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There's whole industry built around helping people feel good about feeling bad, and while validation has its place, this endless cycle of anxiety content might actually be keeping you stuck. In this episode, we explore how consuming validation-focused content can become a form of modern reassurance-seeking that maintains anxiety disorders rather than promoting recovery.

We'll discuss the research showing that excessive reassurance-seeking provides immediate relief but leads to increased anxiety over time. You'll learn the difference between helpful validation and the validation trap, and why automatically turning to anxiety content when you feel uncomfortable might be functioning as a safety behavior.

This episode covers the distinction between feeling understood and actually moving forward in recovery, how social media consumption patterns affect anxiety levels, and practical guidelines for consuming mental health content in ways that support rather than sabotage your progress.

If you've been consuming anxiety content for months or years but still feel stuck, this episode will help you examine whether feeling good about feeling bad has become another way to avoid the discomfort that comes with real change.

Topics covered:

• The research on reassurance-seeking and anxiety maintenance
• How validation content can become a safety behavior
• The difference between active and passive content consumption
• Red flags in wellness and mental health content
• Moving from understanding to action in anxiety recovery
• Why you don't need to feel good about anxiety to live your life

Recovery isn't about feeling good about your anxiety. It's about learning that you don't need to feel good about it in order to build a life worth living.

For full show notes on this episode:

https://theanxioustruth.com/325

Support The Anxious Truth: If you find the podcast helpful and want to support my work, you can buy me a coffee. Other ways to support my work like buying a book or signing up for a low cost workshop can be found on my website. None of this is never required, but always appreciated!

Interested in doing therapy with me? For more information on working with me directly to overcome your anxiety, follow this link.

Disclaimer: The Anxious Truth is not therapy or a replacement for therapy. Listening to The Anxious Truth does not create a therapeutic relationship between you and the host or guests of the podcast. Information here is provided for psychoeducational purposes. As always, when you have questions about your own well-being, please consult your mental health and/or medical care providers. If you are having a mental health crisis, always reach out immediately for in-person help.

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If you're struggling with anxiety disorders and constantly being told you need a positive mindset, stronger beliefs, and better motivation to recover, this episode is for you. I'm breaking down why these three concepts are tragically misunderstood and misapplied in anxiety recovery—and why they might actually be keeping you stuck.

What You'll Learn:

• Why you can't just "decide" to believe in yourself or adopt a positive mindset
• The counterproductive fantasy that words will change how you think and feel
• Why motivation follows action, not the other way around
• How to work with your current negative beliefs instead of fighting them
• The only "mindset" that actually matters in recovery
• Why it's normal (and okay) to doubt yourself and lack motivation

Episode Timestamps:

[0:00 - 3:30] Introduction and why belief, mindset, and motivation advice often backfires

[3:30 - 6:00] The fantasy that words will fix us and why we want to avoid difficult action

[6:00 - 9:30] Where bad advice comes from and why helpers sometimes rely on oversimplified approaches

[9:30 - 12:30] Why you can't manufacture beliefs, mindset, or motivation on demand

[12:30 - 16:30] The reality: action comes before belief change, not after

[16:30 - 19:00] The only mindset that matters: awareness over positivity

[19:00 - 23:00] Why it's normal and okay to have negative beliefs and lack motivation

[23:00 - 27:00] Challenging helpers who rely on "you just need to want it more"

[27:00 - 29:30] Final thoughts and permission to be where you are right now

Key Takeaways:

You don't need to wake up believing you're a warrior who can vanquish anxiety. You don't need a positive mindset or perfect motivation. What you need is willingness to take small risks and experiment with new behaviors, even when everything inside you is saying "don't do that." Recovery happens when you act anyway—despite doubt, fear, and negative beliefs.

Remember: if you're struggling to "just think positive" or get motivated, that's not a character flaw. You're encountering advice that doesn't match how humans actually change and recover from anxiety disorders.

For full show notes on this episode:

https://theanxioustruth.com/324

Support The Anxious Truth: If you find the podcast helpful and want to support my work, you can buy me a coffee. Other ways to support my work like buying a book or signing up for a low cost workshop can be found on my website. None of this is never required, but always appreciated!

Interested in doing therapy with me? For more information on working with me directly to overcome your anxiety, follow this link.

Disclaimer: The Anxious Truth is not therapy or a replacement for therapy. Listening to The Anxious Truth does not create a therapeutic relationship between you and the host or guests of the podcast. Information here is provided for psychoeducational purposes. As always, when you have questions about your own well-being, please consult your mental health and/or medical care providers. If you are having a mental health crisis, always reach out immediately for in-person help.

Send in a question or comment via text.

Exposure for anxiety is the gold standard treatment for anxiety disorders, but most people get it wrong, especially when trying to use exposure without professional help. In this episode, we're breaking down why so many people struggle with exposure for anxiety and how to avoid the common traps that lead to frustration and giving up.

If you've ever tried exposure therapy for panic disorder, agoraphobia, OCD, social anxiety, or health anxiety and felt like it wasn't working, this episode is for you. Learn the real science behind exposure, why it's supposed to be scary, and how to apply these principles correctly in your anxiety recovery journey.

Key Topics & Timestamps:

• [02:57] What exposure for anxiety really is (and what it's not)
• [05:02] The internal experience vs. external triggers - why this matters
• [06:42] How exposure actually works: habituation vs. inhibitory learning
• [10:40] The foundational truth that makes exposure possible
• [14:00] Why exposure for anxiety is supposed to be scary
• [16:07] The control trap: why trying to manage fear during exposure backfires
• [20:30] Doing vs. not doing: different types of exposure for different anxiety disorders
• [24:10] Why knowledge matters when applying exposure principles
• [26:20] Working with therapists vs. self-directed exposure

Perfect for listeners dealing with:

• Panic disorder and agoraphobia
• OCD (Obsessive Compulsive Disorder)
• Social anxiety disorder
• Health anxiety/illness anxiety
• Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD)
• Fear of exposure therapy
• Feeling stuck in anxiety recovery

Resources mentioned:

• Exposure Explained Workshop (September 4, 2025)
• The Anxious Truth website: theanxioustruth.com

Support The Anxious Truth: If you find the podcast helpful and want to support my work, you can buy me a coffee. Other ways to support my work like buying a book or signing up for a low cost workshop can be found on my website. None of this is never required, but always appreciated!

Interested in doing therapy with me? For more information on working with me directly to overcome your anxiety, follow this link.

Disclaimer: The Anxious Truth is not therapy or a replacement for therapy. Listening to The Anxious Truth does not create a therapeutic relationship between you and the host or guests of the podcast. Information here is provided for psychoeducational purposes. As always, when you have questions about your own well-being, please consult your mental health and/or medical care providers. If you are having a mental health crisis, always reach out immediately for in-person help.