All Episodes of Disordered

In this essential episode, Drew and Josh are joined by Dr. Birthe Macdonald, a psychologist and neuroscience researcher who's become a vital voice in combating mental health misinformation on social media. The conversation tackles the overwhelming sea of questionable advice that anxious people encounter online, from vagus nerve stimulation devices to "nervous system regulation" quick fixes. Dr. Macdonald shares her journey from neuroscience researcher to science communicator, sparked by spons...

In this episode, we explore how the language we use to describe our anxiety experiences can either fuel our struggles or support our recovery. We examine the difference between helpful and unhelpful ways of talking about panic attacks, intrusive thoughts, and anxiety symptoms. We discuss why saying "it feels like I'm dying" versus "I'm experiencing intense physical sensations" can dramatically impact your recovery journey. We challenge common phrases like "sit with it," "just ignore it," and ...

In this episode, Josh and Drew tackle one of the most counterintuitive concepts in overcoming panic attacks: learning how to panic better, rather than trying to avoid panic altogether. When facing a new job triggers familiar panic patterns, many people focus on preventing anxiety rather than developing a healthier relationship with it. Drew and Josh explore why "learning how to panic" is often the key to breaking free from panic disorder and agoraphobia. Josh and Drew discuss the difference be...

When you're struggling with anxiety disorders, you often do things that don't reflect who you really are - avoiding social gatherings, canceling plans, or making demands on loved ones that you normally wouldn't. As you start to recover, it's common to feel overwhelming guilt about how your anxiety affected the people around you. In this episode, Drew and Josh explore the complex journey of self-forgiveness after anxiety recovery. They discuss why anxiety disorders can make people appear self-...

When anxiety takes hold, one of the first casualties is our natural sense of wonder and openness to new experiences. In this episode of Disordered, lets explore how anxiety disorders systematically erode our curiosity about the world around us and our own capabilities. Drew and Josh discuss how anxiety creates a rigid, self-focused mindset that asks only "How will this make me feel?" rather than "What might I discover?" They examine how this shift from external curiosity to internal fixati...

When something shocking or difficult happens, we're often told we need to "process" our emotions. But what if that endless loop of replaying events in your mind isn't actually processing at all? In this episode, Drew and Josh explore the crucial difference between healthy emotional processing and anxious rumination that keeps us stuck. How to distinguish between genuine emotional processing and OCD/GAD-style rumination Why that "urgent" feeling to think through something repeatedly might ...

In this episode of Disordered, the guys tackle one of the most misunderstood concepts in anxiety recovery: healing. Sparked by a listener question about balancing relationships with anxiety recovery work, the hosts dive deep into what healing anxiety really means - and what it doesn't. The Problem with "Healing" Language Drew and Josh explore how the word "healing" can be problematic in anxiety recovery, often implying that people are broken and need fixing. They discuss how healing anxiet...

Ever feel trapped in cycles of rumination, overthinking, and constant mental chatter about your anxiety? In this episode, Drew and Josh tackle the challenging question of how to "get out of your own head" without turning it into another exhausting battle. Starting with a thoughtful question from a listener who has built an impressive life despite ongoing anxiety and DPDR but still struggles with constant internal focus, the hosts explore why simply trying to stop thinking doesn't work and wha...

What If I Want To Control My Anxiety Holistically? In this episode, Drew and Josh examine tension between wanting to control anxiety through holistic approaches and recognizing when that desire for control becomes part of the problem itself. Key Topics Discussed: The difference between actual control and the illusion of control How the wellness and self-optimization industry can exploit anxiety sufferers Why treating anxiety as a threat teaches your brain to keep the alarm system ac...

Am I Doing Too Much Recovery/Exposure? This week Drew and Josh tackle a common question in anxiety recovery: "Am I pushing myself too hard with exposures?" The guys explore the nuanced balance between challenging yourself and recognizing when you might genuinely need rest. In this episode: How to distinguish between being genuinely depleted versus being scared Why feeling anxious after successful exposures doesn't mean you've done "too much" The difference between active, reasoned deci...

This week Drew and Josh are answering questions from listeners. Questions addressed in this episode include: Is it "normal" to feel a letdown after completing and big successful exposure/challenge? What work can we do to address the fawn response? Isn't a panic attack a medical emergency? How can it possibly be safe to experience panic?! Staying off social media is good for mental health, right? But is that anxiety avoidance? How can I learn how to NOT tense my body? It's such a ...

Death anxiety - an obsessive fixation on death, dying and existence driven by intense fear of the inevitability of death - is a very common experience for listeners of Disordered. This week Josh and Drew were lucky enough to have a chat with Professor David Veale, one of the leading authorities in in the UK on the topic of death anxiety and mental health issues related to death and existence. David helped spread some light and some much-needed humor on this topic that might help you change...

What's the difference between rumination and reflection? Ruminators, worriers, and over thinkers often struggle to recognize the useful limits of thinking. They can become unsure when they are engaging in helpful reflection or problem solving .... and when they are ruminating and worrying with no good outcomes and often actual negative outcomes. This week on Disordered Drew and Josh are digging in to the difference between rumination and reflection. Reflection is good. Rumination ... not s...

This week on Disordered we're discussing the all too common narrative in wellness circles that demands that we ascribe all anxiety or suffering of any kind to unhealed or unprocessed trauma. And while its certainly a good thing that we are more concerned with life experiences than structural defects now, this narrative can be unhelpful or even harmful in the context of anxiety disorders. All humans experiences crises. Some of those crises remain unresolved and create trauma. In some of tho...

"Help! I started doing exposures and trying to accept my anxiety and its getting worse!" This is a very common experience in anxiety disorder recovery. Its been spoken about at great length in the community surrounding the Disordered podcast. This week we're tackling the "worse before better" issue. When you stop running, hiding, avoiding, escaping, distracting, and otherwise drowning out your anxious thoughts, fears, and sensations, you will find yourself in a situation where you feel ...

When we struggle with chronic or disordered anxiety, we regularly experience powerful emotions that tend to look like fear or tension. We may experience intense feelings of being vulnerable, or doomed. We talk about these things all the time. But what about when you have emotions about having those emotions? Struggling to overcome an anxiety problem that is creating disruption in your life is going to trigger actual emotions beyond just fear. Many feel: Frustrated - because they can't seem to...

"Hey ChatGPT. Please tell me how I'll know if I'm accepting my anxiety or avoiding it." "Hey ChatGPT. When I get anxious my vision gets weird. Can anxiety do that? " "Hello Reddit. Does anyone else feel like ...." The guys are back after a short break to talk about the use of ChatGPT, AI, Reddit, Google, and the Internet in general in the context of anxiety and mental health issues. There's no doubt that large language models - software that aggregates extremely large amounts of i...

We're taking a short two week break, so no new episode of Disordered for April 18 or April 25. We'll be back again on May 2! In the meanwhile, head over to disordered.fm and check out our back catalog of episodes. We've done some cool (and fun) stuff over the last two years so check it out. Thank you for all your support. We really appreciate all of you guys! --- Disordered Roundtables are here! Think of it as "Disordered Live", a way for members of our audience to spend time with us in an i...

When working on anxiety recovery, sometimes we're DOING. Other times we have to focus on NOT doing. How confusing is that!? This week Drew and Josh are chatting about how DOING things specific to anxiety recovery and NOT DOING things specific to anxiety recovery are related and how these two concepts work together. In a nutshell, doing is about activating and engaging in behavior that anxiety says you should avoid. On the flip side, not doing is about refraining from the actions (inc...

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 overcomi...

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...

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 circum...

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, inconsolabl...

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...