Anxiety is incongruent. It promises the worst and never delivers. If anxiety were a person it would promise you the moon and give you a drawing of it instead. It's a liar. The fact that people feel anxiety deeply, well that I understand. It can wreak havoc on your mind and body if you let it. But for all the chaos it causes internally, it doesn't make true all the things that you fear. Sounds easy to say, but I say this after years of being around it. I've seen anxiety in family, friends, and strangers. I've seen it up close and from afar. And
The 10 Best Ways to Beat Cabin Fever
Are you starting to feel a little stir crazy because of the coronavirus quarantine? I have been stuck at home for about two weeks now and I definitely get a little restless sometimes. It makes sense. There's only so much Netflix you can watch before you start feeling tired and bored. So what can you do to pass the time in a healthier way? Well last week I gave you a number of different coping skills that you can use to manage your anxiety during these strange times. On today's episode I'm going to add to that list to provide you with as many
Hello World
Hi all! I recently received an email from an AG reader and she was like "Hope you're ok." I was like man, better get on here and let folks know that I am, in fact, still breathing haha. I've been busy with work and family so I've stopped working on the AG website altogether. I can't bring myself to retire the site, but for now things are likely to stay this way. I've also been running a private practice that helps anxious people. Kinda sucks that I can only work with people in California, but hopefully the laws that govern my profession will
How to Defeat Persistent Anxiety
When you're faced with relapse or persistent anxiety part of you might feel defeated. Like no matter what you do you just can't seem to get the upper hand against your anxiety. I certainly felt that way when I had a few good days in a row followed by a return of anxious thoughts or symptoms. In my view, it is okay to acknowledge how you feel in those dark, lonely moments. Yet, it can be dangerous to linger too long on those kinds of negative thoughts. Dangerous in that anxiety tends to build on itself and the more you stand still and ponder how
The Problem With Modern Psychotherapy
Over the past 100 years clinicians and researchers have worked hard to improve what we call psychotherapy. Many of those improvements have led to standardization and improved outcomes. Nowadays, everything is "evidenced based" which is, of course, a good thing. Yet there remains a huge problem in mental health, and it isn't the hundreds of models of therapy that are now available. Rather, it's the large proportion of people delivering these interventions that suck at their job. Now, to be fair, there are many talented people providing mental
How I Conquered 7 of My Greatest Fears in One Week
I never hide the fact that I still get anxious sometimes. Despite not having the overt symptoms that I used to have, there are days when my skills get put to the test. Case in point: My recent vacation to Cozumel. After years of feeling pretty Yoda like, I figured this vacation would be no big deal. That is, of course, until I started to think about all the various things I'd have to overcome to make this vacation happen. Suddenly I was faced with 7 of my greatest fears. Sure, I know a lot about anxiety and anxiety reduction, but the truth
Health Anxiety, Guilt Trips, and Tropical Vacations
Hey Guys, I hope all is well. I've been pretty swamped lately but starting tomorrow I'll finally get a chance to chill out a bit. I'll be traveling to Cancun tonight and staying there for about a week. I won't be working while I'm there, so I thought it would be a good time to post a new podcast. Lately I've been receiving a ton of email about various issues related to health anxiety. So I thought it would be helpful to revisit this issue but also provide more detail about the different kinds of health anxiety that people struggle with. Like
Paul Answers Listener Email
In this week's episode of the AG Show I shift gears a bit and just answer a few emails. Actually, this wasn't even my idea. An AG Show listener suggested it a few weeks back and I thought it would be a nice change of pace. I chose 6 or 7 emails that cover a wide range of issues to help sharpen your anti-anxiety skills, or help you fall asleep, it really depends on how soothing you think my voice is. Perhaps the most interesting part of this week's podcast was the opportunity to hear just how many different ways anxiety can impact a person's
Simple Is Better
Steve Jobs once said... You have to work hard to get your thinking clean to make it simple. But it's worth it in the end because once you get there, you can move mountains." Ain't that the truth? The problem is that simplifying our thoughts is complicated. Our minds are in constant search of connections, patterns and meaning, setting the stage for a whole lot of thinking and not much else. We often get bogged down in details that don't matter and stay distracted enough to miss all the important stuff. I'm no different. Take my
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