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Disordered: Anxiety Help

Disordered: Anxiety Help

By: Josh Fletcher and Drew Linsalata
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About this listen

Disordered is the podcast that delivers real, evidence-based, actionable talk about anxiety disorders and anxiety recovery in a kind, compassionate, community-oriented environment. Josh Fletcher is a qualified psychotherapist in the UK. Drew Linsalata is a therapist practicing under supervision in the US. They're both bestselling authors in the anxiety and mental health space. Josh and Drew are funny, friendly, and they have a knack for combining lived experience, formal training, and professional experience in an encouraging, inspiring, and compassionate mental health message.Josh Fletcher and Drew Linsalata Hygiene & Healthy Living Psychology Psychology & Mental Health
Episodes
  • Rumination ... Or Reflection? (Episode 112)
    Jun 6 2025

    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 so much. How can you tell the difference? Can you always tell the difference? Isn't thinking ALWAYS good because it solves problems? Why are your friends and loved ones looking at you sideways when you insist that worrying and thinking is a good move and they see you getting more and more agitated and anxious the more you think?


    These questions and more on episode 112 of Disordered, so tune in.


    Oh, and we also have a new sound effect this week. We're super pleased with that. 😂

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    Disordered Roundtables are here! Think of it as "Disordered Live", a way for members of our audience to spend time with us in an intimate virtual setting (attendance is limited) to engage in real time sharing and discussion on specific anxiety disorder and recovery topics. To be notified when new Disordered Roundtable sessions are scheduled,⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠visit our homepage and get on our mailing list⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

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    Struggling with worry and rumination that you feel you can't stop or control? Check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Worry and Rumination Explained⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, a two hour pre-recorded workshop produced by Josh and Drew. The workshop takes a deep dive into the mechanics of worrying and ruminating, offering some helpful ways to approach the seemingly unsolvable problem of trying to solve seemingly unsolvable problems.


    ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bit.ly/worryrumination⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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    Want to ask us questions, share your wins, or get more information about Josh, Drew, and the Disordered podcast? Visit us on the web:

    ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://disordered.fm⁠

    Show More Show Less
    40 mins
  • If Its Anxiety .... It MUST Be Trauma! (Episode 111)
    May 30 2025

    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 those cases that trauma appears as functional impairment long after the traumatizing experiences are over. Some anxious people struggle with this. BUT NOT ALL. It's not automatic. The word "some" is the most important word in this discussion.


    When there is trauma in the mix - and not all difficult things in life need to be called trauma - that makes anxiety recovery more layered and even more tricky in some cases, but it doesn't make things impossible. And when there is no lasting functional impact due to "trauma", insisting that anxiety disorders are an unhealed / unprocessed pain problem is a really bad strategy.


    Whatever your experiences in life with crisis, trauma, or anxiety may be, this episode is worth a listen.


    ---

    Disordered Roundtables are here! Think of it as "Disordered Live", a way for members of our audience to spend time with us in an intimate virtual setting (attendance is limited) to engage in real time sharing and discussion on specific anxiety disorder and recovery topics. To be notified when new Disordered Roundtable sessions are scheduled,⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠visit our homepage and get on our mailing list⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

    ---

    Struggling with worry and rumination that you feel you can't stop or control? Check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Worry and Rumination Explained⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, a two hour pre-recorded workshop produced by Josh and Drew. The workshop takes a deep dive into the mechanics of worrying and ruminating, offering some helpful ways to approach the seemingly unsolvable problem of trying to solve seemingly unsolvable problems.


    ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bit.ly/worryrumination⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

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    Want to ask us questions, share your wins, or get more information about Josh, Drew, and the Disordered podcast? Visit us on the web:

    ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://disordered.fm⁠

    Show More Show Less
    46 mins
  • Anxiety Recovery: Worse Before Better? (Episode 110)
    May 23 2025

    "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 them more fully. This is natural, normal, to be expected, and part of the recovery process as designed. However, it can be easy for many reasons to interpret this as things getting "worse".


    Tune in to this episode as the guys are talking about how this interpretation is created, why feeling more does not equal getting worse, and how fully experiencing the things that disturb and bother us is a required part of the recovery equation.


    If you're adopting acceptance, tolerance, or non-resistance and feel like this is "making you worse", this episode is for you.

    ---

    Disordered Roundtables are here! Think of it as "Disordered Live", a way for members of our audience to spend time with us in an intimate virtual setting (attendance is limited) to engage in real time sharing and discussion on specific anxiety disorder and recovery topics. To be notified when new Disordered Roundtable sessions are scheduled,⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠visit our homepage and get on our mailing list⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.

    ---

    Struggling with worry and rumination that you feel you can't stop or control? Check out ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Worry and Rumination Explained⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, a two hour pre-recorded workshop produced by Josh and Drew. The workshop takes a deep dive into the mechanics of worrying and ruminating, offering some helpful ways to approach the seemingly unsolvable problem of trying to solve seemingly unsolvable problems.


    ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://bit.ly/worryrumination⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

    -----

    Want to ask us questions, share your wins, or get more information about Josh, Drew, and the Disordered podcast? Visit us on the web:

    ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://disordered.fm⁠

    Show More Show Less
    41 mins
Most relevant  
These two truly understand severe anxiety and they make me belly laugh, which is just what you need when you're going through an anxious period. I love that they're educational without being condescending, and they celebrate big wins (which may seem tiny to others).

Best anxiety podcast

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One of the best podcasts about disordered anxiety I've ever listened to.

thank you

Wow. Just wow.

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love this podcast really informative and helps turn something that is very scary into something that really isn't! education on anxiety makes it so much easier to understand and handle. These guys are fantastic! Thankyou josh and drew!

amazing podcast

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Matter or fact, sensible, calming podcast which feels on your side, offering practical, realistic and evidence-based approaches to help with problems. Powerful, funny, joyous at times, never not interesting. Love
It. It’s added to the toolbox of help for me. Thanks!

So important!

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