The Anxious Truth - A Panic, Anxiety, and Mental Health Podcast · Drew Linsalata

How To Accept Anxiety: Do What Matters (Part 3 of 3) | Ep 311

·21 min·1 clip

He maps values onto agoraphobia and OCD at a school concert and a family gathering.

How do we accept anxiety? Drew's answer is not a trick for shutting symptoms down. It is practice: let values steer behavior while anxiety comes along for the ride. That is the part people usually want to skip, because it is messy. He places this as part three of the acceptance series, after episodes 309 and 310 covered mindful observing and opening to different responses. The frame stays practical. When a trigger hits, the question is less "How do I make this fear stop?" and more "What do I do next if what matters still matters?" He uses OCD as the working example. Someone at a family gathering may get slammed by intrusive thoughts, feel close to panic, and want to leave or do rituals. That urge makes sense. But if connectedness, kindness, or love is the value in play, staying in the conversation may be the better move. Still uncomfortable, yes. Comfort is not the first goal. Drew also makes room for a useful distinction: sometimes doing what matters means staying with life, and sometimes it means pausing with anxiety long enough to learn that it feels awful without being dangerous or damaging. He pushes back on the too-simple version of "sit with it," because that phrase can leave people wondering what recovery is actually asking for. Values are not orders. They are a way to choose when the anxious mind is loud, urgent, and arguing hard for the exit. And Craig the Critic? Not helping. Recovery is already plenty of work without adding a running commentary of negative judgment.

Listen to the show on

Apple Podcasts Spotify

Play clips from this episode More from The Anxious Truth - A Panic, Anxiety, and Mental Health Podcast