ANXIETY RECOVERY: What Does End Stage Recovery Look Like? (Podcast Ep 262)

End Stage Anxiety Recovery - What Does It Look Like?
What does end stage recovery from an anxiety disorder look and feel like? How do you know when you're recovered? Is there a moment when things change? Will you automatically be happy and joyful? What will like look like as you get closer to the recovery "finish line". Lets talk about end stage anxiety recovery so you can have a bit of a road map to bring with you as you progress. It might help you stay out of some common traps.
For full show notes on this episode:
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🎵 Music Used on My Podcast: AfterGlow by Ben Drake (with permission)
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[@user-df2ue1tw2r]

I love that you say that end stage is you being able to check in with yourself and put your values and needs above anxiety. I am definitely end stage and for me, the harder part, has been learning to say no and set boundaries. Today i cancelled going to the movies because it felt like too much, and i started doubting whether I was "avoiding" it out of fear but I know that I could go and would have in other circumstances, I just didn't want to today because I preferred and needed a reset day at home before starting a busy week. So while I feel quite anxious and bad about cancelling, and I do question my decisions, i know I didn't act out of fear.

[@mich_cadx]

At a point where I don't ask "but what if it comes back" because I know that it probably will at some point. But I'm not scared of it anymore, because I've been through it so much and survived it each time.

[@TheAnxiousTruth]

Exactly!!!

[@liyashaa12]

Whenever it comes I know it will go away so I stop worrying and focus on what I was doing. And then My body comes to normal. I hope everyone who going through this will recover soon and live a happy life. ❤

[@TheAnxiousTruth]

Thank you for this comment. Such a lovely bit of encouragement for others reading!

[@sadiesponge7577]

I feel like I’m almost there. I do struggle with acceptance of anxiety and all its sensations. I don’t have anxiety much now so when I do I forget to just accept it. When I realise I’ve been sucked in again I apply the acceptance. I find my memories of past setbacks scare the hell out of me and fuel the anxiety. I then realise I’m not that person now. I’ve progressed and grown into a more wise and mature person with skills I didn’t have back then. You can’t go back to square one, because of all the progress I have achieved. Now I’m going to focus every day to accept anxiety and try to actually make it come up so I can make friends with it. Thanks for these videos. They really are helpful.

[@maneeshs2005]

I have GAD gor last 10 months. Almost recovered and fell a lot of changes in my personality. Into Yoga and meditation and that has helped . This podcast is a beacon of light for all the most anxious souls out there

[@japplesin]

I feel I need to hear this to validate my recovery process. Thank you Drew for explaining, it does provide some comfort. It sure is a very tricky issue.

[@mada2780]

Hi man, Never happened to me to listen to somebody and to agree and resonate with every word coming out from his mouth. I am glad that I found your work, this is by far the best channel for the topic you approach. You are gold. Thank you for everything you do! It is a shame you don't have millions of subscribers. I try to educate myself in this area a lot, and I read so many books and watched so many online videos, but 99% of the information is bullshit.

[@TheAnxiousTruth]

I'm so happy this resonated for you. Thank you for the kind words. :-)

[@shanesalomon7191]

Thank you for this information. I appreciate channels like this who are giving this away for free to help people. I can heavily relate to all this information.

[@TheAnxiousTruth]

You are so welcome!

[@EmoceanUK]

I feel i am there now, sometimes i find myself thinking why rnt i worrying haha but to anybody listening it can be done even though you think it cant and nobody is going through what you are, your not a million miles away

[@TheAnxiousTruth]

Thank you for sharing this. I appreciate it! xx

[@RealGSingh]

It’s weird, I’m at a point where I say yes to everything but there is this stress / fear but I end up doing it anyways, I’m really happy I do those things but I want to get to a point where the trepidation isn’t there. Feels like the last 10-15 percent of recovery im missing and it’s soo annoying. Even small things I’ll do them for sure but I 2nd guess always and then do it. Super frustrating

[@barbaracronin4164]

Thank you

[@foofooman80]

I love your podcast drew. It’s been helping me through a terrible situation. I would love to hear your thoughts/ a pod cast of anxiety caused from a traumatic event (PTSD) vs treating general anxiety/ panic attacks?! Do you treat anxiety disorders the same regardless if it’s from a near death trauma that has triggered my fight or flight? Please keep the podcast coming!! ❤

[@TheAnxiousTruth]

That is a big topic. It is difficult to address without winding up under fire from that part of the mental health community that insists that everything is trauma and that any possible suggestion to the contrary is an attack that must be put down and called out. *GENERALLY* speaking, if you are afraid because of what happened to you and acting according to that event and the memories/flashbacks from that event, you're likely more in the trauma zone. If you are now afraid to feel afraid, even if that was triggered by a traumatic event, you are likely in the anxiety disorder zone. BUT ... and this is a HUGE BUT ... all the work has to be done and everything needs to be addressed because more than one thing can be happening at once, and often is. When disordered anxiety is the result, it can be very difficult to work the trauma resolution until you can kind of "put out that fire". This is where I bow out, though, because the Internet (including a podcast) can't tell you your situation and in-person, trained help from someone that knows your specific story has to hold sway. I hope this helps a little. xx

[@foofooman80]

@@TheAnxiousTruth Thanks Drew. Appreciate it.

[@santsu8392]

I'm not afraid of physical symptoms. The sadness sets in the mind is the only thing I suffer. The deep unhappy looming moment. Is that a sign?

[@TheAnxiousTruth]

I can't say what is and what is not a "sign" for you because I don't actually know you so I would be guessing. The best I can say here is that humans are designed to experience a wide range of emotions including sadness. Being sad is not automatically a "sign" of disaster or always something that needs to be fixed. I hope that helps in some way.

[@Bellan8845]

Well in that case.. i have been in this stage for like a week and i all i can say is, THANK YOU GOD❤️ cause i had GAD 3,5 months then 1 month later it all slowly faded away and now almost 6 months later of all this time im finaly free. But i gotta say i alla 25 years old and i had like almost all my life that i can remember anxiety in my life. So this type of life is all New for me and also what it maded it worse for me i almost drank every day 2022 and this year in march i quited with alcohol, and for these 6 months almost i feel sooo much better in all ways. And all you said in the video was soooo like me in those types of questions, but like i said now i realized that i am for sure cured and i wanna thank alot for this video!❤️

[@TheAnxiousTruth]

Awww I love this. What a great realization to come to!

[@Bellan8845]

@@TheAnxiousTruth yes it is! Thank you very much🙏🏽❤️☺️

[@ivannovoselac3518]

I feel im close to it, or anxiety just playing tricks on me? 🤔

[@chaoswraith]

That voice always assumes the worst. Its not true. But you know that already 😊

[@CHRIS-k6e]

Well, most of it left at 2 a clock in the morning, so there goes you have to sleep this much to recover that much mambo jambo.... didn t celebrate just watched youtube funny videos till morning... something that I could barely do while I was in the "eye of the tornado"

[@TheAnxiousTruth]

Hey, we'll call that a celebration too! It was something unthinkable when you were really struggling ... and now you can do it. Love it! :-)

[@franskernf.f.f.707]

Hi Drew. Huge fan here from Denmark😊 Small question - is it possible to recover and not fall back into the circle again? (Like you have done - so I guess I have the answer there😅) I know it’s normal to feel anxiety once in a while, but for a reason like a near car accident. I also know it’s about reaching the stage when you do not give a shit about it coming back, but I’m having a setback now and I’m searching for some reaffirmation - yes I know it’s wrong to do that, but I need some hope😊❤ Thanks in advance. Kind regards from Denmark

[@TheAnxiousTruth]

Hello Denmark! Episode 258 speaks directly to this. kzbin.info/www/bejne/aZCphneGj9iYq9E

[@franskernf.f.f.707]

Thanks Drew for the suggestion, I just watched it now… 6 months ago I wouldn’t have understood that video and would have been probably spiraling down further into the depths of anxiety if I watched it back then. It’s an awesome video and I know now what recovery is and what to expect. I was so consumed with trigger thoughts about if I would ever get out of this and never feel anxiety again. I understand now that anxiety is totally normal, and that i have misinterpreted it all this time. I know also that you have been taking classes in meta cognitive therapy and have a interest in it - well I have been a client for a really good MCT and I found out that my main problem was trying to solve the problem. As soon as I understood that I had to let go of the belief that it helps trying to figure this shit out and just let it be, I felt almost instantly relief.

[@RedaEttabii]

How long should this stage last for?

[@TheAnxiousTruth]

There is no timeframe that is universal. Everyone goes at their own pace for their own reasons.

[@Moneypenny1960]

So we just go back to life as we knew it..

[@TheAnxiousTruth]

"JUST" is a dangerous word. Yes, this is generally what this starts to look like, but its never "JUST". These are difficult things to do because they require courage and the willingness to have experiences that we'd rather avoid or run from. We never want to minimize that difficulty because that's not fair. xx

[@00cam69]

First step is believing you are fine

[@TheAnxiousTruth]

I might say that the first step is accepting that you must ACT like you beliefe you are fine, even when you totally do not believe that. The actual belief appears much later after the acting. We don't get to just believe something. We have to manufacture that through courageous experience in this context.