Everything I know about Anxiety Recovery (in one episode)

Everything I Know About Anxiety Recovery (in One Episode)
Welcome back to Your Anxiety Toolkit! This is Kimberley Quinlan, and today is a special episode-our 400th! Can you believe it? I’ve been treating anxiety for 13 years now, and over that time, I’ve learned a lot about anxiety recovery. In this episode, I’m going to boil it all down for you. While I can’t fit everything into one episode (we’d be here for 375 days), I’m giving you the key points you need to keep your anxiety recovery on track.
Let’s dive into everything I know about anxiety recovery!
1. Self-Discipline Is Key
If there’s one thing you need to recover from anxiety, it’s self-discipline. It’s about following through on the plan you set, even when it’s hard. Self-discipline is what sets apart the people who allow anxiety to control their decisions and those who don’t. Recovery means being able to say, “Anxiety doesn’t make my choices anymore.”
How do we develop self-discipline?
Make a plan: Set clear steps for your recovery.
Stick to it: Even when it feels tough, follow through.
Get support: You don’t have to do it alone, but you do need to do it.
2. Practice Self-Kindness
Self-kindness isn’t just a nice-to-have in recovery-it’s essential. When you’re kind to yourself, the ups and downs of anxiety recovery become easier to manage. Research even shows that self-compassion can reduce the likelihood of relapses.
To practice self-kindness:
Talk to yourself as you would a friend: Treat yourself with patience and understanding.
Allow mistakes: Recovery isn’t a straight line, and that’s okay.
Remember, you don’t have to practice self-kindness to recover, but it sure makes the process a lot easier.
3. Understand Your Condition
You must understand your specific anxiety disorder to recover. Whether it’s OCD, social anxiety, panic disorder, or depression, each requires a slightly different treatment approach. Understanding your condition helps you:
Identify triggers: Know what sets off your anxiety.
Use the right strategies: Tailor your recovery plan to your specific disorder.
Normalize your experience: Knowing why you feel anxious can reduce self-judgment.
Pro tip: Avoid Googling symptoms-it often leads to more anxiety.
4. Don’t Believe Every BS Thought
Here’s a big one: most anxious thoughts are BS. That’s right, they’re faulty alarms going off when there’s no real emergency.
Here’s how you can challenge those anxious thoughts:
Ask yourself, is this happening right now? If not, your brain is likely catastrophizing.
Treat your thoughts like a faulty vacuum: When a vacuum isn’t working, we pause and figure out what’s wrong. Do the same with anxious thoughts-don’t let them take over your day.
Recognizing that a lot of your anxious thoughts are just noise helps you break the cycle of anxiety.
5. Tolerate Uncomfortable Feelings
One of the most crucial skills in anxiety recovery is learning to tolerate discomfort. You don’t have to wait until the anxiety goes away to live your life. Instead, practice doing what matters to you while feeling uncomfortable.
Here’s how:
Pair action with anxiety: Wash the dishes while feeling anxious, go to work while feeling uncertain, spend time with loved ones while feeling guilty.
Don’t wait for anxiety to disappear: Act anyway. Anxiety isn’t a sign that you need to stop.
Feelings are normal. They aren’t dangerous, and they don’t define you. So, let yourself feel the discomfort and move forward anyway.
6. Recovery Is an Up and Down Process
Anxiety recovery isn’t a straight line. You’ll have good days, and you’ll have setbacks. Life happens-sleep, hormones, family conflicts-and they all play a role in how you feel.
What’s important is this: keep doing the hard thing. Stay disciplined, hold your head high, and don’t give up just because the payoff hasn’t arrived yet. Recovery takes time, but it’s worth the effort.
7. Commit to Seeking Joy
Anxiety is a buzzkill. It robs you of joy, but here’s the thing: you have to actively seek joy and beauty in your life during recovery.
Here’s how you can do that:
Notice the good things: Even in tough moments, ask yourself, “Where is the beauty right now?”
Create joy: Find hobbies that you love and can do while feeling anxious.
Stay connected to your values: Anxiety recovery is easier when you’re doing things that align with who you are and what’s important to you.
Don’t wait until you feel better to start living joyfully. Do it now, even with anxiety tagging along.
8. Get Support
Recovery isn’t something you have to do alone. Find a community that understands what you’re going through. Whether it’s a local group, a mental health organization, or an online forum, there are people out there ready to support you.
Here’s to another 100 episodes and to your recovery journey!

[@rachelhill8721]

Thank you so much for this wonderful gift which is so real and hard hitting. You never fail to give me hope and encouragement 😍

[@gabrielaveliskova665]

Hello Kimberley, what about if I have more problems? OCD, anxiety, TMS etc...