All Episodes of Disordered

Anxiety always seems to have a strategy for you, doesn't it? Check it, prepare for it, watch it closely so nothing bad happens Stay on top of things so you can be the fixer, the predictor, the protector, the engineer of experiences Do not take your eyes off the worry because worry is proof of how good you are and how loving you are. This week we're picking that strategy apart and showing why it almost never holds up. We're talking about: The nocebo effect and why anticipating symptoms can ...

Everyone tells you to release tension. But if you live with panic disorder, OCD, or health anxiety, that advice can backfire fast. This week we're digging into why chasing relaxation as a goal often makes tension worse, and what actually helps instead. We're talking about why physical tension is a normal response to stress and fear, not a problem to fix. Why techniques like jaw stretches, massage, and meditation can turn into more monitoring and checking. And why sometimes the fastest way throu...

Anxiety has a favorite move. It doesn't argue that acceptance and exposure don't work. It just convinces you they don't apply to you specifically. This thought, this sensation, this situation, is the one exception to every rule you already understand. This week we break down what fuels that exception: possibility, intensity, and importance, plus the urgency that makes an unlikely outcome feel like it's already happening. A 1 in 5,000 chance means nothing until anxiety puts your name on it. The ...

It's your heart. Or the dizziness. Or the one thought you can't get to leave you alone. If you could just solve that specific thing, you'd finally be okay. This week we push back on that. -- Want to talk about what you're hearing today with Drew, Josh, and others that share your experience? We're hanging out in the Disordered Community Space: https://disordered.fm/community -- The subject of your fear, the heartbeat, the health scare, the intrusive thought, the situation you're avoiding, is ...

You want to do the acceptance thing. You've read the books, you've listened to the podcasts, you intellectually get it. And then you get triggered, and suddenly the version of you that's anxious, scared, or doubting gets the door slammed in its face. That version of you is broken. That version shouldn't be here. That version needs to go. But that's the version of you that actually has to learn the lesson. -- Want to talk about what you heard today or interact with us and a community of people...

This week we're talking about attention. Specifically, how where you place your focus directly impacts your anxiety and your recovery. We discuss how an anxiety disorder naturally hijacks your attention, pulling it inward to scan for threats inside your own body and mind. While checking in on how you feel might seem like the safest thing to do, it actually feeds the sensitization process. We look at the role of the locus coeruleus and the cognitive attentional syndrome, explaining why trying to...

Improving vs. Optimizing in Anxiety Recovery In this episode of Disordered, Drew and Josh tackle a topic suggested by the community: the hidden trap of the "optimization culture" and how it intersects with anxiety and OCD. There is a distinct difference between wanting to improve your health and falling into compulsive, perfectionist territory where every metric must be flawlessly managed. For an anxious mind fixated on certainty, the modern wellness industry’s obsession with biohacking, stric...

What do you do when your anxiety finally quietens down for a few days? For many of us, a calm day triggers a completely new set of anxious habits. We treat the absence of panic as a fragile victory, freezing in place so we do not ruin it, or constantly checking around the corner to see if the fear is returning. -- Want to ask questions about this episode? We're hanging out in the Disordered Community Space: https://disordered.fm/community --- In this episode, we address why the work of anxie...

Can distraction be a compulsion in anxiety recovery? It is a question that comes up constantly in the anxiety community. Many people are told to simply "distract your mind" when they feel anxious, but if you are doing it specifically to escape a feeling, it can quickly turn into a safety behavior or a compulsion. --- Want to talk about this episode with Drew, Josh, and others that are sharing your struggle and understand? We're hanging out in the Disordered Community space: https://disordered...

Asking for help can be difficult, especially when you are struggling with anxiety, panic disorder, OCD, or agoraphobia. In this episode, Drew and Josh break down the nuances of asking for anxiety help. There is a fine line between asking for genuine support and looking for compulsive reassurance or soothing to make the discomfort disappear. Drew and Josh discuss why so many people feel like a burden when asking for support and how anxiety often twists the desire for help into a demand for certa...

OCD is a difficult condition to navigate, but it becomes significantly more challenging when obsessions center on taboo topics. Themes involving harm, pedophilia (pOCD), sexual orientation (HOCD), or moral and religious failure often carry a heavy burden of shame. This shame frequently drives people into silence, preventing them from seeking the help they need. --- Want to talk about this episode with Drew, Josh, and other members of the Disordered community that share your struggle? https://...

In this episode, Josh and Drew discuss a common hurdle in anxiety recovery: the desire to "win" against your anxiety. For many, especially those with perfectionist tendencies, anxiety is viewed as an adversary that has taken something away. This leads to a constant, habitual checking to see if the anxiety is gone, which inadvertently keeps you stuck in a cycle of monitoring and frustration. --- Want to talk about this episode with us and interact with others that are sharing your experience? ...

Let's start with a success story from the UK. While being medically monitored for four hours, our listener realized how much attention she was giving to her physical symptoms. Her story highlights the difference between noticing a sensation and compulsively monitoring it. -- Want to talk about this episode and interact with others that share your experience in a supportive and encouraging environment? Check the Disordered Community space: https://disordered.fm/community -- Which leads us to ...

Have you ever felt like a supermarket was a high-stakes obstacle course you just couldn’t wait to escape? In this episode of Disordered, Josh and Drew dive deep into a struggle that almost everyone with an anxiety disorder knows well: anxiety in the supermarket or grocery store. Whether it is the harsh fluorescent lighting, the narrow aisles, or the trapped feeling of standing in a long checkout queue, the grocery store is often a primary trigger for panic and agoraphobia. We discuss why this m...

Want to talk about what you heard here? We're hanging out in the Disordered community space: https://disordered.fm/community --- This episode of Disordered dives into the concept of sneaky compulsions. Many people struggling with anxiety or OCD often find themselves performing behaviors that they do not immediately recognize as compulsions. These can look like productive research, seeking reassurance through a joke, or even "checking" to see if you still feel calm. Drew and Josh discuss how ...

Want to talk about what you heard today? Check out the Disordered Community space: https://disordered.fm/community ---- In this milestone episode of Disordered, we discuss the concepts in Josh's upcoming book. The conversation focuses on the gaps in anxiety recovery and the modern hurdles that prevent people from effectively practicing desensitization. They break down how the obsession with "optimization" and the "wellness brosphere" often becomes a distraction from the actual work of recover...

Want to talk about what you hear on this episode? Join us in the Disordered community space: https://disordered.fm/community --- In this episode, Josh and Drew tackle a common hurdle in anxiety recovery: what happens when an exposure feels like a "failure" or when you choose to "bail." An exposure is the deliberate act of evoking an anxious response. It is a way to rewire the brain by intentionally lighting up the threat response and practicing response prevention. The goal is to teach ...

Want to talk about what you're hearing today with Josh, Drew, and others that are sharing your experience? Check out the Disordered Community Space: https://disordered.fm/community --- This episode of Disordered addresses the experience of constant, simmering anxiety that fluctuates in intensity throughout the day without fully disappearing. We refer to this as undulating panic or a loop of peaking anxiety. The Nature of Rolling Anxiety: Many people that they are different because they don't ...

Want to discuss what you hear on this episode with Josh and Drew and others that are sharing your experience? Check out the Disordered Podcast Community Space. https://disordered.fm/communty ---- In this episode of Disordered, we celebrate the "Global Edition" of Did It Anyway. We're sharing inspiring stories from our community members around the world who chose to face their fears and take action despite experiencing intense anxiety. From navigating health anxiety at a drum and bass gig in ...

Want to talk about what you're hearing in this episode with Josh and Drew and others that share your experience? https://disordered.fm/community ---- In this episode, Josh and Drew break down the "Stress Jug"—a metaphor designed to explain why anxiety and panic often seem to appear out of nowhere. The guys discuss how accumulated stress, both positive and negative, can cause your "threat response" to overflow, leading to sensitization and the search for a threat where none exists. The Mechani...

Questions about this episode? Want to interact with Drew, Josh, and other members of the Disordered audience? Check out the Disordered Community Space! ⁠https://disordered.fm/community⁠ ------- This week we're discussing the relationship between anxiety and self-compassion. Self-compassion is often dismissed as a way to avoid difficult tasks or "whine" about struggles, but it is actually a functional part of the desensitization process. Drew shares how he originally viewed self...

Questions about this episode? Want to interact with Drew, Josh, and other members of the Disordered audience? Check out the Disordered Community Space! https://disordered.fm/community ------- This episode of Disordered explores the vital role of attention in anxiety recovery. Josh and Drew discuss the core skill of moving your attention while feeling high levels of fear. Many people struggling with anxiety disorders feel their attention is glued to symptoms or intrusive thoughts. Josh d...

After many months of building and planning, the Disordered Community space is now live. We could not be more pleased about this! Check out the community space here: https://disordered.fm/community Why did we do this? Endless scroll, algorithm-driven, attention focused platforms that only want to monetize your struggle are awful places to support anxious people. A smaller, more focused, intentional community where we can interact in a meaningful way and foster education, inspiration, and encou...

This episode of Disordered examines the fundamental "Golden Rules" of anxiety desensitization. Josh and Drew break down two core principles designed to guide long term desensitization for those struggling with panic disorder, agoraphobia, OCD, and health anxiety. They move away from promising cures or quick fixes, focusing instead on changing the listener's relationship with discomfort. Rule One: Do what non-anxious you would do while anxious. The guys explain that this involves engaging in lif...