Doing It Anyway - While Hurting And Challenged (Episode 133)

SPEAKER_00 0:01

Doing things whilst scared and hurt. Why would we do that? We gotta wait. Let's wait, fix ourselves, and then do it, Drew. Surely, right?

SPEAKER_01 0:11

Life doesn't wait. Like even the days when you are hurting, and the days when you are sad and you are scared and things are going wrong and nothing is right, that's still life.

SPEAKER_00 0:20

You're not just doing a technique, you're not just doing a thing. You are showing yourself that you can live even with the uncomfortable feelings, a lot like Sandra has been uh just showing us.

SPEAKER_01 0:32

A lot of soul searching, a lot of reflection, a lot of like really thinking about what's important to her to get to that. But that is a place that you we can get to. This is a real thing, and it it may limit my time. So I have to I have to work with this now. Welcome to Disordered. This is episode 133. Today we're talking about doing it anyway, but doing it anyway while you're hurting or you're afraid, or something is really wrong. Um, we have a great story to start with that's going to get us into this topic. So uh let's get cooking. I am Drew Linsolata. I am a therapist that specializes in the treatment of anxiety and anxiety disorders uh in New York, in the US of A, former sufferer of the things we talk about here on this podcast, a three-time author on the topic, psychoeducator, social media guy, uh guy that spends too much money on microphones, clearly, and one half of disorder, the other half happens to be.

SPEAKER_00 1:30

I'm Joshua Fletcher, also known as Anxiety Josh, and I'm a psychotherapist and author who specializes in the topic of anxiety and anxiety disorders. I write books, I do podcasts, and I prance around on social media. Thank you for tuning in. I love doing this podcast.

SPEAKER_01 1:45

Yeah, it's it's it actually is one of the best hours of the week for sure. Um, the reason why we wanted to do this topic, doing it anyway, even while you're scared and hurting and things are really going wrong, is we got maybe the greatest did it anyway sent in by a listener ever. So it it hit us both. Like it was it's really like I had chills listening to this.

SPEAKER_00 2:07

Yeah, it was a good and then um all did it anyways are good, big and small, or subjectively, some are big and some small, and every single one is worthy of sharing. But this one encapsulates both the philosophy, the mindset, things like that, and we'll use it as an inspiring one. Yeah, I feel like it's got everything.

SPEAKER_01 2:28

Let's listen to it and then we'll definitely break it down. Here we go.

SPEAKER_03 2:32

Hi Josh, hi Drew. This is Sandra from Sheffield in the UK. I've lived with severe health anxiety all my life, really, since my mother passed away when I was a teenager. And I ended up in an MBU after having my own daughter who's six now, because I think my subconscious just couldn't believe that I lived longer than my own mum. I recently had my greatest fear realized and experienced something akin to a heart attack and was diagnosed with a pulmonary embolism. And off the back of the CT scan for that, I also was diagnosed with a rare autoimmune disease, sarcoidosis, that has been affecting my health in scary ways in recent years, giving me tachycardia and other symptoms easily mixed up with anxiety symptoms. Coming close to death has been really frightening, but in many ways I've been okay and I've even slept well at night. I've reacted quite philosophically, which just really surprised me. I think thanks to a lot of psychoeducation over recent years and your podcast has helped a lot too. I feel like the cloaked figure with a sicklice hanging over me more than ever, but what can I do? I have to remember to live no matter what life throws at me. To do it anyway, even if I'm hurting and scared. This is my life, and I don't want to waste it on fear. I do get anxious, I do get scared and sad and panicked, but I know it's okay to feel anything. I welcome all these feelings no matter how hard they are, and I love my life. When it's my time, it's my time, and we don't have any guarantees anyway. And isn't anxiety the inability to tolerate discomfort after all? The resistance to it is a time feak. Um, so yes. Did it anyway? Well, I'm right in the middle of doing it anyway. Thanks so much for giving me such powerful perspective. Much love. Bye.

SPEAKER_01 4:24

Holy cow. I'm not even gonna play the stupid sound effect. Like, that's just amazing.

SPEAKER_00 4:28

Yeah, it's really good. Really, really good. Um, someone who gets it, and it's really nice. I'm gonna use that to inspire today. So thank you so much, Sandra. And who'd have thought such philosophy would be coming out of Sheffield? So fair play. Uh absolutely love it. Um, yeah, doing things whilst scared and hurt. Wow, why would we do that? We gotta wait. Let's wait, fix ourselves, and then do it, Drew. Surely, right?

SPEAKER_01 4:57

Well, it seems like that would be the common sense thing. Like, oh, I have to I have to fix this and then I can go and do my life. But that's that's not how life works anyway. I mean, there is so much philosophy in Sarah's, you know, did it anyway here. I I I cannot I'm really happy that you sent that in and shared that because that is one of those things that we don't life doesn't wait. Like even the days when you are hurting and the days when you are sad and you're scared and things are going wrong and nothing is right, that's still life. That's your life happening. It's happening that way, which is not what we want, but it is in fact happening. So I think the idea that first I have to fix myself and then I can somehow go back to my life is uh is not really correct because you're in it today's life.

SPEAKER_00 5:42

Yeah, and obviously it pulls into a lot of things that we discussed here. It's the whole purpose of doing it anyway. We we we we do do it doing it anyway. Is the perfect encapsulation of willful tolerance of the attitude shift. It goes against what we deem to be intuition, it feels counterintuitive. You know, you it will challenge all these core beliefs, these schemas, these beliefs about yourself, about how you're not capable, you won't cope, you won't cope after it, you won't cope during it, something awful's gonna happen, you know, you're you're too anxious, you'll get overwhelmed. And then when you do it anyway, you're not just doing a technique, you're not just doing a thing. You are showing yourself that you can live even with the uncomfortable feelings, a lot like Sandra has been uh just showing us. And what was nice about that is that Sandra says, I have a lovely, happy life. Yeah, but yes, I do get anxious, yes, I do get panicky sometimes, but I'm willing to have them as part of the broad spectrum of emotions that we have, and that's a real win there. A real, real win.

SPEAKER_01 6:59

Yeah, if you can, in the middle of telling a story about pulmonary embolism and sarcoidosis, which yeah, it's a really serious situation that she's in. I love my life, she said. Like, oh that was that almost knocked me off my chair because I think there's something about that, like, you know, we when and listen, I was there, you were there when I felt like I was a little off balance, or the, you know, I was I was leaning to one side or you know, whatever was going on, my heart was beating too fast. Oh my God, that's awful, that's terrible, like I'm suffering. This is hell, this is hell, this is hell. And on the other side of this, we have somebody who's, you know, literally saying, like, I'm living in a life-threatening situation every day, and I love my life. Yeah, what a lesson in that, right? Like that is extreme, don't get me wrong. Like, if Sarah has, I'm sure, done a lot. Uh yeah, Sandra has done a lot. I'm sorry, we have other Sarah's coming up later, but Sandra has a lot of done a lot of work there, I suspect. A lot of soul searching, a lot of reflection, a lot of like really thinking about what's important to her to get to that. But that is a place that you we can get to.

SPEAKER_00 8:01

But I like how it's she surprised herself. Like it's it came to this philosophical conclusion as a result of experience. Yeah, yeah, that's right.

SPEAKER_01 8:15

And and I like I I think uh the fact that reality is giving her no choice. There's no choice here. This is not a well, I'll go and lay on the sofa and hopefully you'll go away and then I'll be back to life tomorrow or next day. Like, no, no, no. I this is a real thing and it it may limit my time. And so I have to I have to work with this now. And so yeah, she reacts in a philosophical way when confronted with that, and also it's an uncertainty as well, isn't it?

SPEAKER_00 8:46

So, like we don't know, you know, right? Uh you know, Sandra could be outliver at everyone, you know, we just don't know, but it's just the uncertainty that you have, yeah. Um, but it was the philosophical change, the attitude shift of actually, you know, dwelling on this uncertainty is is not living life. Yeah, and I know it's difficult. Um, as she was talking, and it's something I think about a lot as well, is I imagine anxiety disorders as living in two different worlds. So you've got the anxiety disorder world, the upside down from stranger things, where everything's grim and you're in the upside down, and you're trying desperately to get to the upside where everything's sunny and colorful and wonderful. And people with anxiety disorders look around them, look at people walking down the street, looking, people on TV, whatever, and they look at that world as if they're looking at it from the upside down, the strange world. Uh, and they crave and they do everything to try and get back to the colorful world, and they can see themselves in the colorful world too, because they are more than their anxiety disorder, they exist in both worlds at the same time. So rather than kind of trying to conceptualize recovery as I am recovered when I'm fully in the colorful world, everything's nice, why not just smash down the glass and let both worlds exist? Sometimes you'll be walking down the street and it will be colourful, nice, and completely carefree and joyful and euphoric and all these things. But then sometimes, even on the same day, you might wander into the upside down and be like, actually, things look a bit tarnished and grim and all. But I've smashed these walls down, they're part of the same world. Yeah, I could just be living in that world there. And like Sandra said, sometimes I do get anxious, sometimes I do get panicky, but I am also stepping into the colorful world too. It's part of my life, everything's welcome. So try not to dichotomize your life as an anxiety with an anxiety disorder, as trying to leap from one world to the other and not resting until you've done that. No, both are existing at the same time and melt them into one.

SPEAKER_01 11:04

And you are still you, like even when you're in the grim, gray, doesn't feel good side of existence, you're still you. You are the same person, you're just in different circumstances, which is what everybody we all that is life. We all experience that. It changes from day to day, minute by minute, hour by hour. So I love the way you figure that out. Like break the glass between the two. No, no, no, it's all one, it's all one thing, really. I the other thing that that this Sandra story really brings up is this is that resistance to reality thing. So people will often tell us, and I know you hear the same thing, whether it's on social media or in our practices, like, but but how am I supposed to deal with this horrible feeling? Like, that's a reasonable question. But the underlying that question, I think, is also the idea that like it's impossible, and the fact that it's here is a problem that must be solved so that I can move on. But try as you may, you cannot seem to solve this problem. You're probably listening to this podcast because you've been trying to solve that feeling and prevent it and stop it and control it for a very long time. So if that is in fact our reality as anxious people, we are going to feel anxious. We're going to be afraid. And if you're afraid of yourself, as anxious people are, and you can't get away from yourself, that's going to get triggered again and again and again. So if this is my reality, the next question has to be okay, what do I do next? What do I do with this next? So, you know, if you think about it, we had like Russ Harris on, and he tell, you know, uh, you know, we had Steve Hayes on, we had Russ Harris. The Act Triflex open up. What are my options? Do what matters. So, like, even in the face of a difficult reality, we always have to land on like, okay, now what? What comes next? As opposed to trying to go back in the sequence and stop the feeling that you have, but it's here. I don't want it to be, but it's here. Now what do I do with it while it's here? Because it's here. And that's what Sandra's doing. This is here. I can't rewind it and and change it. So with this reality, I hate it, I'm terrified by it, I don't like it. What do I do next? Now what do I do with it?

SPEAKER_00 13:13

Yeah, but knowing that you can drift back into the good side as well. Yeah, it's a bit like the imagery. Are you ready for more imagery? Yeah, let's bring it. Uh so it's a bit like, I don't know. Maybe you're privileged and go water skiing. And let's say the guy on the water ski, sorry, that might have been me. Uh the guy on the water ski, you know, is uh jet ski, whatever, and you're behind on the surf. But what's that called? Is that water skiing? Yeah, water skiing, yeah. Yeah, I don't know. I I wear really strong contact lenses, I can't go on water. And the guy on the jet ski shoots off and you're behind or on the boat, whatever, and he kicks off at a certain angle across the water, and you're behind on the jet ski. Now, as the boat's going, as long as you're kind of holding on and trusting the momentum of being on the water ski, you're gonna oscillate from left to right to left to right, and you just have to go with that. You know you'll end up back going on and on uneven cancer again. You'll be right, left, and sometimes you'll be in the center. But but as the boat turns, you're gonna have to turn with it. As life turns, you're gonna have to turn with it. And sometimes that's gonna be at an angle that you don't like, so temporarily you're gonna have to wait and guide yourself back in the right direction again. Can you do it immediately? No, right. Can you get frustrated and scream at the boat for not going straight all the time? No, you have to trust that momentum, and as Sandra was talking about that, it reminds me of it. It was like, yeah, sometimes I get anxious, panicky, and terrified. But I know that with the momentum, if I lean towards which way life's going, I will experience the nice, colorful side of things again. And it's a lovely analogy for anxiety disorders. We spend a lot of time fixating and working out why we're not dead center, why we're not always feeling great, and we're trying to erase everything else just to feel a sense of calm because we're addicted to calm and relief. Maybe not. Maybe just go with the with the swaying and the flow.

SPEAKER_01 15:28

Yeah. And why do I feel this way? Why do I, what does this mean? What does this feeling mean? In a situation like Sandra's describing, well, you kind of know what the feeling means, right? Like the I know what my stressors are here, I know what my challenges are, and uh, they are making me really anxious and stressed and afraid and despondent on some days. Who knows? I mean, I'm sure there's a very incredibly wide range of emotions somebody like this is going through. You know, in the anxiety disorder, it's like, but I but I don't know why I'm feeling this way. But I so I have to figure out what this means. What disaster awaits me because I am sad today? What danger awaits me because I feel a little off balance today, or my body is reacting as if it's under stress today. But there's no difference. So, like in the end, the person who is facing a known challenge and stressor that's going to make you anxious says, Well, what am I gonna do with this? I have to move through anyway, even while I feel that way. And that is the lesson for anybody you know listening today that that is dealing with an anxiety disorder, which is out disorder, out of order. The feelings and the the doom and the the feeling of danger comes before the presence of an actual threat or stressor. So, but you gotta act like the person who who understands why they're feeling that way and is can and and says, I gotta move through this, I gotta navigate through this as best as possible. So take a lesson here, right? Like Sandra can't do anything about it medically. I'm sure she's doing the best she can with her team, but I'm gonna I love my life and I want to make the most of this. I'm I'm going to engage with my life to the best of my ability within the context of this reality. Well, same if you're if you're experiencing DPDR today or you're dizzy or you're nauseous today, or whatever it happens to be. Like, can you try that?

SPEAKER_00 17:06

Yeah. Yeah. Here's a written did it did it anyway. Yeah. Um, they've not given me permission to use the name, but it I I enjoyed this one. Okay. Uh hey Josh and Drew. I found your podcast after I had come out of a horrific two-year spiral of daily panic attacks and DPDR in which I couldn't function normally day to day, and it scared the living shit out of me. I've listened to every podcast over the past year, and through this, I have found courage to do things I wouldn't have done previously. In terms of did it anyway, I've flown on a plane over six times, went on a beautiful holiday with my girlfriend, taken up new hobbies such as Muay Thai to address the cardiophobia, and even went under the knife for a surgery to fix my dodgy ankle, which has benefited my quality of life, something I never would have done before out of the fear of the unknown. Can you have a uh a round of applause for that first?

SPEAKER_01 18:02

Hell yeah.

SPEAKER_00 18:04

And then a question I'd like to ask is quite retrospective. And so I pitch this to you, Drew. If you could have a conversation with the version of yourself that was in the midst of the anxiety whirlwind, what three things would you tell yourself? Again, thank you so much. Keep doing what you're doing. P.S. Josh, Arsenal are winning the league. Well, we can I cannot account for your delusions, but I absolutely love you did it anyway. Drew, three things you would say to your previous self in the midst of an anxiety whirlwind.

SPEAKER_01 18:40

Um if I I would pro the first thing I would probably say is that this I know it feels so strong, but that doesn't make it real. But let me qualify that.

SPEAKER_00 18:54

I would have had to- You're talking about the Arsenal winning the league. I know, I know it feels like it feels like they're gonna win the league.

SPEAKER_01 18:59

But that is not a reality and doesn't mean it's right. Well, there you go. It's a perfect like parallel, right? With an anxiety disorder. I know it feels like you're gonna pass out and and cause a scene and die at this restaurant, but no, and Arsenal's not winning the league either. So sorry, man. But yeah, I think that would be the first thing I would tell my myself. Like, I I understand that it feels really powerful right now, and like something bad is going to happen, but the the strength of the feeling doesn't indicate the actual outcome. The first and foremost, it's that.

SPEAKER_00 19:28

So you would say that to your previous self in the whirlwind?

SPEAKER_01 19:31

I would. Yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_00 19:32

Would he accept that? I'd be like, what the hell are you talking about?

SPEAKER_01 19:34

No, probably not. Just like that's why people listen to this podcast every week. Like, it's fine. I and and come back every week if you need to. There's nothing wrong with that.

SPEAKER_00 19:41

But okay, okay, you're you're gonna get another chance. What would you say to that version of yourself who's gonna just call BS?

SPEAKER_01 19:47

Okay, so now now so now that version of me says, Yeah, I'm not buying it because I'm just so terrified right now. I think I would probably say, I I know you are. I'm not saying that you're not genuinely scared. This is not fake fear, it's just that the fear doesn't mean that there's a problem. It's real fear. Like, yes, it is, I know you're a hundred percent terrified right now, dude. But but I promise, I can't can I say I'm from the future? That's cheating, though. Can I say I'm future me? Now we're writing a whole sci-fi series here, evidently.

SPEAKER_00 20:18

It depends how realistic it is, though. If you're already sensitized and really scared, you're just gonna think you're losing your mind.

SPEAKER_01 20:25

Me from the future.

SPEAKER_00 20:26

You actually appear from the future and you've got like dementiophobia and fear of going crazy. Yeah, that would not be. The first thing I would do would be like, I'm finally going crazy. I'm seeing future versions of me, albeit he does look dapper. Yeah.

SPEAKER_01 20:40

I would have to show up like with a flying car so that it's oh no, no, it really is future me, because you don't have one of these, but don't have one of those today either. But I guess in the end it would be that would be the second thing. So the objection of anxious drew would be like, okay, fine, but that's not ringing a bell with me right now. I'm terrified, I'm shaking, I'm sweating, I'm like, I everything's spinning, like this isn't okay. I know those are real feelings, but it's okay. They don't mean that the danger is real. In the end, this is this is a good line of questioning, dude, because well, what do you think would have happened? So now I say that to me. What how do you think that plays out in the end?

SPEAKER_00 21:15

You know me. You're the values guy, I'm the compassion guy. Yeah. So my answer would be I know what I felt like back then. Yeah. Skeptical, scared. So I think the power of feeling seen, so stuff that like Dr. Claire Weeks can do and things like that. It's the first thing I'd say is straight up, let me guess. You feeling like something awful's gonna happen, you're going crazy. I bet you've had these thoughts, you know, bet you had that, I bet you've constantly monitoring, I bet you wake up, first thing you feel is this, I bet you avoid. Yeah, I bet you've not gone out of the house, have you, Josh? Yeah. Yeah. Is am I right? That'll be the question number, that'll be question. First thing I'd say. And then immediately I'm like, all right, yeah, yeah, I'm feeling seen, that is me. I don't feel understood. I feel panicky. Uh yeah, I feel like I'm going crazy. And then I say, okay, right. All that matters right now is that have you noticed that since you've withdrawn and tried to fix, you still feel the same. Yeah. And you're probably scared to go out because you feel like you're pushing things or it's you're too scared to leave that intrusive thought alone. Why don't you just try it? Because what's happening here is you're just in a bit of a loop. You know, and it makes sense actually, Josh, because look, your life is absolutely on fire. Your brain can't tolerate this amount of stress. Okay, great. Well, it can tolerate it, but this is what's a result of stress. Yeah. Uh, and um the first third thing I say is you can do it, and trust me, you'll want to do it because you'll get to see Newcastle win silverware and Arsenal finish second for 10 years in a row.

SPEAKER_01 23:02

So that's third one is the best one. I my third one would probably be you know, because the the objection, I'm gonna object to what I say, then I'm gonna reiterate, then future me is gonna reiterate. I know, but the real feelings I'm telling, I know I understand you are genuinely terrified. I remember what that feels like. The third thing is going to be I'm not gonna tell you any more words, because the only way you will learn this is to trust that you can handle it and do it. So I'm gonna stop, I'm gonna try trying to convince you. I'm just gonna I'll just kind of hang out here with you while you do it. Go test. Oh, I like that. You have got a compassionate bone in your body, haven't you? I try to hide it, but it's I'll hang out with you and do it. I'll hang out with you. Uh, that's often the way it works in in my practice. Like, listen, I the only way I'm gonna stop giving you logic and reason and words and and coaching because you're not you can't hear it anyway. So the only way you're gonna do it is to actually do it and learn from the doing. And how about I hang out here while you do it?

SPEAKER_00 23:57

Gets complicated though, because if you're doing the exposures for monophobia, you'd then be pining for the apparition of the your phantom spirit from the future. That's 100% right. Because that's what got the credit for the exposure.

SPEAKER_01 24:08

Yeah. Well, it's a great question, though. Uh you know, what would you tell yourself? And then if you're listening, I might say, ask yourself, what would you want? What would you want to hear from future you? That's a little nice little thought exercise an anxious person might do. If future you, better you, desensitize you, could come back and help you right now. What would you want them to tell you?

SPEAKER_00 24:26

I would want them to give me the exact scores of every football game this weekend. Yeah. Um, a bit like the almanac, and and I just put my life savings on every correct score, become a billionaire. Uh, and then yeah.

SPEAKER_01 24:44

So you're bif. You'll be you would be biff back to the future. Yeah, 100% bif.

SPEAKER_00 24:50

Yeah, I'm biff. I'm biff. Not into Marty and his weird ancestral relationship he had with his mother. Yeah, that was disturbing.

SPEAKER_01 24:57

Sorry, that was disturbing, Robin Zumekis. Just a saying. Anyway, good question, though. And a great did it anyway. I love it. Um, at one point I I felt like there was a Billy Maze coming there because you just kept doing things, learn more Thai. I was I got surgery in my ankle, like, yeah, keep going, brother.

SPEAKER_00 25:11

Really great. You sound like it sounds like the plot of kickboxer, to be honest. You know, like it does weak down and out, and thought, you know what? No, I'm gonna get surgery, get better, learn Muay Thai. Yeah, oh, I love it.

SPEAKER_01 25:24

And I'm gonna win at the end and get the girl. Yeah, um, absolutely. Where are we? 24 minutes. Should we do an audio did it anyway? Yeah, why not? It's on theme, isn't it? It sure is. So let's do this one. And everybody begins with an S today, but here we go.

SPEAKER_02 25:39

Hey Josh and Drew, my name is Sarah. I'm from Long Island, New York. You can use my name on the podcast.

SPEAKER_01 25:45

Uh hell yeah, Long Island, New York. Just saying.

SPEAKER_02 25:47

I wanted to share a did it anyway. This summer I was dealing with one of the worst stretches of anxiety that I've ever dealt with before. I had a lot of big changes happening in my life, including losing my mother-in-law to cancer. I was waking up panicked every morning, my heart rate was through the roof, I couldn't eat without throwing up, and I really just didn't want to live anymore. And this was all happening while I was training for my first marathon. Running with these feelings was really difficult. I was having panic attacks during my long runs, I had a lot of self-doubt, I was having trouble fueling, and I just really wasn't sure if I was gonna be able to run this race. The night before the marathon, I had a panic attack that sent me into a giant spiral. I really just was not sure if running was for me or if I was gonna be able to do it. But on Sunday, I ran the New York City marathon. I crossed the finish line, and I was just really proud of myself for not letting my anxiety win, taking those anxious feelings with me on the run. Um, you know, not knowing if they were gonna go away, but just bringing them along with me for the ride. And I'm really proud of myself, and I just wanted to say thank you for all of the amazing advice that you share on your podcast. Um, I'm a fairly new listener, and this podcast has truly saved my life. Um, and I just want to give any advice to anyone else who is going through something similar that you can do really hard things even when you're anxious. Thanks, guys.

SPEAKER_01 27:27

Holy's killing it today. Amazing.

SPEAKER_00 27:31

Yeah, on brand. Love it. I love it. This is I love I love a good cheese sandwich. This this podcast is a giant cheese sandwich, and I'm here for it. You had a panic attack the night before. Anyone has a panic attack and enters sensitive the sensitized state, feels very vulnerable. So, you know what I'm gonna do? The opposite of is literally exert my body and do a marathon.

SPEAKER_01 27:55

I mean, it's really extreme, right? It's crazy. Yeah, it's really great. This isn't like I went to the supermarket the next day. You she ran the New York City 26 miles, she ran.

SPEAKER_00 28:05

Yeah, but also it's okay. Yeah. If you even if the supermarket is your marathon, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah. That's the last place you want to go, yeah. Because um, I think that's amazing. You should be really proud of yourself, and um, yeah, we absolutely love that. Uh, and um, when the disordered app is live, that'd be really nice. You can send in a photo of you with your time and things. I we'd love that.

SPEAKER_01 28:28

Oh, it'll be great, yeah. I always love these stories, right? You know, like so the the you know, today we're talking about do it anyway while you're afraid, or do it anyway while you're hurting, or do it well. Every did it anyway is while you're afraid and hurting and things aren't going well. Now, you know, we're talking about maybe the bigger picture in your life. Um, you know, it's it's hard to do it anyway when life is just crushing you for sure, but like in the middle of that did it anyway, whether it's just meeting a challenge or doing an intentional exposure, every one of them is while you're scared and things aren't going well. Otherwise, it wouldn't be a did it anyway, it would just be a did it. Like nobody would care and you wouldn't have to send it in. So, like, let's acknowledge that. Like every time you do you decide to do this, you will be scared, you will be afraid, you will be uncertain, you will feel vulnerable, you will doubt, you will all of those things. The win is that you move through those feelings and did not let them take away from what is important to you.

SPEAKER_00 29:20

Uh doing what non-anxious you would do with the feelings. Uh oh. Yeah. Love it. Because it appears feelings are welcome.

SPEAKER_01 29:29

Yeah, and it appears to be possible. Say our two friends here who you know are are engaging with life, you know, even under very difficult medical and physiological conditions, and who decided I trade for this marathon, I'm gonna run it. I ain't stopping. Yeah, so it is possible. I promise it is possible. Love this.

SPEAKER_00 29:47

I absolutely love that. What have you taken from today's episode, Drew?

SPEAKER_01 29:52

What did I take out of these? Inspiration, encouragement, all of those things. Like, I and honestly, almost like um encouragement for everybody else listening. Like, listen, they're they're showing you that it is possible, it's not impossible. Come on, like, take that, stand up, do something small today. You can do it.

SPEAKER_00 30:10

Yeah, I love that's very is very inspiring. And I what I like is that you are more capable than you think, and always surprised at the end of doing difficult things, existing, living by your values, and just being brave. Your brain, your meaning-making prediction machine, your brains are prediction machines, always trying to make predictions about what will happen, sucks when it's through the lens of threat and fear. Because it's better to be right one in a million times and keep you alive than it is to be wrong nine hundred and whatever the math is. Roll the penillion gone, surprise yourself, roll it like Sandra, roll it like Sarah, roll it like our other question, uh did it anyway, and question sender in a and surprise yourself by what you'll feel like at the end. Yeah, it can be done. It really can. So it's really great. That is great. Um feel free to send in some audio and written did it anyways at disordered.fm. Look out for the upcoming app and health anxiety book, part of the disordered series. Um, and I think I'd like us to sign off with someone else's voice because ours, uh, I'm bored of my own voice. No, I'm kind of bored of yours as well, Drew.

SPEAKER_01 31:29

Very good. We love when you guys participate, so do it. Thank you for all the nice reviews that you're giving us on Spotify and Apple Podcasts and everything. Really helps the podcast. And uh, guess we'll come back next week and we'll leave you with something to hopefully get you pumped up.

SPEAKER_03 31:42

I feel like the cloaked figure with a sicklice hanging over me more than ever, but what can I do? I have to remember to live no matter what life throws at me. To do it anyway, even if I'm hurting and scared. This is my life, and I don't want to waste it on fear, fear, fear, fear, fear.