Owning It: The Anxiety Podcast

Chloe Brotheridge is the host of The Calmer You podcast which I was a guest on earlier this year. She is also the author of the bestselling book The Anxiety Solution. Here she shares with me her anxiety story, her coping mechanisms, what she does to manage it these days, how she got into hypnotherapy and why that might be helpful for dealing with anxiety and her approach to social anxiety. We also talk a lot about compassion as a weapon against anxiety. Chloe's book is widely available online.Please support Owning It The Anxiety Podcast, if you can spare a few quid, by tipping it at patreon.com/carolineforanSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/owningittheanxietypodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For this episode I am joined by one of my heroes: Dr Kristin Neff. She is so ridiculously qualified there just isn't enough room in the podcast notes to fill you in on why she's the business but we do discuss her background at the beginning of this episode. Her main topic is self-compassion and when I first came across her TED Talk, it was an instant game changer for me. Here she talks me through the science of self-compassion, how to bring more of it into our life, what we get wrong about it, how it can benefit us and what exactly happens in the brain and body when we choose to take the self-compassionate route. It is my ultimate anxiety reducing tool these days and I hope, upon listening to this episode, that it's the same for you. For more on self-compassion, go to Dr Neff's brilliant website, https://self-compassion.org.Please support Owning It the series via either my Patreon page on www.patreon.com/carolineforan or the one-time supporter function on Acast. Thanks so much for tuning in and for all of the

This week my guest is the wonderful Angela Scanlon, tv presenter, broadcast journalist, woman with the most stunning red hair you've ever seen, and she also hosts her own brilliant podcast called Thanks a million which is all about thankfulness and gratitude and she has some epic guests on there. On this series though, the topic of conversation is Angela's experience of anxiety and I just related to her story so much. The feeling of being at odds between how we present ourselves to the world and how we view ourselves privately, an incredibly common driver of anxiety. I hope you find this episode as reassuring and familiar as I did. As always thanks for your support via www.patreon.com/carolineforan or via the acast support feature where you can give a one-time tip to the series!Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/owningittheanxietypodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Something I have yet to really dive into is the anxiety surrounding a break up, which is something so many of us, if not all of us, will probably experience at some point in our lives. Maybe it's a split from your first love, or maybe, as is the case for my guest, journalist and author Liadan Hynes, it's a separation from your husband or partner with whom you share children or someone with whom you've built a life that you expected to see continue forever. It's a very tangible anxiety: that realisation that you need to remove yourself from the relationship, or maybe you're perfectly happy but then face the anxiety of learning that your partner wants out, and suddenly your whole life, stretching out in front of you looks different and terrifying. Here Lia, who has written an incredible book called How to Fall Apart shares her story, how she coped with the anxiety that went along with the various stages of this major life change and how she's doing now. I don't doubt that this will resonate with

Hello dear listener and welcome to this expert led episode of owning it the anxiety podcast with your host, author Caroline Foran. This time we are delving into our endocrine system. What role do our hormones play when it comes to anxiety? What's the job of our pituitary gland - what even is that - and why is this so important if we want to bring down our anxious symptoms? Long story short, your hormones are EVERYTHING. And we so often overlook them or are completely unaware of how powerful they can be. It's not all in your head, it's all in your hormones. Here internationally renowned endocrinologist Dr Mary Ryan helps us to better understand our hormones, the key players involved with anxiety in particular, and advises us on precisely what our pituitary gland needs in order to function well, which, of course, leads us to feeling less anxious. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/owningittheanxietypodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

At this point in the season, I want to explore anxiety in the gay community: particularly the anxiety surrounding coming out to family and friends, feeling 'othered' at school growing up gay. For this episode I am joined by Celebrity Masterchef winner 2020, LGBTQ+ activist, bestselling author and broadcaster Riyadh Khalaf who shares his experience with me from childhood right through to present times. We talk about the anxiety of feeling at odds with how you think you 'should' be. The fear of rejection. How he navigated telling his parents that he was gay - which was not the story of instant acceptance you'd hope for - and where he's at now with self-love and acceptance. He offers great insights and advice for anyone facing their own experience of coming out. I really loved having this chat with Riyadh and whether or not you as the listener are gay doesn't really matter, if you've ever felt a disconnect between how you feel inside and the person you put out to the world, this conversation will resonate with y

For this episode I am so excited to be joined by a guest that i have so long wanted to feature on this series. Her name is Dr Kelly McGonigal. Her Ted Talk has inspired so much of what I do and has informed so much of my mentality and approach towards managing anxiety. In this episode we talk about exercise for anxiety and let me tell you, having recently published a new book about the neuroscience of exercise called The Joy of Movement, her insights are mind blowing. I did not realise half of this stuff. I'm pretty sure I say 'wow' after every answer to every question! Then we talk about compassion too and I don't doubt that if you're enjoying the series so far, you will love this episode. Thanks to those of you supporting the podcast either on patreon.com/carolineforan or via the acast support app and thanks for tuning in.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/owningittheanxietypodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

I was so excited to get some time with Ella Mills of Deliciously Ella fame to chat about anxiety. We spoke over ZOOM as with most of season, it was recorded during lockdown when social distancing was key so unfortunately it'll never be as good quality as it would have been in studio. Ella is incredibly open in sharing her story of how her career came to be and how, when faced with all of this success, she began to experience crippling anxiety. She is a champion of owning one's vulnerability which you know is what I see as our superpower and she has come a long way in learning to embrace the anxiety that comes with her life and has reduced it massively with a compassionate approach as well as her love of yoga. I hope you enjoy hearing her story.Thanks for supporting me if you already have by tipping the series so that it can keep going via my Patreon page, patreon.com/carolineforan and don't forget the books (OWNING IT and The Confidence Kit - OWN IT and You Got This if you are in the US/Canada) are widely ava

For this expert led episode my guest is Dr Harry Barry. He has written ten books to help us manage our mental health and his latest is called Emotional Healing and it's widely available now. We have a really enlightening conversation about the difference between mental illness and emotional distress, the latter of which is what most of us are actually dealing with. Understanding the nature of emotional distress is so important and takes an awful lot of the fear away from anxiety. We also go into great detail on panic attacks and phobias, the three distinct types of anxiety we might experience and how they happen in the body as well as how we can intervene and get ourselves back to feeling at ease. Again, if I had listened to something like this a number of years ago, it would have made an enormously positive difference to me. I hope it does for you. Please support Owning It by tipping the series with the price of a coffee over on patreon.com/carolineforan or get hold of

To kick off this new series, of which there will be 15 episodes that mix world class experts on anxiety in with everyday people's anxiety stories, I am joined by the incredible Brian Pennie. I don't need to give him much of an intro because his story of overcoming adversity speaks for itself. Brian is a recovered addict, he's the author of the phenomenal memoir Bonus Time and he's now undertaking a PHD, spending his time educating people on psychology and neuroscience. At the root of all of what Brian has been through, you'll find anxiety. I don't doubt that his story will resonate, he has a wonderfully realistic relationship with anxiety these days and he also has some wonderful resources available to others via his website brianpennie.com. Enjoy and welcome back. Any support of this series and my work is greatly appreciated, either by buying the books, sharing the podcast or financially supporting it either here via the 'support' option or over on patreon: patreon.com/carolineforan.Support this sh

This is the last episode of season 3 before season 4 launches in just a few short weeks. The topic? Just as we had to adapt into lockdown and deal with all of the anxiety that brought fore, so too will it take a little bit of time to adapt back to whatever our new normal will be. There might be some social anxiety, our bodies have been conditioned to be hyper vigilant to protect us from the virus so it could feel unnerving to be back in close proximity to others and in general we've all gotten used to living a much smaller life. Here's exactly what to be mindful of as you get back to normal. Plus 12 questions to always ask yourself whenever you feel panicky or anxious. Please support the series on www.patreon.com/carolineforan Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/owningittheanxietypodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For this episode of Owning It I introduce a skill that has massively helped my day to day anxiety, especially as I approach anxiety-inducing life events where my amygdala wants to say 'no!' and run for the hills but my prefrontal cortex knows that maybe, this is something I should do, maybe it would be good for me. It's something I wanted to talk about now as we start to emerge from lockdown and life gets back to normal and we'll be spending less time at home and have more chance of confronting the anxiety of decisions to be made. Indecision breeds fear, making a decision quells it. Thank you for listening and supporting. Please tip the series at patreon.com/carolineforan. For more skills like this one, pick up The Confidence Kit (You Got This is the title of the same book in the USA) or Owning It. You can also pre-order my third book NAKED online now. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/owningittheanxietypodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In another of my shorter solo episodes that make up season 3, I wanted to talk through some of the books that had the biggest impact on me when it came to my own management and understanding of anxiety, as well as changing my perspective on it and allowing me to get to a place where the idea of owning it was possible. Also within this episode I offer a simple breathing exercise utilising the Ujjayi breathing technique that is my absolute favourite when I need instant calmness in my body. I hope you find it helpful. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/owningittheanxietypodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this solo episode, I talk through exactly what I do when I feel anxiety rising, which happened again just last week. I talk you through my practise of taking pen to paper, exactly what kind of questions I ask myself and how I put myself back in the driving seat which helps to ease the anxiety massively. The most important thing? Employing the Assess and Address technique and asking yourself 'what vulnerability factors are at play here?' I hope you find this episode helpful. Please support the series with the price of a cup of coffee over on www.patreon.com/carolineforan or if you can't do that, get your hands on one of my books or simply share the series with someone who you think might find it helpful. Thanks so muchSupport this show http://supporter.acast.com/owningittheanxietypodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this solo episode, the 6th of this season which is more geared towards helping us cope better during Covid-19, I take a look at some recent research that has emerged about how we are getting on working from home. Unfortunately, there is a huge increase in anxiety for several reasons, and that's understandable and okay but there are things we can do to put us back in the driving seat which will positively impact your symptoms of anxiety. Couple these with the mindset approaches we've been working on throughout this series and you will notice an improvement as your are shifting your focus towards what you can control and away from dwelling on that which you can't.Please tip the series over on Patreon if you are finding it helpful; it makes such a massive difference and allows me to keep sharing this content for free. www.patreon.com/CarolineForan and if you'd like to buy Owning It or The Confidence Kit (my two books on which this series is based) you will find them easily on Amazon or most online retailers.

In this solo episode, alongside a therapeutic breathing exercise to help relax the mind and body as you listen, I offer 8 common misconceptions we can have about anxiety that serve only to enhance the anxiety itself. These are 8 beliefs I held that quite literally held me back from getting to a point of owning it and feeling better. I hope these will be helpful reminders for you too, especially as we navigate our way through the pandemic. If you find the series helpful and want to support it financially, please tip the price of a cup of coffee to the show over on my patreon page, patreon.com/carolineforan - it is much appreciated!Buy Owning It the book or The Confidence Kit book here. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/owningittheanxietypodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Another solo episode as part of season 3. This time I am introducing you to the concept of Comfortable Neutrality which is essential for increasing confidence and an incredibly helpful tool for down-regulating our anxiety response. It is an idea put forward in my second book The Confidence Kit (which is out now in the US/Canada but called 'You Got This') and once you wrap your head around it you can start to practise it daily. This episode also includes a meditative body scan. If you'd like to support the series please tip the podcast at www.patreon.com/carolineforan or purchase either Owning It (Own It in the US) or The Confidence Kit (You Got This in the US) or pre-order NAKED which is all about the power of vulnerability and is due for release next January. Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/owningittheanxietypodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

For this episode I am joined by financial expert and author of How to be Good with Money, Eoin McGee. Right now financial anxiety might be an issue for a lot more of us than would normally be the case, thanks to the impact of the pandemic. It's certainly something I am feeling and as such it's something I wanted advice on. Knowing how to manage financial anxiety, with practical steps, will not only be helpful now but always stand to us should we ever find ourselves struggling against this very tangible vulnerability factor.Support Owning It The Anxiety Podcast here on Patreon, and a huge thank you in advance.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/owningittheanxietypodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hi guys, in this second episode of season 3 I am drilling down into some of the content explored in my second book, The Confidence Kit. I am looking at the comfort zone model and the importance of what's called a stretch zone experience when it comes to owning our anxiety and building our confidence. I talk through the ideal scenario so that we are not feeling excessive anxiety at any point but are not so stuck in our comfort zones that we are not growing our challenging our anxiety so as to ensure it doesn't own us.Support the podcast on patreon here. WWW.PATREON.COM/CAROLINEFORANBuy The Confidence Kit here.Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/owningittheanxietypodcast. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello dear listener and welcome back to season 3 of Owning It The Anxiety Podcast. I am back a little sooner than planned with slightly different episodes than planned and for that we can blame the pandemic, hurrah! I know anxiety is at an all time high right now so I want to be there for people who need reassurance via the podcast. For season 3 it will be just me releasing weekly short episodes that will offer a coping mechanism, a how-to or something useful that I hope will help you to feel more at ease not just during the pandemic but outside of it too. These are anxiety management skills that have turned my life around and often they are very simple. First up I want to reach out to anyone who has maybe never experienced anxiety before and is feeling unnerved by its presence or for those who thought they were doing fine and suddenly feel its weight again.This 20 minute episode will reassure you that whatever you are feeling is A-OK. Thanks for supporting me if you already have by tipping the series so that