Exposure

0:11:58 Wrestling with Intrusive Thoughts in OCD Treatment

0:13:26 Understanding General Anxiety Disorder

0:14:59 Managing Generalized Anxiety Disorder through mindfulness and cognitive restructuring

Summary

In this part of the podcast/show, I discuss the different expressions of anxiety and the labels used to describe them. I explain that anxiety was not considered a medical condition until 1980 when it was included in the DSM-3. However, I emphasize that just because new disorders are added to the DSM doesn't mean they are new experiences for people. I share my own experience with anxiety in the 1970s when there was limited information and understanding of the condition.

I believe that understanding the different diagnoses and terms associated with anxiety can be helpful, but the most important thing is to focus on calming the nervous system. I mention that a forward-thinking psychiatrist suggested that people should be free of caffeine before being prescribed psychiatric medications.

Next, I discuss the six topics often mentioned in psychology and doctor's offices, starting with panic disorder and agoraphobia. Panic disorder involves fearing the panic itself, and agoraphobia is the fear of the debilitating effects of panic attacks. I stress the importance of compassionately exposing oneself to confront these fears and regain a sense of control.

Moving on, the second topic is social anxiety disorder, which involves the fear of embarrassment in social situations. I explain that avoidance exacerbates the fear and isolation, but gradually exposing oneself to social situations can help overcome it.

In this part of the podcast, we delve into specific phobias, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), and post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Specific phobias involve excessive fear of ordinary things, and avoidance only perpetuates the fear. The key to overcoming specific phobias is gradual exposure to the feared object or situation.

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