Your Anxiety Toolkit - Practical Skills for Anxiety, Panic & Depression

Welcome back to another episode of Your Anxiety Toolkit Podcast! Want to know four massive changes I have made in my life? Well, here you go! In today's episode, I will present to you four massive changes that I have made in my life that have changed the way I see myself, the way I spend my time and, lastly, the approach I have with perfectionism and mistakes. If you are someone who is hard on yourself, beats yourself up for not being perfect or productive or just for existing, this episode might be really helpful for you. If you are someone who lets fear stop you from pursuing your dreams or even doing a smaller task, this is the episode for you. In this podcast episode, we will address time management, setting intentions and surrounding yourself with people who will inspire you and hold you accountable to your big dreams and with the hard struggles you are going through. One of the points I am so excited about is my new plan to FAIL MORE! Yes, you heard and read correctly. I plan to fail more this year. More than I ever have. As Amy Porterfield says in this podcast episode, failing can get you closer to your goals. As I also plan to aim higher and be 100% intentional as I go. The massive changes I have made in my life have made me into a bolder, braver and more confident person. I hope they inspire you too.

Welcome to another episode of Your Anxiety Toolkit podcast. This week's podcast episode is very dear to my heart. My intention with this podcast is to give you all some direction with food and body, specifically if you struggle with immense fear around food. This week's episode has the most amazing guest, Evelyn Tribole, the author of Intuitive Eating: A Revolutionary Program That Works. In this week's interview, we break down some of the barriers between fear and food. Evelyn does a great job at identifying why there is so much fear surrounding food, addressing societal, cultural and familial rules around food. We discussed how, for many, food creates anxiety for us personally, or how our anxiety manifests a bad relationship with food. Evelyn Tribole discusses : What is Intuitive Eating? Why is Intuitive Eating so important? What is diet culture and why is it such an important concept to understand? What happens when you don't Intuitively Eat? Evelyn also answers some questions given specifically by the CBT School family. Here are a few questions she addressed: How can I introduce myself to Intuitive Eating? What are the steps of Intuitive Eating? How do I avoid the extremes of eating? I am either eating "too unhealthy and too healthy as a compulsion." How do I address Emotional Eating or "bad" eating because of a hard day? How do I attempt Intuitive Eating if I HAVE to lose weight because of health reasons? How do I manage the fear of gaining more weight? How do you make all foods neutral whilst also finding joy in food? How do I not get trapped in diet culture? How long does it take to get a good handle of Intuitive Eating? How do I begin to desire and have the persistence to intuitively eat while having an Eating Disorder? Due to mood changes, how can I eat when I don't want to? What is the best way to stick with Intuitive Eating? What is the best way to approach Nutrition for Anxiety Disorder? How does Anxiety impact hunger cues. etc.? How do I address Avoidant and Restrictive Food Intake Disorder? For more information on Evelyn Tribole, visit: https://www.evelyntribole.com/ Do you want to get weekly free content from us, right to your inbox? SIGN UP HERE FOR OUR NEW WEEKLY NEWSLETTER! The weekly newsletter includes free mental health tips and tools, information about upcoming events with Kimberley. and free coupons for CBT School products.

Not Alone Notes (Morgan Rondinelli and Molly Fishback) Welcome back to another episode of Your Anxiety Toolkit. One of the most common statements I get from new clients when I meet them in my office is, "I feel so alone." After waiting and being so afraid to finally talk with someone about their mental illness and personal struggles, they are overwhelmed with isolation and loneliness. The experience of feeling alone and wondering if you are the only one on this planet that is suffering in this way is a common one. Given the stigma of mental illness, we are often shamed into keeping our mental illness and mental struggles private and suffering in the dark alone. If you have ever felt this way, or you know someone who feels this way, you are not alone. In this episode of Your Anxiety Toolkit, we talk with Morgan Rondinelli and Molly Fishback about their project called Not Alone Notes. In this episode, Morgan and Molly share their own stories of feeling alone and unseen in their struggles with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). Together, they joined hands from across the country to send personally painted and written notes to those with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors (BFRB's). My hope after today's episode is the you begin to understand that you are not alone and there is a whole community out there who wants you to know that they are on your side. Here is a little blurb from their website: "The idea from this project stemmed from becoming pen pals with several friends from OCDcon. Morgan was writing back and forth with them and wanted to somehow reach out to strangers with OCD. Morgan loves snail mail because there is something special about receiving a handwritten letter, so she wanted to pass that on to others. In October of 2017, it started simply as a link to a Google Form on Morgan's blog. Shortly after, Molly reached out to Morgan with the idea of handmaking notecards for the project. Not Alone Notes has continued to grow as Molly and Morgan work together to send letters to individuals with OCD and related disorders." In this episode, Molly and Morgan get really vulnerable and showcase proof that you are not alone. They talk about their own recovery journey, what it was like to begin Exposure and Response Prevention treatment, and how it feels to be at different stages of recovery. In effort to ensure that you are not alone in this mental health journey, Morgan and Molly also share their specific steps of ERP and how they are getting creative with ERP. To learn more about Not Alone Notes, visit: https://www.notalonenotes.org/ Before we go, I want to talk about my upcoming exciting weekend in Colorado at the OCD Gamechangers event that Chrissie Hodges is putting on. I will be speaking alongside other licensed clinicians on important topics about OCD recovery. OCD advocates will take the stage to discuss the emotional impact that OCD has had on their recovery. The event takes place on Saturday, March 2. Click HERE for more information on the event or to get tickets.

In today's episode of Your Anxiety Toolkit, we are talking all about the 5 Mistakes We Make When Managing Anxiety, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Depression, Body Focused Repetitive Behaviors (BFRB's) and any other mental health struggle. This podcast episode got me all fired up and I loved sharing with you bite-sized concepts to consider and marinate on. My hope with this episode of Your Anxiety Toolkit is to help you identify the specific areas where you might be falling into the anxiety trap, and then find ways to manage anxiety more effectively and purposely. We talk about Mindset, Mindfulness and strategic skills you can practice just about anywhere. As a Marriage and Family Therapist who specializes in the treatment of Anxiety Disorders such as Panic Disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Social Anxiety, Health Anxiety, Eating Disorders and Body Focused Repetitive Behaviors (BFRB's), I often see my clients engage in behaviors that prevent them from properly managing their anxiety. It is common for us to get stuck in compulsive and compensatory behaviors that cause us to continue to live in fear. In today's podcast, I go through the 5 Common Mistakes We Make When Managing Anxiety. Some of these points might surprise you. Others may not. This is not a list of the only mistakes we make. There are lots of ways we can get stuck in the turmoil of anxiety, intrusive thoughts, sensations, panic, urges, obsessions, and compulsions. Please note, that these are 5 mistakes I make when managing anxiety also. I don't want anyone feeling like they are alone in this. I make these mistakes also. I think we all do, mostly because they are very easy traps to fall into when it comes to the management of anxiety, depression and other mental health issues. I hope you find this helpful. Thank you to everyone who has left a review for the podcast. This is super helpful and increases our chances of getting really wonderful guests on the show. Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cbtschool/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KimberleyQuinlanCBTschool/ Forward we go, Kimberley

The Flow of Recovery In today's episode of Your Anxiety Toolkit, we are talking all about Recovery. Yes, we know! This can be a controversial conversation, especially when talking about recovery for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Eating Disorders, Anxiety Disorders and Body Focused Repetitive Behaviors (BFRB's). The truth is, achieving this thing called "recovery" depends mostly on your definition of recovery. There can be a very big difference of opinion when it comes to what is considered "recovery." In today's podcast, we talk all about recovery and what I like to call, "The FLOW of recovery." Finding your own Flow of Recovery is what I think will help you so much with the speed and ease of your recovery, not matter what your definition is. I have seen this idea of FLOW of recovery to be a huge part of OCD and Anxiety recovery for many. As you may know, last week we had the amazing Kristin Neff on the podcast (Ep. 87) where she shared her brilliant research and practice of Mindful Self-Compassion. She shared about the importance of including self-compassion in our everyday lives and different compiments of self-compassion that can help us live a better life. Some people have the faulty belief that self-compassion is for sissys. Some hold onto the huge misconception that the practice of self-compassion will make us weak or lazy or fat or a loser. Many of my clients have told me that they are too afraid to practice (or even consider) practicing self-compassion because it might make them snap and turn lazy and never get out of bed again. So typical of anxiety, isn't it? Kristin Neff talked about the Yin and Yang of self-compassion (go to that episode to hear more). She believes that self-compassion must include both the Yin of self-compassion, which is like a mother tenderly comforting her crying child and the Yang of self-compassion, which is the mother bear that shows up for ourselves, ferociously protecting her cubs (and us) from harm. As we mentioned before, many of us struggle with fearing becoming too Yin, and some people do the opposite and are afraid to step into the Yang of self-compassion. As a result, they avoid getting their needs met. They avoid everything. So, when we talk about "The Flow of Recovery" we are talking about using both the Yin and the Yang of self-compassion to help you FLOW. The Flow of Recovery is moving from action to gentleness and rest. The Flow of Recovery involves slowing down sometimes and other times the flow of recovery involves speeding up. Sometimes, the flow of recovery involves moving back and forth between the Yin and Yang quite quickly. Today, in this podcast, I want to inspire you to begin using both the Yin and YANG of self-compassion. My use of the term the flow of recovery is all about doing the hard things (YANG) and then slowing down to be gentle (YIN). You are going to use these tools, not once, but over and over again. And you are going to find a flow where you swing back and forth and back and forth between action and rest, action and rest. The action could be ERP, setting a boundary with someone, starting therapy, sharing your struggles with a friend, and the rest is where you get really quiet and ask yourself what it is that you need and make sure you find a way to give that to yourself. The Flow of Recovery is also the gentle swing of saying really gentle and kind things to yourself and then speaking almost as a coach. "I can do this hard thing!" And "I will get through this" and "I have my own back, unconditionally." So, to sum it all up, the principle of Yin and Yang is that all things exist as inseparable and contradictory opposites, and this is so true for recovery. I urge you to check in and see if you have a Yin and a Yang. How can you add more Yang if you rely too much on Yin? How can you add some Yin if you are stuck in a cycle of all action and no self-care? And lastly, please note that ERP School is open until February 18th! Shhh…we kept the cart open a few more days. ERP School is our online course that teaches you all the most important components of ERP for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. Exposure and Response Prevention School (ERP School) is an online course that teaches you the tools and skills I teach my clients in my office. Let me tell you a little bit about it. The course is a video based course that includes modules on The science behind ERP Identifying YOUR obsessions and your compulsions The different approaches and types of ERP, including gradual exposure, writing scripts, interoceptive exposures and how to get creative with ERP Mindfulness tools to help you manage anxiety, panic and uncertainty Troubleshoot common questions and concerns BONUS 6 videos of the most common subtypes of OCD The course also includes many downloadable PDF's and activities to help you navigate how to best apply ERP to your specific obsessions and compulsions. We are so excited to share ERP with you and would love to have you join us and the CBT Sc

Kristin Neff Talks All Things Self-Compassion Hello there CBT School friends and family, This week we have a SUPER exciting episode of Your Anxiety Toolkit Podcast to share with you. If you are someone who is hard on yourself, this is THE episode for you. If you are someone who beats yourself up, this is the episode for you. If you need help being self-compassionate, THIS IS THE EPISODE FOR YOU! I am so thrilled to share with you this week's podcast guest, Kristin Neff. Kristin Neff is a pioneering self-compassion researcher, author of one of my favorite workbooks called The Mindful Self-Compassion Workbook, and is a wise and informative teacher of self-compassion. Kristin Neff developed an 8-week online program that teaches self-compassion skills to those who struggle in this area. The program, co-created with her colleague Chris Germer, affiliated with Harvard Medical School, is called Mindful Self-Compassion. In this episode of Your Anxiety Toolkit Podcast, Kristin Neff addresses what self-compassion is and what it is not. I found this to be incredibly informative, especially for those who struggle to differentiate between self-compassion and self-care. Kristin Neff also addresses why some people struggle with practicing self-compassion, and specifically addresses the cultural and political aspects of this topic. What I loved the most is how Kristin Neff explains whay self-compassion practices look like, feel like, and sound like. For those who need a most literal description of self-compassion, this conversation will be right up your alley. We also address the Yin & Yang of Self-Compassion and how we often forget the Yang component of Self-Compassion (listen to the full description). Lastly, for those who find that their negative self-talk increases when they practice self-compassion, Kristin Neff addresses a concept called Backdrafting, and how this is a normal (and even positive) part of Self Compassion. For more information on Kristin Neff, visit the links below: Website: https://self-compassion.org Workbook: https://self-compassion.org/mindful-self-compassion-workbook/ And lastly, please note that ERP School is available for one more week! ERP School, our online course that teaches you all the most important components of ERP for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, is BACK. Act fast because it is only available until February 14th, 2019! Exposure and Response Prevention School (ERP School) is an online course that teaches you the tools and skills I teach my clients in my office. Let me tell you a little bit about it. The course is a video-based course that includes modules on The science behind ERP Identifying YOUR obsessions and your compulsions The different approaches and types of ERP, including gradual exposure, writing scripts, interoceptive exposures and how to get creative with ERP Mindfulness tools to help you manage anxiety, panic, and uncertainty Troubleshoot common questions and concerns BONUS 6 videos of the most common subtypes of OCD, including Harm OCD. The course also includes many downloadable PDF's and activities to help you navigate how to best apply ERP to your specific obsessions and compulsions. We are so excited to finally share ERP with you and would love to have you join us and the CBT School Community. It's a beautiful day to do hard things! If you are worried about doing it alone, please don't fear. We meet bi-monthly on the FB group and on Instagram to talk about questions you may have. Click here to sign up. https://www.cbtschool.com/p/erp-school-lp

The Science of Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) Welcome back to another episode of Your Anxiety Toolkit Podcast. Today we are talking about the science behind Exposure and Response Prevention. I know a lot of you have a lot of questions about why we would ever put ourselves in a position to be MORE anxious and MOST uncertain. But, there are many reasons why and today we are going to dive into The Science of Exposure and Response Prevention . To put it simply, we instinctually we run from fear. We go into fight, flight and freeze when we are faced with serious, dangerous events. In emergency situations, this is the most sophisticated human response. We are so lucky we have this response, as it keeps up alive and well. However, in our era, we are often bombarded by THOUGHTS of serious, dangerous events and this causes our brain to make mistakes about the imminence of danger. We experience the thought as if it were an imminent threat - right here, danger in close quarters, etc. The problem is that we react to this thought or sensation or urge as if it IS an imminent threat. We run away, we fight it or we freeze. What happens when we do this is that we reinforce that the thought IS dangerous and, because we responded in this way, a cycle that is created. Fear --> avoidance response --> fear….and the cycle continues. So, what can we do instead of fight, flight or freeze? We can stare our fear right in the face. We do this by performing Exposure and Response Prevention. Exposure and Response Prevention includes changing our behavior, or response, to the original thought or obsession and exposing ourselves to our feared consequence. Now, if you hate the idea of this, you are not alone. In this week's podcast, we address the science behind Exposure & Response Prevention to help motivate and inform you of WHY ERP is so important and HOW it changes our brains. If you need help with this, now is the time to act. ERP School, our online course that teaches you all the most important components of ERP for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, is BACK, but act fast because it is only available until February 14th, 2019! Exposure and Response Prevention School (ERP School) is an online course that teaches you the tools and skills I teach my clients in my office. Let me tell you a little bit about it. The course is a video-based course that includes modules on The science behind ERP Identifying YOUR obsessions and your compulsions The different approaches and types of ERP, including gradual exposure, writing scripts, interoceptive exposures and how to get creative with ERP Mindfulness tools to help you manage anxiety, panic, and uncertainty Troubleshoot common questions and concerns BONUS 6 videos of the most common subtypes of OCD The course also includes many downloadable PDF's and activities to help you navigate how to best apply ERP to your specific obsessions and compulsions. We are so excited to finally share ERP with you and would love to have you join us and the CBT School Community. It's a beautiful day to do hard things! If you are worried about doing it alone, please don't fear. We meet bi-monthly on the FB group and on IG to talk about questions you may have. Click HERE to sign up.

Overcoming Harm OCD with Jon Hershfield Welcome back to another episode of Your Anxiety Toolkit Podcast. Today we have a special guest, Jon Hershfield, LMFT. Jon has been on the show already and is a favorite among the CBT School-ers. Today, Jon and I talk about how to manage specific obsessions related to violence and physical harm. In OCD terms, we call it Harm Obsessions or Harm OCD (if you meet the requirements for a diagnosis of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder or OCD). In this episode, Jon answers some important questions such as: Does everyone have Harm Obsessions, thoughts, impulses or images? Why do these Harm Obsessions bother some people and not others? What is the difference between a Harm OCD and having thoughts about harm? Are people with Harm OCD any different than those who have other types of OCD? How do we treat Harm OCD? This was such a fun episode and I really hope it helps those with harm obsessions, thoughts, images, impulses, and urges (Harm OCD). Fore more information on Jon's latest book, Overcoming Harm OCD: Mindfulness and CBT Tools for Coping with Unwanted Violent Thoughts, click HERE. For more information on Jon Hershfield, visit: Website: Ocdbaltimore.com Twitter: @cbtocd IG: @ocdbaltimore FB: @JonHershfield GOOD NEWS!……WE HAVE A HUGE SURPRISE! On January 28th, 2019, we are offering our FREE webinar called "10 THINGS YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT OCD." This is a FREE online video course explaining exactly what OCD is, how to treat it and what complicating factors can occur during the process. This free webinar will run daily at 6pm PST for one week ONLY. If you are not able to attend the free webinar, no stress! There will be a free replay sent to your inbox the day after signing up. I cannot wait to share this FREE educational resource with you. CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP! ALSO, ERP School is COMING BACK! Exposure and Response Prevention School is an online course that teaches you the tools and skills I teach my clients in my office. Let me tell you a little bit about it. The course is a video-based course that includes modules on: The science behind ERP Identifying YOUR obsessions and your compulsions The different approaches and types of ERP, including gradual exposure, writing scripts, interoceptive exposures and how to get creative with ERP Mindfulness tools to help you manage anxiety, panic and uncertainty Troubleshoot common questions and concerns BONUS 6 videos of the most common subtypes of OCD, including Harm OCD. The course also includes many downloadable PDF's and activities to help you navigate how to best apply ERP to your specific obsessions and compulsions. We are so excited to finally share ERP with you and would love to have you join us and the CBT School Community. It's a beautiful day to do hard things! If you are worried about doing it alone, please don't fear. We meet bi-monthly on the Facebook group and on Instagram to talk about questions you may have. Click HERE to sign up.

Michelle Massi, LMFT, Talks To Us About Managing Social Anxiety Welcome back to Your Anxiety Toolkit. After multiple suggestions and requests, we are so excited to share with you an episode that focuses entirely on managing Social Anxiety. I am so excited to share with you the amazing, Michelle Massi (formally known as Michelle Otelsberg). Michelle Massi, LMFT, is an OCD and Anxiety Specialist who has both a private practice in Encino and Westwood and also works at the UCLA OCD Intensive Treatment Program. Michelle works one-on-one and runs group therapy, and has a ton of experience treating Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Social Anxiety, Panic Disorder, TICS, Body-Focused Repetitive Behavior's (BFRBs) and other anxiety-related disorders. In this episode of Your Anxiety Toolkit, we talk about all things Social Anxiety. Michelle and I talk about the presentation of Social Anxiety and different symptoms that can present when ones struggles with Social Anxiety. Michelle talks about different themes and fears related to social anxiety and how there is no one-size-fits-all approach to social anxiety presentation. Michelle and I also discuss different approaches to Social Anxiety treatment and some fun ways to practice facing your fears and tolerating the fear of judgment from others. We discuss the use of Cognitive Therapy, Behavioral therapy, and Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP), as well as the use of Mindfulness and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT). Also, please get super excited! ERP School is BACK! Exposure and Response Prevention School is an online course that teaches you the tools and skills I teach my clients in my office. Let me tell you a little bit about it. The course is a video-based course that includes modules on The science behind ERP Identifying YOUR obsessions and your compulsions The different approaches and types of ERP, including gradual exposure, writing scripts, interoceptive exposures and how to get creative with ERP Mindfulness tools to help you manage anxiety, panic, and uncertainty Troubleshoot common questions and concerns BONUS 6 videos of the most common subtypes of OCD The course also includes many downloadable PDF's and activities to help you navigate how to best apply ERP to your specific obsessions and compulsions. We are so excited to finally share ERP with you and would love to have you join us and the CBT School Community. It's a beautiful day to do hard things! If you are worried about doing it alone, please don't fear. We meet bi-monthly on the FB group and on Instagram to talk about questions you may have. Click HERE to sign up. For more information about Michelle, Anxiety Therapy LA, and the UCLA OCD Intensive Outpatient Program: Anxiety Therapy LA: Anxietytherapyla.com Instagram: @anxietytherapyla UCLA OCD Program: https://www.semel.ucla.edu/ocd-itp

Steven Hayes Talks Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT) Welcome back to another INCREDIBLE episode of Your Anxiety Toolkit Podcast! Today we have an amazing guest, Steven Hayes. Steven Hayes is a clinical psychologist and professor at the University of Nevada. Steven Hayes has done so much for the psychology field, writing a whopping 44 books (wow, right?!) and many research articles. Steven Hayes also developed the evidence-based therapeutic modality that I use in my therapy office every day: Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (also known as ACT). ACT is a wonderful compliment to Exposure & Response Prevention (ERP), as it relies heavily on Mindfulness, positive reinforcement and using Value-Based Behaviors. In this interview, Steven Hayes and I discuss what Acceptance & Commitment Therapy (ACT) involves and how we can learn to diffuse from our thoughts. You will find this especially helpful with you have anxiety, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Panic Disorder, Social Anxiety, and Depression, mostly because we tend to fuse a lot with our thoughts when we struggle with these disorders. However, the truth is, we all could learn the skill of diffusion and Steven Hayes does an amazing job of expelling why. Steven Hayes also teaches us useful ACT tools to stay present, and the practice of living a life that is based on values, not fear or anxiety. My favorite part of the interview is where Steven Hayes discussed why our thoughts sometimes link together and how it is completely a waste of time trying to block, suppress or avoid thoughts. I am sure you will agree that Steven Hayes is a genius and that he has so much to teach us about our brain, our psyche and how we can react batter to our thoughts. AND…..WE HAVE A HUGE SURPRISE! ERP School is BACK! Exposure and Response Prevention School is an online course that teaches you the tools and skills I teach my clients in my office. Let me tell you a little bit about it. The course is a video based course that includes modules on: The science behind ERP Identifying YOUR obsessions and your compulsions The different approaches and types of ERP, including gradual exposure, writing scripts, and interoceptive exposures, as well as how to get creative with ERP Mindfulness tools to help you manage anxiety, panic and uncertainty Troubleshoot common questions and concerns BONUS 6 videos of the most common subtypes of OCD. The course also includes many downloadable PDF's and activities to help you navigate how to best apply ERP to your specific obsessions and compulsions. We are so excited to finally share ERP with you and would love to have you join us and the CBT School Community. It's a beautiful day to do hard things! If you are worried about doing it alone, please don't fear. We meet bi-monthly on the FB group and on Instagram to talk about questions you may have. Click HERE to sign up. If you would like further information on Steven Hayes and access to his FREE mini course, visit http://www.stevenchayes.com/. Click HERE for more info on Steven Hayes' workbook Get Out of Your Mind and Into Your Life, as well as his other books.

Staring Fear In The Face With Four Powerful Statements Hello there CBT School Rockstars! Happy New Year! In this week's episode of Your Anxiety Toolkit, I want to give you the 4 Powerful Statements you need in 2019. Even though this is directed at you for the new year, this episode is created in hope to get you ready for any circumstance and any time in your life. So here they are! The #1 Powerful Statement you need in 2019 is……. "There is nothing wrong with me" The #2 Powerful Statement you need in 2019 is……."I radically accept this situation" The #3 Powerful Statement you need in 2019 is………."I am making the decisions around here from now on" The #4 Powerful Statement you need in 2019 is……"It is a beautiful day to do hard things" The whole purpose of this podcast episode is to help you move away from a life where fear makes all of your decisions and towards a life where we stare fear in the face and live the life we want to live as if fear wasn't there at all. We want to ask ourselves what we would do if fear never showed up and then go live that life while only bringing fear along for the ride. CBTschool.com has many ways we want to help you "do hard things" in 2019 and we hope that these 4 Powerful Statements will help you move in that direction. We are excited to announce that ERP School is coming back in January. Click HERE for more info. ERP School is an online course that teaches all the Exposure & Response Prevention Tools you will need to manage Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Panic Disorder, Health Anxiety, and Social Anxiety. We are also excited to announce that BFRB School is also coming back in January. Click HERE for more info. BFRB School is a course that teaches those with Compulsive Skin Picking (Dermatillomania & Excoriation Disorder), Hair Pulling (Trichotillomania) and Compulsive Nail Biting the science-based tools they need to manage their symptoms and live a full life. Sending you much love and healing vibes, Kimberley

"You WILL get through this!" Interview with Fashion Blogger and OCD Advocate Jemma MrDak Hello there CBT School Community! Welcome back to another episode of Your Anxiety Toolkit Podcast. Today, we are so excited to share with you Jemma Mrdak. Jemma is a well-known Australian Fashion and Lifestyle Blogger and an avid Mental Health advocate. I first heard about Jemma on social media after she bravely came out and talked about her experience with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) on the Today show. As soon as I saw her interview, I knew she would be such an inspiration to you all. In this episode, Jemma talks about her struggles with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), specifically checking and tapping compulsions. Jemma talks about being so overwhelmed with anxiety that she was unable to get to school on time and fell behind in her studies. Jemma also talks about her success with seeking treatment from a Cognitive Behavioral Therapist (CBT) and how she used her tools to help her get her life back from OCD. Jemma also shared her love for nature and exercise and how that helped her get in touch with the practice of Mindfulness. If you are feeling hopeless about your future and questioning if you are able to get better at managing your anxiety and OCD, this episode is for you. Jemma is so great at sharing what was easy, what was really hard and what roadblocks she came across in her treatment journey. She is truly an inspiration and will give you some amazing words of wisdom to help with on your journey to mental wellness. For more info on Jemma, visit the below: Website: astylishmoment.com IG: @astylishmoment Before we go, GET EXCITED! ERP School is almost here again. ERP School will be re-released in late January. Click HERE to be the first one alerted by signing up to be on the waitlist.

How Practicing Self-Respect Can Lead to Self-Compassion Hello there CBT School Family! I am so thrilled to share another episode of Your Anxiety Toolkit Podcast with you. You guys know me well enough to know that I am a huge fan and advocate for the practice of self-compassion. I love sharing the benefits of self-compassion and helpful ways to put it into practice. However, over the past few months, I have heard the hopelessness in some of your voices when you share with me that self-compassion just feels too hard and too triggering. Maybe you feel like you don't deserve to be kind to yourself, which is common in Anxiety, Depression and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), or you are afraid that practicing self-compassion will mean you lose control and become a lazy, useless bum (none of this is true, BTW). For those of you who are struggles with self-compassion, this podcast is for you. Today we are talking all about how practicing self-respect can lead to self-compassion. Self-respect is all about honoring your right to be treated fairly and kindly. It is all about not treating yourself in a way that is disrespectful and hurtful. We all deserve to be treated equally and fairly, and this is a practice that is crucial if you ever want to master the practice of self-compassion. In this episode of Your Anxiety Toolkit Podcast, we will discuss effective ways to practice self-respect and learn how self-respect leads us towards the beneficial practice of self-compassion. During the podcast episode, we take a look at how you can improve self-respect by addressing these important questions. 1) Do my behaviors represent and reflect self-respect? 2) Do my behaviors respect my values? 3) Do my behaviors respect my beliefs? 4) Do my behaviors allow me to achieve my goals and values? 5) What are some times I have felt a true sense of self-respect? 6) Does my behavior lead me towards a sense of mastery (of a skill or a situation)? 7) What behaviors am I doing that damage my sense of self-respect? I hope this podcast episode brings you closer to the practice of self-respect and self-compassion. These are two concepts I am very invested in and I hope you find them helpful.

How to Thrive and Survive The Holidays Happy Holidays Everyone! Well, the holiday season is here and if you're anything like me, you're feeling slightly overwhelmed and stressed because of all you have to do, and all of the emotions that go along with the holidays. This is a common time of the year where we can experience very high emotions such as joy, happiness and excitement, but we also experience a lot of difficult emotions such as fear, panic, depression, hopelessness, grief and loneliness. Given that this is such a universal experience during the holiday period, we thought it was a great opportunity to bring on Alison Seponara who is a Licensed Professional Counselor in the state of Pennsylvania to talk about How to Thrive and Survive the Holidays. This episode is particularly important if you are also managing a mental illness or other psychological stressors. It is not uncommon for anxiety and depression to worsen during the holiday period, so we wanted to be sure to bring you multiple tools to help you Thrive and Survive the Holidays. In this interview Alison and I talk about important topics that can really impact our mental wellness during the Holiday season. In this podcast, we address the following: Grief and how the holidays can bring up grief you were not expecting Anxiety and how it is often increased due to the stress of the holiday period and the presence of triggering family members Social anxiety and how it can cause us to dread the holiday period The fear of saying no to family members and events that you don't think are healthy for you to attend The financial struggles that go along with the holidays The overwhelming expectation to feel nothing but joy and celebration The most important point Alison and I made during this episode of Your Anxiety Toolkit is that YOU DO NOT HAVE TO FEEL BAD IF YOU ARE NOT ENJOYING THE HOLIDAYS. Alison made some great points in reassuring you that it is ok and totally normal to struggle instead of feeling festive. I hope you find this podcast helpful and you now feel ready to thrive and survive the holidays. IG: @therapywithali FB: Alison Seponara https://www.alisonseponara.com/

Tips To Help You Share Your Mental Illness With Others Welcome back to Your Anxiety Toolkit podcast! Recently on the podcast, I shared my own personal journey of struggling (and now managing) significant anxiety, disordered eating and life stressors. It was a scary, yet brave thing for me to do and I am so glad I did. Because I am constantly telling others that "It is a beautiful day to do hard things," I figured I have to walk the walk, not just talk the talk. It was such an amazing experience to hear many of your reflections and own personal stories on these difficult issues. What surprised me was that one of the most common questions I heard from you guys (my lovely CBT School community and YAY Podcast listeners) was, "HOW do I share my story?" So many people reached out and shared that they wish they had the courage and "know-how" to start telling others about their journey with mental illness. Maybe you want to empower others? Maybe you want to get it off your chest? Maybe you want to reduce the stigma around your own disorder and mental health struggles? So, you know what I did? I called the person I most respect when it comes to sharing her story, Shala Nicely. Together we recorded a podcast episode and talked about what you might want to consider when making the decision to share your story. Shala shared many beautiful personal examples of her own process of writing a memoir about her journey with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and how she handled the ups and downs of this process. Shala and I also talked about HOW to share what you are struggling with a friend or loved one. Shala gives some wonderful tips to decide who to share with and why it might not be who you would have first considered. What no one can prepare you for is your own mental roller coaster that occurs when you share information about yourself. We also address self-criticism and dealing with what I call "sharing remorse" or what Brene Brown calls a "vulnerability hangover" after telling someone your deep dark secrets. One of the things I love the most about Shala is that she is honest and open about the ups AND the downs of sharing. She shares what it is like for her to handle negative feedback and how she manages that through Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP). I hope this helps you come to a decision for yourself.

Managing Perfectionism and Learning To Be Good Enough (with Kim Foster Carlson) Welcome to another episode of Your Anxiety Toolkit Podcast! This week, we talk about all things anxiety and mental health. Today, I am excited to share with you our guest, Kim Foster Carlson. Kim Foster Carlson is an award-winning broadcast journalist in San Francisco Bay and the author of the book Good Enough: How to Overcome Fear of Failure and Perfectionism To Live Your Best Life. There is not a day in my office where I don't see the debilitating anxiety that is caused by perfectionism. Perfectionism can prevent us from trying new things, paralyze us when we have to perform, and can cause us to be very hard on ourselves. In today's podcast, Kim addressed many of the factors that might cause perfectionism, as well as some super helpful tools to manage it. The difficult part is that we are constantly being bombarded by unrealistic expectations from our family, our social media accounts, from magazines and from our society's expectations. In this interview, Kim and I talk about perfectionism, fear of failure, anxiety and procrastination. Kim shares her history of being an athlete and how perfectionism and the fear of failure caused her to be very hard on herself. Kim also shares her story of going to therapy and realizing that perfectionism was the cause of her anger, anxiety and poor coping strategies. She shared how this was triggered by stressors related to parenting and she was so open about how she got through some very difficult times. Kim details many mindfulness skills that helped her along the road to becoming a "recovered perfectionist." One tip that I loved from today's episode of Your Anxiety Toolkit was Kim's example of Steph Curry, a professional basketball player. Kim emphasized the importance of "finding the joy" (Steph Curry's phrase) in everything we do by practicing gratitude and by verbally thanking someone every day. I just loved this idea and this is a tool I am going to adopt myself. I hope you enjoy this week's episode.

This is me...doing a hard thing Hello there lovely CBT School Community, You all know how much I adore coming on here every week and sharing cool Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) tips or fun Mindfulness tools with you all!? As I often say, "these are skills for life" and sometimes we have to stare the dark place of mental illness in the face before we get introduced (and practice) these wonderful tools. Sometimes, we have to hit rock bottom before we ask for help. We have to be struggling so much that we have no choice but to double down and learn the tools we need to live a more mindful and healthy life. This was definitely the case for me. In today's episode of Your Anxiety Toolkit podcast, I share with you my story with Mental Illness. I am not going to lie. I have felt many emotions about sharing my own story. This week's episode is one that has challenged me to be as brave as I can be. I have been thinking about telling my own story of mental illness/health for some time and it has taken me many conversations with trusted colleagues and family members to come to a place where I felt ready. So, today, I bravely share with you my story. This is me….doing a hard thing. In the episode, I talk about how I moved away from my small hometown to go to university. Immediately, I was riddled with anxiety and panic. I felt so painfully alone and I was plagued with the repetitive thought that "something bad will happen." I felt out of control and I had no tools to manage these terrifying feelings. In this episode, I share how I responded to these thoughts in the only way I knew how. I used what some would consider very positive behaviors and use them in a way that became very problematic. Before too long, I was restricting my food, compulsively exercising and binge-eating to manage my emotions. I spent hours planning and calculating my calorie intake and I kept it all a secret, in fear that someone would find out how much I was struggling. I was so afraid of being seen as weak or over-dramatic. These behaviors stripped me of my joy, comfort and my life. My hope with sharing my own personal story is to remind you that you can get better. I also hope that it helps us all feel more connected and a part of the same community. We all have our own story and struggles, and I wanted to share mine with you so you felt I understood what you might be going through. While I might not have exactly the same story (or circumstances), we all get to the place where we have to ask for help. We all get to the place where were feel so out of control that we have to make a change. That was me. And this is me….doing a hard thing. I hope you find it helpful, or comforting. Please know that you can get better and you can get your life back.

Dr. David Burns Helps Us Learn the Art of Feeling Good Hello! My name is Kimberley Quinlan and welcome back to Your Anxiety Toolkit Podcast. For those of you who are new, welcome! Your Anxiety Toolkit is brought to you by CBTschool.com. CBTschool.com is an online resource that provides evidence-based tools and resources for those who are experiencing anxiety, depression, or other mental health struggles. CBT is an acronym for Cognitive Behavioral Therapy. CBT is made up of Cognitive Therapy and Behavioral Therapy. Today, I am so excited to share with you one of the masters in our field of Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Dr. David Burns. Dr. Burns has been a legend in my mind for many years. He wrote the book Feeling Good, which I consider one of the most valuable books for the management of faulty and unhelpful thoughts. Dr. David Burns is an adjunct professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at the Stanford University School of Medicine. David Burns is also the author of the best-selling books Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy, The Feeling Good Handbook, When Panic Attacks, and has a new book being written called Feeling Great (I cannot wait to read this one!). Dr. David Burns brings Cognitive Therapy, Buddhist foundations and principals, and Behavioral Concepts into this amazing work. Dr. Burns also created and copyrighted The Burns Depression Checklist, which is a rating scale for depression that I use very often in my office. In our interview today, David Burns helps us by teaching how to better approach our faulty cognitions that cause depression. Burns states that 50% of anxious people will be depressed and 100% of depressed people will be anxious. He strongly believes that much of our depression is directly related to our faulty thoughts, which I am sure you will all find very interesting and inspiring. What David Burns teaches us is how to correct our depressive thoughts and come up with strong, powerful statements to counter their incorrect content. We talk about themes such as hopelessness, helplessness and worthlessness. Please note, there are points made by Mr. Burns regarding medication, but I really encourage you to speak with your doctor to make sure your medical and medication plans are best for you. Every person is different and needs specific care. Dr. David Burns also addresses these topics during the interview: Thoughts are the cause for depression. If you can change the way you think, you will change the way you feel. Recent studies researched Feeling Good, to test if it clinically helps those who are experiencing depression, and results showed it is highly effective for those who suffer from depression. How he conceptualizes recovery as either 100% recovery (where all symptoms are gone) and 200% recovery (a stage and experience of enlightenment).

ONE Day Non-Judgment Challenge Hello and welcome back to Your Anxiety Toolkit Podcast. Today we are talking about an interesting challenge. You see, recently I was dared to take an entire day to just listen to my body and feel my feelings and sit in peace. I thought this was a fabulous idea so I shipped my kids and husband away for one day (I never do this BTW) What quickly arose was one thing that was taking the joy out of what could have been a lovely day. That thing was Self-judgment. Self-judgment is the thing that kept bringing me out of simply spending the day with myself. "I should be doing this instead" "You are being lazy" "Why did you choose that activity?" "You have to do it this way because that way is a waste of money" "You shouldn't be feeling this way" "You don't deserve this" "Why did you do it that way?" "Why are you the way you are? Here are just a few of the self-judgment statements we say to ourselves during the day. When you see it on paper, it sounds so awful. Yet, these are things we say to ourselves without hesitation or even awareness sometimes. So, I decided to change the focus of the day away from it being a day of freedom and pleasure and towards a day where I practiced non-judgment. I called it the NON-JUDGMENT CHALLENGE DATE DAY (or #nonjudgmentdateday on social media). So, here is the challenge. Non-Judgment Challenge Day is a day where you go out on your own for a whole day (or an hour or two) and you practice doing things you enjoy doing. Do something pleasurable or exciting or new. As you do this, be very aware of the thoughts in your mind. During this date with yourself, observe your thoughts, both positive and negative, about yourself and the activity you are engaging in. Non-Judgment Challenge Day was a complete eye opener for me and I strongly encourage you to try it. Listen in to this episode of Your Anxiety Toolkit Podcast to hear about my reflections and struggles with my very own Non-Judgment Challenge Day. Also, I just wanted to let you know about "What if?", a collaborative film project by Robin Roblee-Strauss for his senior thesis project at Hampshire College. "What if?" Is a movie that documents the experiences of living with OCD. The film focuses on the voices of those struggling with OCD as the experts on their own internal experiences and recovery processes. And guess what....you can be involved in its creation! Go to www.whatifocdmovie.com to learn how you can be a part of the project by sharing your story, contributing cinematic or artistic expertise, or donating. By creating a movie with the help of individuals with OCD, Robin hopes to empower sufferers to speak out and show the world a brave and honest look into the struggle with uncertainty and anxiety.

Tips To Manage Anxiety At Work Welcome back to another episode of Your Anxiety Toolkit. Today's topic was a suggested topic be one of the members of our online FB group, CBT School Campus. One of the members asked for tips to manage anxiety at work. This is a very important topic, as it is common for some to appear to be highly functioning, but underneath, they are riddled with anxiety and feel like they have no tools to manage their anxiety. The hard part about managing anxiety at work is that it is a practice of multi-tasking. Not only are you fulfilling requirements of your job description, but you are also trying to manage intrusive thoughts, uncomfortable feelings and (sometimes) terrifying urges. These are common symptoms of Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Social Anxiety, Health Anxiety (hypochondria) and Panic Disorder. So, this week we are addressing 10 tips to manage anxiety at work, school, volunteering or other activities that you might do. Don't get me wrong. There are many other tools that could be used, but these are some of the ones I thought might be the most helpful. Here is a quick overview of the 10 tips to manage anxiety at work: Don't aim for no anxiety. Accept that it will be there Don't judge yourself for having anxiety There is nothing "wrong" with you for having anxiety. You are not "bad" for having anxiety Your worth doesn't change because of anxiety's presence Do a Door check (listen to the episode for more information on this) Pull your shoulders back Create a strength-based statement to get you through the hard times "We can do hard things" "This too will pass" "I am stronger than I think I am" "I have done hard things before and I survived" Set small, realistic goals Focus on only one client at a time Do one job or one assignment at a time Have rewards for work well done Implement a consistent and strong self-care plan: Getting exercise and sleep, as well as reducing caffeine and alcohol, is a good start. Begin a Self-Compassion practice You have to name emotions to tame emotions. Bring on that Anxiety, baby! Try to stare your fear in the face as much as you can. I hope that has been helpful! Have a wonderful day and don't forget to leave us a review on iTunes or Stitcher or wherever you tune in.

The Best FREE Mindful Tool Is... Clients and the CBT School community are often asking me for tools and tricks to manage anxiety. Thankfully, we are so blessed there are so many scientifically proven tools and treatment modalities to help those with anxiety, depression, and other struggles. However, I feel the need to bring us back to a mindful tool that we can use any time we want. The great thing about this tool is that it is THE BEST FREE MINDFUL TOOL! That's right! It is the best, and it is free. Before we do that, I want to look at things abstractly for a second. I promise it will make sense once I tell it so hear me out. Let's say I want to be a great mom. I want my daughter to think I am the freaking best mom ever. Here is the thing! Just because I am her mother, that doesn't automatically mean she and I will be good friends and have a great relationship. Or, that she will even like me. To be a freaking rockstar mom, and to make a lasting impact on her heart and well-being, I am going to have to nurture her and our relationship. I am going to have to hear her pains. I will need to sit with her when things are hard. She will need me to hold her hand and be compassionate when she makes mistakes. And wipe her tears when she cries. And most of all, she will need me to not deny her of her anger and sadness and brattiness. I am going to need to really be with her. To have a nurturing and healing relationship, I can't cheat and do it the fastest way. She is not going to think I am an amazing mom just because I buy her the newest iPad and get her the best clothes and hire the best nanny to take care of her all the time. Those things are great and will make her happy for the short term, but they won't result in a good relationship with my daughter in the long term. She won't feel deeply loved by me and she won't feel deeply seen. If I want to have a lasting and healthy relationship, I have to actually sit with her. Be with her. Not disown her because she is angry or being naughty. I can't just leave it to the nanny to fix her when she is sad or angry or not cleaning her room. I can't buy her a trip to Disneyland and send her off with the nanny and expect that she will feel loved by me just because I arranged it and paid for it. If I do that, she will understand that I will only be there when she is good, or when it is easy, and she will not feel worthy when she is having tough emotions. Here is where the healing and growth occurs. So, here is this week's lesson. When it comes to your mindfulness practice, you can't cheat. You too have to do the actual "being with." Our relationship with ourselves is no different. We all want to be deeply understood. We all want to feel worthy of being sat with. We all know that feeling deeply seen is one of the most healing experiences we can be given. Here's the big question for this podcast episode. Do you try to cheat when it comes to actually spending time with yourself and deeply sitting with your experience? My guess is you are saying Yes. We cheat ourselves on self-care and just "being" all the time. So, let's talk about how we befriend ourselves. This is the best FREE mindful Tool I am talking about. The best free Mindful tool is your breath. We disregard breath as one of the best mindful tools and we push forward wanting more supercharged, easier tools. During this podcast, we do a short breathing meditation, in hope to simply honor our "being" and "spend time with" ourselves. Returning to our breath really is the best free mindful tool. Before we go, here is a reminder to check out our swag! WE ARE SO THRILLED TO FINALLY BE OFFERING IT! We have an array of t-shirts and tanks for men, women, and children. Each product has our very own CBT SCHOOL motto, "It is a beautiful day to do hard things." Check it out at the following link! https://www.etsy.com/shop/CBTschool

How To Talk To Others About Mental Illness (with Representative Michael Schlossberg) Hello there and welcome back to another episode of Your Anxiety Toolkit podcast. Today we have the final episode of the "We can do hard things" series; a series of episodes where we have inspirational and courageous guests who talk about hard and life-changing things. I have enjoyed this series so much and hope to start it back up again early next year. I just loved having all of the wonderful guests, who inspired me to be better and brave and more courageous. Today we are discussing how to talk to others about mental illness. I often get asked questions about how to share your story of having Obsessive Compulsive Disorder or Eating Disorder or Panic Disorder or depression with loved ones. If you are wondering how to talk to others about mental illness, this is the episode for you. In this week's episode, we have State Representative of Pennsylvania, Michael Schlossberg. Michael Schlossberg is not only a State Representative. He is a mental health advocate and the author of the fiction book Redemption. Redemption is a science fiction book about a character who defeats depression and anxiety. If you are interested in reading this book (the first of a three-part series), click HERE. During this episode of Your Anxiety Toolkit podcast, Schlossberg talks about his response to Robin Williams' death by suicide and how that propelled him to be more open about his own depression and anxiety. We talk about the experience of depression and how it can keep you feeling alone and isolated. Schlossberg has many pieces of helpful information on how to talk to others about mental illness. He talked about how talking to others about his mental illness made him feel closer to others and how it helped him to be more accepting and kind to himself. The best advice I took from this episode was "There are more people in their rooms crying than you would ever notice. 1/5 Americans have depression. You are not alone." Click HERE to learn more about Michael's story and his focus on mental health in his governmental work. Find him on Facebook HERE and Twitter HERE.

How To Let Go of the Past This week's episode of Your Anxiety Toolkit Podcast is my response to a question that came directly from the online Facebook group CBT School Campus. It is based upon the following: how to let go of the past. This question was one that the online group agreed was incredibly painful and one that was very difficult to approach. If you aren't familiar with CBT School Campus, go check it out. CBT School Campus is an online group of wonderful people who support each other as they do hard things! The group includes people who are struggling with anxiety, depression and other mental health issues. Each member is kind, supportive and helpful. Here is the question: "One of my obsessive regulars is about things from the past that my mind twisted and has blown way out of proportion (at least that's what my non-OCD support people tell me. Ha!), but the memories cause me immense guilt/shame because I question my motives and wish I hadn't done it. I do my exposures to try and accept that I may have had the wrong motive, it may have been inappropriate, I may be bothered by it forever, etc. My struggle lies in the yucky, depressed, guilty feeling it gives me as it looms and sucks the joy. That often leads to the worry of suicide if I can never get over it. I try to welcome the yuck, keep moving, etc. Anything specific that has helped you?" What a great question! During this podcast, I talk about how we misinterpret events from the past and use past events to calculate or define ourselves, our worth and our value. This miscalculation (or rating game) can become a compulsion and as you might already know, the more you review yourself, the more you find to be upset about and the worse you feel. DON'T FORGET, THIS WEEK IS OCD AWARENESS WEEK! CLICK HERE FOR INFORMATION. WE ARE SO THRILLED TO FINALLY BE OFFERING SWAG! We have an array of t-shirts and tanks for men, women, and children. Each product has our very own CBT SCHOOL motto, "It is a beautiful day to do hard things." Check it out at the following link! https://www.etsy.com/shop/CBTschool

Everything You Need To Know About Self-Compassion (Interview with Paul Gilbert) This week's episode of Your Anxiety Toolkit is going to blow your mind! Yes! You better believe it! If you have been thinking you should start a self-compassion practice for yourself, THIS is the episode for you. Today we are going to discuss everything you need to know about self-compassion. This week I am so honored to talk with Paul Gilbert, Professor of Clinical Psychology at the University of Derby and Consultant Clinical Psychologist at the Derbyshire Health Care Foundation Trust. Paul Gilbert is what I consider a Self-Compassion and Shame "Guru." We all know shame and we all know how difficult shame can be when it comes to Anxiety Disorders, such as Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Social Anxiety, Specific Phobias, Panic Disorder, Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), and Body Focused Repetitive Behaviors (BFRB's), such as Trichotillomania (hair pulling) and Dermatillomania (compulsive skin picking). Paul shares with us his beautiful insight and understanding of the human brain and how to apply self-compassion in our daily living. So much of what Paul has to say compliments the discussions we have had on the podcast already. Professor Gilbert performed psychopathology research for over 35 years with a special focus on shame and the treatment of shame-based difficulties. Paul Gilbert was the founder of Compassion-Focused Therapy (CFT) and I am certain you are going to LOVE what he has to say. Paul Gilbert has written and edited 20 books and established the Compassionate Mind Foundation in 2006. He was awarded an OBE in March 2011. During this interview, Paul shares everything you need to know about self-compassion. Paul explains his work and research on self-compassion and how he came to practice and develop Compassion-Focused Therapy. Paul addresses why he thinks we are so hostile or self-critical towards oneself and what he considers the most important tools for practicing self-compassion The most beautiful part of this podcast episode is that we ALL need to be better at practicing self-compassion. As a reminder, it's BFRB Awareness Week (October 1-7)! Click here for more information on BFRB School, which is a complete online course for Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors (BFRB's). Lastly, OCD Awareness Week is coming up from October 7-13! OCD SoCal will celebration OCD Awareness Week on October 7 from 1:00 pm-5:00 pm in Los Angeles, Orange County, and San Diego. Go to IOCDF.org or search your local area for events.

How To Do HARD THINGS...It's A Beautiful Day For It!! Welcome back to another Your Anxiety Toolkit Podcast episode! This week's episode of Your Anxiety Toolkit is all about How to do Hard Things. I know I say "Its a beautiful day to do hard things" all the time, and sometimes people message me or email and ask me, "How do I do hard things?" Even friends and loved ones might call to ask, "Can you teach me how to do hard things?" These hard things might be doing Exposure & Response Prevention (doing something that scares you), taking a test, going to a doctor visit, traveling long distances, feeling intense feelings such as sadness or grief, delivering a speech, experiencing pain or any other event that scares the pants off you. :) A little note on this before we move on; Doing a Hard Thing is doing the thing that scares YOU, even if it doesn't scare others. If it is hard for you, it is hard. Try not to judge yourself or compare yourself to what is hard for you vs. others. After talking with a dear, loved one this week about an upcoming "hard thing" they were preparing to do, I decided to write them a letter. My hope was they could read it as they prepared to stare their hard thing in the face (take that hard thing!). After sending it, I wondered if maybe you needed a similar letter. So, here we go. Here is the letter I sent my friend. I hope you find it helpful in understanding how to do hard things. "Hi my love, Here are the most important things to remember when dealing with fear, dread, and panic. Just because your brain is telling you there is "danger," doesn't make it true or real or correct. Our brain misfires (and make mistakes) ALL the time and it is our job to help direct it back to more reasonable reactions. If we react with resistance, we keep training it to misfire. Our job is to just allow the anxiety, without reacting to it. We gently allow it to be present and allow it to rise and fall on its own. With this practice, we not only re-train our brain, but we learn that beyond this moment of discomfort is freedom. Just a few minutes beyond this discomfort is our opportunity to do whatever the fuck we want with our lives. Fear doesn't get to make our decisions. Our values and hopes and dreams do. You are strong, but you don't have to be stronger than fear. It's not a fight, so don't fight it. Slow everything down and gently say to it, "its ok, fear. I am just going to allow you to be here while I do the thing I love to do. You don't get to control me. Love, Kimberley" Also, CBT School is also excited to share that our lovely friend Stuart Ralph is offering The OCD Summit, an online summit specifically for OCD therapists. The OCD Summit will be a 6-week webinar series where Stuart Ralph, host of The OCD Stories podcast, will interview some incredible scientists and clinicians in the OCD field, with you the therapist as the audience. Kimberley is honored to be selected to be one of the panelists for this exciting event. Registration will include 6 topics curated for your continued development as an OCD therapist, where you can ask questions and network with other therapists in the private FB group community. Click here to join. Lastly, OCD Awareness Week is coming up: October 7-13! OCD SoCal will celebration OCD Awareness Week on October 7 from 1:00 pm-5:00 pm in Los Angeles, Orange County, and San Diego. Go to IOCDF.org or search your local area for events.

Grieving the Losses of Mental Illness Psst! This wasn't planned, but we decided to keep ERP SCHOOL open for ONE MORE DAY! If you are still interested in purchasing the online course for Exposure & Response Prevention (ERP) SCHOOL, it is available until midnight tonight (9/21/18). It didn't feel right to release a podcast the day after the cart was closing and risk you missing out by only one day. So, this is the last day, I promise (for 2018). I am so grateful to everyone who supported me and sent me information about their successes since signing up and taking the course. This week's episode of Your Anxiety Toolkit Podcast is possibly one of my most favorites. The reason for this is that this episode will give you so much validation for the pain you are going through. In this week's episode, we have Chrissie Hodges, a Peer Support Counselor for mental health. In this episode, Chrissie talks with us about the importance of Peer Support and how she offered her own experience of recovery as a way to help guide and lead those who are also managing Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Depression, Anxiety and many other mental illnesses or struggles. Chrissie also addresses a topic I have been wanting to talk about for the longest time, which is life AFTER treatment. It is such a common question I get asked. How do we survive when life looks so different? How to get past how difficult that experience was? What can I do to grieve the losses of mental illness? The truth is, grieving the losses of mental illness is brave and courageous work. It requires us to honor our experiences and allow ourselves to feel some pretty hard and uncomfortable feelings. Grieving the losses of mental illness allows us to forgive ourselves for the hard times and the time lost. This episode of Your Anxiety Toolkit was quite a powerful one for me. Chrissie got real about her own process of grieving the losses of mental illness (specifically Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Anxiety, and Depression). Chrissie also shares her experience with suicidal ideation and a suicide attempt that has traumatized her since. She also shares how difficult it has been on her body and how it has caused her to disown parts of her body and soul. If you are someone who is also grieving or feeling hopeless about all that you have lost in managing your mental illness, then this is the podcast episode for you. Links: Coffee with Chrissie Podcast Chrissie Hodges Website Chrissie Hodges Youtube

Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) is REAL and TREATABLE! This podcast episode of Your Anxiety Toolkit is all about the Seasons. I have received a lot of requests to talk about changing seasons as we move from Summer to Autumn (here in the Northern Hemisphere). It isn't just here. I am sure it is all around the world right now, as the seasons change from Winter to Spring for the Southern Hemisphere (Love you Australia!). There is no doubt that the seasons impact out mental health. In this week's podcast, I look at a few important things to consider when managing anxiety, depression, OCD and other mental health issues. First let's look at how the change in temperature impacts us on a Medical level. Seasonal Affective Disorder, also known as SAD, is understood to be a seasonal depression, affecting 5% of the population of US residents. Yes! It's that high. If you are someone who is highly impacted by the temperature changes, you are definitely not alone. Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) can be treated with light therapy, outdoor activity and medication. Seasonal Affective Disorder isn't just due to changes in seasons. It often occurs when daylight saving times changes and we "fall back," meaning we have less light during the day. When days get shorter, we have less time to get outdoors and move our bodies and soak up that glorious sunlight, which is linked to Seasonal Affective Disorder symptoms. We also know that colder weather can affect our circadian rhythms, causing us to have more depressive symptoms. When we are tired, we have less energy, causing us to feel down or sad or, in some cases, depressed. We also know that the season changes impact us on a Psychological level. We can also see changes in our thoughts. Negative thoughts can create depressive symptoms such as hopelessness, helplessness and worthlessness. Our job is to correct any negative or faulty thoughts so we are not so impacted by the weather or time changes. We can also be more mindful when these thoughts arise. In this episode, we also can look at the seasons from a metaphorical stand point. We need to be careful how we approach the seasons, similar to how we approach our emotions. We could consider some emotions as winter (like sadness and shame and guilt) and some emotions as summer (like happiness and joy and arousal). We could consider autumn being patience and letting go and shedding what doesn't serve us. We could also consider spring a time where we feel free and hopeful and alive. Metaphorically, if we treat one season (environmentally or emotionally) like it is less than or worse than, we will in turn start to have aversion to it. In this episode, we talk about how to be open to all of the seasons, whether you enjoy them or not. Lastly, Exposure & Response Prevention (ERP) School for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) is HERE! Exposure and Response Prevention School is an online, video-based course that teaches you the tools and skills I teach my clients in my office. The doors are only open to purchase ERP School from September 6th, 2018 until September 20th, 2018. Six more days!! We are so excited to share ERP with you and would love to have you join us and the CBT School community. Its a beautiful day to do hard things!

ERP Is the Coolest Thing! If you have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder or any other mental health struggle, you are going to LOVE this episode of Your Anxiety Toolkit. This week we have Nathalie Maragoni, an Associate Marriage and Family Therapist who not only treats Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and other anxiety disorders, but also knows exactly what it is like the experience the terror of intrusive thoughts, panic attacks and brutal compulsions. She said it best herself: "ERP is the coolest thing!" In this episode of Your Anxiety Toolkit, Nathalie talks with us about how she struggles finding the correct therapy for her Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and how she drove for over 1.5 hours to get a treatment specialist who used Exposure & Response Prevention (ERP). Nathalie also talks about her struggle with different types of obsessions and compulsions. She says, "Willingness is the key to managing OCD" and she could not be more correct about this. We just loved how she shared her love for Exposure & Response Prevention and how "ERP is the coolest thing!" Nathalie shares the importance of continuing ERP after treatment. She found that getting the proper treatment alone (ERP) was not enough to help her live a full and thriving life with OCD. She discusses the importance of applying Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and how this helps her live a value-based life where she can just allow thoughts to be there, instead of fusing with them. For more information about Acceptance & Commitment Therapy, click HERE. Nathalie talks about how she is using the book The Happiness Trap to help her understand that "Every experience comes with a good feeling and a bad feeling." In other news, Exposure & Response Prevention (ERP) school is HERE. Exposure and Response Prevention School is an online course that teaches you the tools and skills I teach my clients in my office. Just like Nathalie says, ERP is the coolest thing! Let me tell you a little bit about it. The course is a video-based course that includes modules on: The science behind ERP Identifying YOUR obsessions and your compulsions The different approaches and types of ERP, including gradual exposure, writing scripts, interoceptive exposures and how to get creative with ERP Mindfulness tools to help you manage anxiety, panic and uncertainty Troubleshooting common questions and concerns BONUS videos explaining the most common subtypes of OCD and how to apply ERP to these obsessions and compulsions. The course also includes many downloadable PDF's and activities to help you navigate how to best apply ERP to your specific obsessions and compulsions. We are so excited to finally share ERP with you and would love to have you join us and the CBT School community. Its a beautiful day to do hard things! If you are worried about doing it alone, please don't fear. We meet bi-monthly on the FB group and on IG to talk about questions you may have. Nathalie Maragoni is an Associate Marriage and Family Therapist at OCDSpecialists.com. They now have offices in Bakersfeild and Los Angeles under Supervisor, Stacey Kuhl Wochner. Nathalie can be found on Instagram at @mindonfire_ocd.

Don't Try Harder, Try Different with Patrick McGrath Welcome back to YOUR ANXIETY TOOLKIT PODCAST! We have some SUPER exciting news this week. We are offering a NEW and FREE training called "The 10 Things you absolutely need to know about Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)." This webinar will be great if you are new to OCD and looking for some direction. It will also be a fantastic refresher into the key concepts of OCD treatment, if you are already on your road to recovery. If you are interested, click HERE to check it out. Next piece of exciting news! ERP school will be here in less than ONE WEEK! Heck yes!! Exposure & Response Prevention (ERP) School is an online course for those who don't have access to a therapist who practices ERP and science-based skills for OCD. I will be talking a lot about this in the next few weeks, as the doors are only open to purchase ERP School from September 6th, 2018 until September 20th, 2018. Keep it in mind that this course will only be available to purchase during that time. ONE WEEK!! It is right around the corner and I could not be happier and more excited. Do you ever feel like you are doing the same thing, over and over, with no change in result? You realize your fruitless outcomes and you decide you are going to try harder this time. You might even make a pact with yourself that you will NEVER do that one thing again and you promise yourself that this is the time it will be successful. But, just like last time, you get the same result and you are left feeling overwhelmed and hopeless. Well, if this is you, this episode is going to change some things for you. This week we have a wonderful interview with Patrick McGrath, Ph.D., who is a psychologist based out of Illinois specializing in the treatment of anxiety disorders. In addition to being the president of a private practice group called Anxiety Centers of Illinois, Patrick McGrath is also the Clinical Director of the AMITA Health Alexian Brothers Behavioral Health Hospital's Center for Anxiety and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder Program and President of OCD-Midwest, an affiliate of the International OCD Foundation. I met Patrick at the IOCDF Conference and we immediately hit it off and agreed to do an impromptu interview. It was so much fun! You might even notice it was more of a conversation than an interview, but I loved it and was so thrilled to hear Patrick's wisdom. If you are at all interested in taking the Exposure & Response Prevention School (ERP SCHOOL) course, Patrick's talk today might help motivate you towards that goal. He beautifully talks about how to DON'T TRY HARDER, TRY DIFFERENT and this is definitely a concept you have to consider when starting ERP. Patrick also discusses the steps his clients need to know to move towards a "Don't try harder, try different" approach. Click HERE for more information on his stress management workbook titled Don't Try Harder, Try Different and HERE for more information on his book titled The OCD Answer Book: Professional Answers to More Than 250 Top Questions about Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder. I hope you enjoy this interview as much as I did! If you are at all interested in taking the Exposure & Response Prevention School (ERP SCHOOL) online course for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), click HERE.

Addressing Fear Like A Scientist In this episode of Your Anxiety Toolkit, we talk about Addressing Fear like Scientists. Not the scary white haired kind! In this week's episode, we talk about becoming scientists who run studies that are rational, evidence-based, and experienced-based. Each time we have a thought, we have an opportunity to be a scientist. Don't worry about those white coats. You don't need them for these experiments. And you don't need to have a fully fledged scientist degree either. The human brain has up to 70,000 thoughts per day. That is a LOT of thoughts. When it comes to managing anxiety, much of the work is being able to identify which thoughts that are distorted (or errors) and which are not, so we can respond skillfully and mindfully. This is not an easy feat and takes ongoing work and courage. The other day, I started thinking about all the lovely people who are being tormented by scary intrusive thoughts, unwanted emotions, and sensations that make them think and feel like there is something wrong with them. Sometimes these intrusive thoughts make us believe that something bad will happen, or that terror is on its way. Often when we have these unwanted, intrusive thoughts, we go into a pattern of trying to disprove these possibilities. We start to shift our day, just to prove that this is in no way possible. We try to make the uncertain, certain. The problem with this is that we are not actually resolving the issues in REALITY. What we do when we have these obsessions is we create a new reality where the fear is less likely to occur. We do this by avoiding events or people or places. We also try to ensure that our fear won't come true by mentally reviewing all of the possible scenarios and how they might play out. Once we have mentally exhausted ourselves with identifying what specific scenarios might cause troublesome outcomes, we promise ourselves to never put ourselves in those situations. How To Address Fear Like A Scientist Addressing Fear like a scientist involves asking yourself a few very hard questions. Take a look at these questions and do a quick review on how you are responding to your anxiety and depression. What hypothesis (theory) is my depression, anxiety, obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD) trying to prove? Is this hypothesis true and based in reality and reason? Can I test the evidence in a non-biased way? Can I look at it from every angle without running away from fear? Or trying to solve it? Or steer the outcomes? Can I sit with the results of the experiment? Am I spending my time trying to prove my hypothesis or am I open to actually doing the work of a scientist, who is unbiased and accepting of the outcomes? I invite you this week to be more vigilant about addressing fear like a scientist who tests the hypothesis in a non-biased, rational and reality-based way. I know this is hard, but you know what I am going to say here. It is a beautiful day to do hard things. Also, CBT School is also excited to share that our lovely friend Stuart Ralph is offering The OCD Summit, an online summit specifically for OCD therapists. The OCD Summit will be a 6-week webinar series where Stuart Ralph, host of The OCD Stories podcast, will interview some incredible scientists and clinicians in the OCD field, with you the therapist as the audience. Kimberley is honored to be selected to be one of the panelists for this exciting event. Registration will include 6 topics curated for your continued development as an OCD therapist, where you can ask questions and network with other therapists in the private FB group community. Click here to join.

The Anxiety of Decision Making Is REAL and EXHAUSTING! Experiencing and managing anxiety is a hard and courageous task. And you guys know what I am going to say next. It is a beautiful day to do hard things! One activity that is made difficult by anxiety is the process of making decisions. Making decisions can be exhausting and brings up a lot for us. When making decisions, we might be faced with anxiety about making the "right" decision. We might also be faced with the anxiety of making the decision that won't hurt others or impact others negatively. We might also be faced with anxiety that our decision will cause us to miss out on something better or more beneficial to our long term goals. This constitutes the anxiety of decision making. Basically, making decisions is the ULTIMATE exposure to uncertainty and tolerating discomfort. There is no way to make a decision without acknowledging and facing uncertainty. Here is a teaser from the episode. Even when you put the decision making aside, you are actually making a decision. Not making a decision is technically making a decision you didn't even know existed. This weeks podcast is all about The Anxiety of Decision Making. We go over some of the themes that come up surrounding decision making such as Hyper-responsibility, Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) and Perfectionism. We also talk about how we must embrace uncertainty in our lives and accept that life doesn't need to be perfect. This can be easier said than done, so we discuss some important mindfulness tools which can help us manage perfectionism, hyper-responsibility and Fear Of Missing Out (FOMO) when it comes to decision making. We hope you enjoy this week's podcast episode or Your Anxiety Toolkit. Also guys, we are excited to share that ERP SCHOOL is going to be released VERY soon, so keep your eyes out. CBT School is also excited to share that our lovely friend Stuart Ralph is offering The OCD Summit, an online summit specifically for OCD therapists. The OCD Summit will be a 6-week webinar series where Stuart Ralph, host of The OCD Stories podcast, will interview some incredible scientists and clinicians in the OCD field, with you the therapist as the audience. Kimberley is honored to be selected to be one of the panelists for this exciting event. Registration will include 6 topics curated for your continued development as an OCD therapist, where you can ask questions and network with other therapists in the private FB group community. Click here to join.

"Trust your capacity to change" - Tara Brach Interview I am thrilled and honored to share with you an interview I did with my absolute idol, Tara Brach. If you don't know who Tara Brach is, let me introduce to you an amazing and inspirational human. Tara Brach is a leading Western teacher of Buddhist Meditation, emotional healing and spiritual awakening. Tara is a Clinical Psychologist, meditation teacher and Author of Radical Acceptance and True Refuge, two of my favorite books. In addition, Tara Brach, along side Jack Kornfield, co-founded the Awareness Training Institute (ATI) and the Mindfulness Meditation Teacher Certification Program (MMTCP). For me, Tara's podcast (tarabrach.com) was (and is) one of the most important parts of my own personal development and growth. For hours I would (and still do) walk the neighborhood while listening to her podcast. Tara helped me through some of the hardest times in my life and allowed me to access her tools and wisdom through a freely offered podcast and streaming service that inspired me to create CBTschool.com. Tara taught me to be a fearless mental health advocate, so you may see that much of CBT School follows her goal of offering skillful and generous work. While I was in Washington, DC for the International OCD Foundation conference, I was lucky enough to meet with Tara in person before her Wednesdays with Tara Meditation Talk and ask her some questions about anxiety and mindfulness. I am still freaking out with excitement that I had the opportunity to meet her in person and then get to interview her for the Your Anxiety Toolkit Podcast. My goal for this podcast episode was to zero in to the questions I often get asked and see what Tara's response would be. True to form, Tara gives us some BEAUTIFUL responses that are easy to understand and apply. In this interview, we talk specifically about how uncertainty can be one of the hardest and most challenging parts of anxiety, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), panic attacks and depression. Tara gives some amazing mindfulness tools to help us approach uncertainty. We also talked about her book, Radical Acceptance and what some of the road blocks are to radically accepting our discomforts or fears. If you haven't read her books, I strongly encourage you to. Tara has a way of bringing compassion into the room, even if she isn't physically there. Tara gives us tips on how to implement Mindfulness practices into our everyday life and normalizes the struggles we all have with this. One of the questions I was most interested in asking Tara was her advice for those who are deeply suffering with mental health right now. She so beautifully responded with compassion and deep knowledge of mindfulness practice. This answer brought me to tears and I am so grateful for having this experience with her. And, last of all, I just had to ask Tara about why she uses humor in her meditation talks and Tara kindly shared with us one of her favorite jokes. Tara used humor a lot to help us understand our own reactivity or idiosyncrasies and I just loved having a little chuckle with her. So, as you can see, I am just a teeny bit in love with Tara (wink, wink). I really hope you get as much as I did out of this episode. Thank you so much Tara for your kindness and generosity. Ok folks! DO NOT FORGET to stay til the end of the episode because Tara so kindly gives an AMAZING GIFT at the end of the interview for our wonderful CBT School community.

My IOCDF Conference Key Takeaways One of the biggest honors I have as a therapist who treats anxiety disorders is to present at the International OCD Foundation (IOCDF) annual conference. I just adore these conferences, mostly because they provide a mix of both treatment presentations and support groups for those who struggle with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and for therapist who provide evidence based treatment for those who have OCD. Another amazing thing about these conferences is that they also provide support groups and presentations on Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors (BFRB's) such as Trichotillomania (Hail Pulling) and Excoriation Disorder (Skin Picking) and Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) and also co-occuring Eating Disorders and Substance Abuse. In this episode of Your Anxiety Toolkit, I wanted to share with you some of my reflections from running several support groups and attending some amazing presentations by some of the top treatment providers in the world. The IOCDF.org put on such an amazing event and I have to admit, this one was by far my favorite. At this years conference, I was honored to co-facilitate a new support group called the Compassion Collective with a dear friend and colleague, Michelle Massi. Michelle and I gathered every morning at 7AM (yes, it was VERY early) to meet with attendees who wanted support with self-compassion. Each morning we provided a new compassion tool to help those who are struggling with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). This was such an beautiful experience, as we got to really see inside the minds of the attendees and hear what is getting the way of them practicing self-compassion. Interestingly, perfectionism and fear of failure were two of the key components or self-compassion sabotage (which I speak a lot about in this weeks podcast episode). I was also honored to be a part of a presentation called "Let's Talk about Sex Baby!" This presentation was a question and answer formatted presentation where attendees asked very intimate questions about how OCD and anxiety can impact sex. One of the most interesting themes of these presentation was just how uncomfortable people were about discussing sex with their therapist. We had a very OPEN and HONEST dialog with attendees about sex and normalized it. Finally, I was lucky enough to get to run the Co-existing OCD and Eating Disorder group this year with Beth Brawly. Beth and I have ran this group several times and I love it SOOOO much. There is a fine line where OCD and Eating Disorders combine and we met to help attendees break down faulty views of body, health, body size, food and body image. It was so wonderful to see some very brave families join together to support their family members who are struggling. Fore more information on the IOCDF, click here. Lastly, this is a friendly reminder that ERP School (our online course for Exposure & Response Prevention for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and other Anxiety Disorders) is COMING SOON, so stay tuned. Sign up HERE to be on the waitlist and be alerted as soon as it is available.

"You are right where you need to be" with Cami Julaine Well folks! Welcome back to another episode of Your Anxiety Toolkit. Today, we have another amazing guest interview as a part of our "We can do hard things" series. I am so excited to share with you an amazing interview with Cami Julaine, an avid mental health advocate, blogger, singer, actor and all-around wonderful person. In this week's episode, Cami shares her journey through Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, an Eating Disorder, Trichotillomania, Panic Attacks and Trauma. One of the things I love the most about Cami is that she is so authentic and open. I know we all struggle with finding the motivation to keep moving forward sometimes, as managing Anxiety Disorders such as Panic Disorder, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Social Anxiety, Phobias, Health Anxiety can be very difficult. Cami shares with us a inspiring story of how she went from rock bottom to taking bold steps towards her recovery. Cami shares her story of being supported by family members and close friends (ahem, Paula Abdul) who urged her to get help. This is an incredibly interesting and informative interview, as Cami shares how she had to blend many types of tools (and therapy) to get her to where she is today. Cami shares some wonderful mindfulness tools to help manage Panic Disorder and Panic Attacks. You will really love these tools, as they are very similar to ones we have discussed in previous episodes of Your Anxiety Toolkit, with a little Cami Juliane-twist. :) Cami also talks about her experience with Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP). Finally, Cami shares with us how she has integrated spirituality with her recovery and how she practices self-care and self-compassion as a part of that practice. This is a topic that I have't touched upon much at all and I am sure you will find it inspirational and validating. You can find Cami Julaine on Instagram @camijulaine and more information on her website here. One thing before we say goodbye. GET READY...because ERP School (our online course for Exposure & Response Prevention for Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and other Anxiety Disorders) is COMING SOON, so stay tuned. Sign up HERE to be on the waitlist and be alerted as soon as it is available. PS: The first 20 people to sign up get a free, exclusive "We Can Do Hard Things Meditation" that you can download and use as often as you like. YES!

You Can Be Anxious AND Have Courage! Courage. Where do we find it? How do we get it? And, once we get it, how do we keep it? In this era, being courageous or brave comes with great expectations. Men are expected to show their "brave face" ALL the time, or they run the risk of being called a "sissy." That is a lot of pressure! Women (and many times men too) are expected to multi-task multiple difficult things at once, but also must look pretty and be smiling while doing it. But, to top it all off, we humans (men, women and children) with anxiety are often expected to meet all of the above criteria AND keep our anxiety to ourselves. Where did we get this from?! I cannot tell you how many times I have heard stories about family members or partners or parents who have told someone struggling with anxiety or depression (or another mental health struggle) to "be braver" or "toughen up" or "you gotta be stronger through this." While I do understand what they are trying to convey, today's podcast episode is all about approaching courage and bravery with a new (more reasonable) perspective. You see, I like to think of bravery and courage as something you can experience WITH anxiety. I actually think they go beautifully together. We can feel dreadful fear AND be courageous. We can feel overwhelming sadness AND be strong. What we have been told about bravery and courage is all off. It limits us and makes us feel like we must not try things until we have no fear and we can "hold it together." I like to believe that the person who decided to go to the party, despite their tremendous social anxiety, is the brave one. I believe that the person who does that really hard thing (even if it happens to be easy for other people) is the courageous one. I believe the one who has a tear running down their face as they face their fear is a brave rock star! I hope you enjoy this podcast episode and begin to challenge your view of what bravery and courage looks like. As always, thank you for supporting me with this podcast and with CBT School's online courses. Enjoy!

Value-Based Living Hello there CBT School Family Welcome to another episode of Your Anxiety Toolkit Podcast. As you may know, each week I do my best to bring you a new tool or idea for you to put in your toolkit, in hope that it will give you some skills to manage anxiety, panic and other difficult thoughts, feelings and sensations. I always envision that I am slowly handing you one tool after another and that you are carefully packing those tools into your toolkit or tool belt, so that you feel ready to face your day, with or without anxiety. This week, I want to discuss with you your metaphorical toolkit; the box or belt in which you hold dear to your heart and use daily to help you live your best life. The most important thing to understand in today's podcast is that carrying a tool belt/toolbox/toolkit is a choice. Every week, you freely join me for a weekly discussion about recovery and living a great life, while having anxiety. You don't have to carry your toolkit and all the tools around. Many choose not to carry a tool belt or any tools. But you, you do. It's pretty cool if you ask me. You see, the tools your put in your toolkit are your mindfulness skills. Your toolkit, the place you hold these tools, is your values. If you are on a mission to be a better human, you obviously value your wellbeing. It is a value that you stand by. You value your recovery. You value your quality of life. Using these tools of yours contributes to value-based living. Values are very important to our recovery. The only problem is, that sometimes fear can come in and stomp all over our values. Sometimes fear can lead us away from our values and away from our toolkit. Sometimes fear can lead us towards other problematic behaviors, such as compulsions including checking, counting, avoidance, reassurance seeking and mental rumination. Fear can also lead us towards anger and saying mean things to ourselves. Today, we talk about identifying our values and ways to use the tools you have to help you lead with values. We use concepts from Acceptance & Commitment Therapy, also knows as ACT. ACT is a very helpful treatment modality that beautifully compliments Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and Exposure & Response Prevention (ERP). I hope you find it helpful! Forward we go, Kimberley

Surfing the Worry Imp's Wave In this week's episode of Your Anxiety Toolkit, I had the pleasure of talking to Sharon Selby, Marriage and Family Therapist and Author. Sharon has written an amazing children's book called Surfing the Worry Imp's Wave and this book is simply amazing. Before you turn away thinking, "This doesn't apply to me. This is about kids stuff!", wait up! Since reading Surfing the Worry Imp's Wave, I have been using these techniques with some of my adult clients and they LOVE them too. This episode brings some helpful tools and tricks to manage anxiety and perfectionism (at any age). Surfing the Worry Imp's Wave is a science-based book using the same mindfulness tools and Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) tools I use with some of my clients and members of the CBT School Campus with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), Panic Disorder, Health Anxiety, Social Anxiety and Phobias. During the episode, Sharon discusses her inspiration behind the book, her work with young children who have anxiety and what tools she has found to be super helpful. As I mentioned about, I have found that these tools are helpful for us BIG kids too (adults). Sharon also tells us about some of the games involved in the books and some helpful tools to manage fear, perfectionism, separation anxiety, and panic. You guys know how much I LOVE a good story or metaphor, and there are plenty in this book. Here is one I want you to think about. In the book, Sharon talks about how our brains need to make mistakes to grow. If we make a mistake, it is like water on a plant. Mistakes help our brains grow into smarter and kinder people. I just adore this part of the book and it is something I have implemented with my young (and old) clients (and me too!). When I make as mistake, I now close my eyes and imagine my brain neurons growing and thriving. This is just one of the wonderful tools that Sharon talks about. I cannot wait for you to listen to this week's podcast, and read this book. Surfing the Worry Imp's Wave is a bookshelf must have, if you have kids with anxiety. But don't forget, THIS big kid loves it too!!! See the link below to get your hands on Surfing the Worry Imp's Wave: https://www.sharonselby.com/product/surfing-worry-imps-wave-reducing-childrens-anxiety Sharon Selby's free e-book 8 Common Mistakes to Avoid When Your Child Is Anxious is available at: sharonselby.com/free-ebook You can also hear more about Sharon on her Website HERE

Thought Suppression Doesn't Work!! You may have heard it multiple times, but consider this a little reminder. THOUGHT SUPPRESSION NEVER WORKS! This short but hefty statement is considered one of the golden rules when it comes to the management of anxiety disorders, specifically Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Panic Disorder, Social Anxiety, Healthy Anxiety and Phobias. However, the truth is, we all attempt to make our "bad" or anxiety-provoking thoughts away. We try to push them down so they won't hurt us anymore. We try to make them go away, so we don't have to feel the related shame, guilt, irritation, and annoyance of these thoughts. Does this sound anything like you? Let me tell you, you are in the right place. You see, this is a very common reaction to intrusive, anxiety-producing thoughts. For those with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), Health Anxiety (hypochondria), Social Anxiety, Panic Disorder or Specific Phobias, thought suppression can be involuntary and we often do not even know we are doing it. Intuitively, our brains will fight or run away from almost anything that creates discomfort for us. We are biologically set up for fight, flight or freeze. In today's episode, we talk about why thought suppression never works. We talk about how thought suppression can actually increase our anxiety over time and how thought suppression teaches us to intuitively judge our thoughts as bad. If this sounds counter-intuitive to you, you are not alone. My clients and the members of the CBT School Campus are commonly asking some pretty great questions about this, so I wondered if this was a topic that might benefit you. In this week's episode of Your Anxiety Toolkit Podcast, we talk about how Mindfulness can help us to accept and allow thoughts, non-judgmentally. We address how it can change the dynamic between you and your thoughts to a more peaceful and coexisting relationship. Remember, allowing thoughts is the key. Allow them to come and go. Accept them and see what happens. Listen to hear more!

Anxiety-Related Exhaustion is NO JOKE! One of the most common struggles I hear from my clients and the members of the CBT School Campus is how EXHAUSTING anxiety and depression can be. If you are barraged daily by exhaustion resulting from Anxiety (or any other mental health issue), you are NOT ALONE! Experiencing Anxiety is a full-time job. No one can argue with that. Anxiety can drain us of our physical energy, our emotional energy and can cause us to have nothing left to give at the end of the day. It can make us too tired to be social and make us want to sleep the day away. Anxiety-Related Exhaustion can make us feel alone and like there is no hope for us. If this is you, this is the episode for you. Because you know what?! There IS hope for US! In this podcast, we talk about some mindfulness tools to manage anxiety-related exhaustion. We talk about learning to observe your thoughts and correct them to thoughts that are more helpful and less draining. We also address a few very important mindset shifts you may need to make. You see, when we are overwhelmed with tiredness and anxiety-related exhaustion, we often will begin to feel hopeless and start to believe that there is no end in sight. Everyone tells us, "Just keep going", but we can sometimes feel like we barely have the energy or faith that we need to "just keep going". In this episode, we talk about specific mindset tools that I use with my clients who struggle with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Anxiety, Depression and Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors (BFRB's). And last of all, I use one of my favorite metaphors for managing Anxiety-Related Exhaustion. You guys know me! I love to use silly metaphors. That being said, I really believe in it and it works. I promise you that it will make you take better care of yourself if you put it in place and prioritize it. Please don't hesitate to let me know what you think and if this is helpful. Also, if you listen on iTunes, please do leave a review. Good reviews help me reach more people and help me get the really important (and inspirational) people on the show. Forward we go, Kimberley

How Advocacy "Keeps Me Well": Interview with Ethan Smith OCD Advocate Do you ever wish you had someone to inspire you and give you hope about your recovery? Maybe you wish there was a story about OCD or anxiety or mental health that looks similar to yours and you wish you knew how the story turns out? Well, today I give you Ethan Smith OCD Advocate. Ethan Smith (OCD Advocate) was the keynote speaker at the 2014 Annual International Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (IOCDF.org) Conference, the International OCD Foundation National Ambassador, a writer, director, producer and OCD Advocate. Amongst these incredible talents and accolades, Ethan is hilarious and kind and VERY informed about the ins and outs of OCD and the treatment of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD). During this interview, Ethan talks about his struggles to find correct therapy, his experience with finding evidence-based treatment such as Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP) and Dialectical Behavioral Therapy (DBT). Ethan also opens up about his draw towards advocacy work, stating that advocacy "keeps him well" and how being honest and open is considered advocacy work. I think we often feel that we have to write a book or start a campaign or a fundraiser to be mental health advocates, but Ethan shares his belief that we ultimately just have to share our story and use our story to help others not feel alone. One of the things I love the most about Ethan is his ability to express compassion and humor in the same sentence. Discussions around Mental Health can feel very heavy, and Ethan has a way of making light of a very heavy topic. Thank you, Ethan, for all that you do. If you feel like sharing your mental health struggles with others is too big of a step right now, consider joining our Facebook Group, CBT School Campus. This group is filled with brave, supportive and compassionate people and was created so you could feel support and connected to others who are working tirelessly on their mental health in a safe and supportive platform. Click here to be taken to the FB group. Click here for Ethan's Keynote Speaker Video DO YOU WANT TO REALLY IMPROVE ON YOUR MINDFULNESS SKILLS FOR OCD? CHECK OUT CBT SCHOOL'S ONLINE COURSE, MINDFULNESS FOR OCD.

Are you Superhuman or Human? It's an interesting question, isn't it? Are you a Superhuman or Human? I think in order to answer this question, we need to address how we perceive a superhuman and how we view ourselves, as humans. We need to address how we "rate" ourselves as a whole. You see, sometimes society and our community will send us the message that those of us who struggle with anxiety or depression (or with a mental health issue) are humans that are missing something. In some circles, us anxious humans get seen as being "less than" or weak because we struggle. Most media outlets portray superhuman as those who have beyond average muscles and their stories usually end in glory and power and victory. Let me pose a new idea for you. Maybe it isn't a new idea to you, but I am guessing it is an idea that you need to be reminded of. I don't believe for one teeny tiny microsecond that those who experience anxiety are "less than" humans. I don't for a second believe that those who have mental health struggles are "weak". Let me tell you a little fact. The definition of superhuman is "having or showing exceptional ability or power". Handling Anxiety and Depression or any other mental health issue takes exceptional abilities and a LOT of power and strength. Let's take a look here. If being superhuman requires you to have an exceptional ability, I would be very comfortable saying that managing anxiety classifies as an "exceptional ability". Do you agree? I think that if anyone knew just how hard you were working, they too would say that managing anxiety and depression (or other mental health issues) is superhuman. We don't give ourselves enough credit. This podcast is all about how much of a SUPERHUMAN YOU ARE! Click HERE For Online Course for OCD

Is Fred In The Refridgerator? Interview with Shala Nicely Well, this episode is one of my favorites. Do I say that every week (hehe)? But this week I am not joking! In today's episode, I have the honor of interviewing the AMAZING Shala Nicely. Shala has written the most amazing, Is Fred In The Refridgerator?: Taming OCD and Reclaiming My Life. If you have Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD), Body Dysmorphic Disorder (BDD) or Depression or another mental health struggle, Shala has written THE book for you. In the book, Is Fred in the Refridgerator, Shala talks about her recovery with OCD, BDD, depression, substance abuse and much more. The book is an amazing and fun read, but also walks us through her struggles to find correct therapy for OCD, the rules her OCD held her to and the key components of her mental health recovery. Why is this one of my favorite episodes? Well, Shala walks the walk and talks the talk and she gets very vulnerable and transparent about her struggles with OCD. I love anyone who shares their truth, and Shala did just that. It was truly inspiring and my heart pretty much exploded during the recording of this episode. I asked Shala a lot of really deep questions and she was so honest and open with us, and for that, I am so grateful. I hope you enjoy this book as much as I did. See the link below toget your hands on Is Fred In The Refridgerator? Links: BUY IT ON AMAZON: Is Fred In The Refridgerator shalanicely.com If you missed last weeks episode 50 5 Lessons Learned from Hosting Your Anxiety Toolkit Thank you again for supporting me with this podcast and with CBT Schools online courses. Please click here to find out more about Mindfulness School for OCD.

FIVE LESSONS LEARNED FROM HOSTING THIS PODCAST Today is a special day. Today I share the FIVE LESSONS LEARNED FROM HOSTING THIS PODCAST! Today marks the 50th episode of Your Anxiety Toolkit Podcast. I get a little sentimental during this one, but please stick with me. Let me start by saying that I am so grateful for reaching 50 episodes. When I started this podcast, in my pjs in my kitchen with my sleeping baby next to me as I recorded my first episode, never in my wildest dreams could imagine what it would become. From this podcast came CBTSchool.com, and from CBT school came a community that I could never have imagined. So Today, on this 50th episode, I celebrate YOU! And, today I want to talk to you about what I have learned and a few of my favorite quotes that I live by (and I promise this will apply to you). In this episode, I share 5 lessons learned by hosting this podcast and I have lived by as I hosted this podcast. I have to be honest. I have learned SO much and I cannot wait to share the lessons with you. I won't pretend it has all been easy. It hasn't. There was a couple of time that this podcast nearly didn't get made. And, there were quite a few times it was made OVER AND OVER! All I can say is that I am so grateful for your support and compassion as I bumped along. If you missed last weeks episode 49 The Content of Your Thoughts Are Not Important Thank you again for supporting me with this podcast and with CBT Schools online courses. Please click here to find out more about Mindfulness School for OCD.

The Content Of Your Thoughts Are Not Important One of the biggest struggles my clients have is when they get caught up in the belief that their specific intrusive thoughts or fears warrant LOTS of attention and moral weight. This is one of the most difficult things to manage when you are struggling with significant anxiety. We can see that other peoples fears are irrational, but when it comes to our specific fear, we become unglued, confused and reactive. Here are a few questions that I want you to ask yourself before listening to this podcast. Have you caught yourself saying any of the following? 1. "It's easy for you to say to, "just accept the thoughts". You don't have thoughts about hurting someone all day like I do (insert here whatever thought you are obsessing or ruminating on). This thought is WAY worse than other thoughts." 2. "This isn't any old thought. This would destroy my life if this thought came true." 3. "I know I have to accept the uncertainty, but this isn't just a thought" These are all examples of getting caught up in our thoughts content. When we get caught up in the CONTENT of our thoughts we can get stuck in a cycle of anxiety. When we give our thoughts all of this attention and value, our brains become hypervigilent and get even more worked up about the presence of these thoughts, feelings, and sensations. Please note here, I am in NO WAY telling you this is your fault. This is just the way our brains work. We also have be to careful about our narrative about this thought. If we tell ourselves the thought is "bad", that triggers self-judgment, shame and self-doubt. Then we are off and running, judging ourselves more and putting ourselves down. Listen to the podcast to hear my FIVE STEPS to help when you are getting caught in the content of your thoughts. At the end of the podcast, I offer a little Challenge for you. Observe your thoughts and ask yourself if you could start to make any of these changes in your life. If you do notice that you are giving too much weight to a thought, try to practice Non-judgment (Ep 1) or Beginners Mind (ep 6) or What you say to yourself Matters (ep 17). Thank you again for supporting me with this podcast and with CBT Schools online courses. Please click here to find out more about Mindfulness School for OCD.

Ep. 48: 4 Steps to Doing Hard Things! Welcome back! This week's episode is a celebration of last weeks guest interview with Dennis A. Aguilar. Last weeks episode was the first of the series called, We Can Do Hard Things Series. In this series, I will interview people who have fought through the thickness of mental health struggles and have relentlessly worked on themselves. These will be inspiring and motivating stories that will help you see that you are not alone in your recovery process. One question I have been getting from listeners, in response to last weeks podcast, was the question, "But, How do I do hard things when doing even the smallest things seem so hard for me?" This podcast will outline the FOUR steps I use to doing the hard things. These steps are mostly tools that will help you understand and appreciate your personal journey. I often gently say to myself, "It is a beautiful day to do hard things!" and I really believe this to be a core part of my own mental health toolkit. I hope you enjoy this episode of Your Anxiety Toolkit. Resources: Episode The Skill of Non-Judgment Click HERE for My Free PDF Printout: My FOUR Favorite Mindfulness Tools for OCD CBT SChool Campus Facebook Group

If you know me at all, you know that I 100% believe that WE CAN DO HARD THINGS! If you are on Instagram or Facebook, you will often hear me repeat, "We can do hard things!" "We can do hard things!" "We can do hard things!" I am also a strong believer in Progressive Mastery. Progressive Mastering is the systematic and step-by-step approach to learning new things. Basically, we incredible humans can learn just about anything if we break it down into small steps and take one step at a time. I cannot stress this approach enough when it comes to mental wellness. We must not look up at the mountain, tell ourselves how we will NEVER be able to make it up there and then give up. We must take on emotion at a time. One thought at a time. One sensation at a time. One urge at a time. When we do this, we move forward. We move upward. We soar! This week's podcast is the first of a series I am doing called "We can do hard things". During this series, I will interview people who have taken the hard, but rewarding route of working through their emotions, mental health disorders, trauma and difficult childhoods. I could not be more excited to share this weeks episode with you. Dennis A. Aguilar joins us today to share the inspiring story of his life journey through mental illness. Dennis talks about trauma, depression, suicidal ideation, OCD, anxiety, Bipolar Disorder, ADD, social anxiety and other struggles he manages. I found this interview to be incredibly inspiring and I am sure you will to0. Dennis also gives TONs of amazing advice to those who feel like recovery is not an option for them. He talks about how he would go through stages of hopelessness and how to fought himself to just keep going. About Dennis A. Aguilar and Resources He Suggests Instagram Books: Mind Programming: From Persuasion to Brain Washing The Siva Mind Control Method What Every Body is Saying The Heart Of The Buddha Psychology Fifth Edition The Norton Psychology Reader How Pleasure Works How The Mind Works Emotions Revealed Taking Charge of ADHD The Lazy Mans Way To Riches Other: Luminosity

In This Episode, We Are Going To Get Creative Are you guys friends? You know. You, and Anxiety. Do you guys yell at each other? Or, do you talk between yourselves in a respectful and considerate manner? This episode is all about your relationship with anxiety. Does Anxiety manipulate you into behaviors you don't want to engage in? Or, do you hold your ground when anxiety is trying to get its way? These questions might help you to determine what kind of relationship you have with the anxiety in your life. This is a really important question and a conversation that we must continually have with ourselves. Do you have a good relationship with anxiety? In today's podcast episode, we talk about How to Improve Your Relationship with Anxiety. This includes how you talk with yourself, how you react to your anxiety and what your expectations are about its presence in your life. You guys know how much I LOVE a good metaphor. Well, this week's podcast is one BIG metaphor on how to build a better relationship with your anxiety, depression, emotions, and sensations. My goal is to give you a visual for managing and tolerating discomfort. In this episode, I also address setting boundaries with anxiety and depression but creating a relationship with anxiety AND depression. I can't wait to hear whether this is helpful for you. I find it incredibly helpful. Enjoy! Click HERE to join our free FACEBOOK GROUP, CBT SCHOOL CAMPUS Click HERE to learn more about CBT Schools Mindfulness for OCD E-course Click HERE to learn more about CBT Schools e-course for Hair Pulling and Skin Picking, BFRB School

Do you sometimes wonder what the secret sauce is to Anxiety Recovery? Well, today, we have an INCREDIBLE interview with Sheva Rajaee discussing the FIVE ROADBLOCKS TO ANXIETY RECOVERY! Sheva Rajaee (forgive me for the error with her maiden name in the podcast) is a lovely friend of mine and I was lucky enough to get to work alongside her at the center where we were trained. Sheva is an OCD Advocate rockstar and was a speaker at last years UCLA TEDx Talk event, presenting the talk titled, "Addicted to the answer – anxiety in the age of information". In this interview, Sheva comes very well prepared (as she always is) and she details what she calls the FIVE ROADBLOCKS TO ANXIETY RECOVERY, including tools to help manage Anxiety Disorders, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD) and Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors (BFRB's). Sheva details ways you can compliment Cognitive Behavioral Therapy tools and she uses a wonderful metaphor that we discussed in such depth that we ended up in hysterics! We talk about doing the hard work, staying committed and some mindset shifts that can help with recovery success. Sheva and I also talk about those who are not currently in therapy and how they can utilize their own resources to keep them going. Sheva has her own private practice in Irvine, CA called the Center for Anxiety and OCD. You can find Sheva on Instagram @theshrinkwrap.

Anxiety + Anxiety + Anxiety = Anger Do you feel ever notice that your overwhelming fear turns into overwhelming anger? Yes? Well, you are not alone. Anger is a very common bi-product of anxiety. Today, I share a little bit more about my experience of listening to Clint Malarchuk, who was a National Hockey League player and was the keynote speaker at the most recent So Cal IOCDF Conference. Click here for last weeks podcast episode on YOU ARE NOT ALONE Clint and his wife told their beautiful story about Clint's struggles with OCD and Trauma. Clint shared all about his journey of managing obsessions and compulsions while excelling as a professional hockey player. There was SO much about Clint and his wife presentation that I loved, but one thing stood out to me as being REALLY important. Clint shared about his Anger. Clint and his wife shared how he was overwhelmed with rage. Clint was angry at himself. Angry with his wife for demanding her get help. Angry at his disorder, for taking so much away from him. It made me wonder, I am sure some of you would love to know that they are not alone in their anger. This podcast is for you if you commonly feel angry about what you are going through and angry at those who just don't get it. Anger is a normal human emotion, but we need to work on making space for it. We cannot push it down and we cannot transfer it onto other people by yelling, throwing, punching and/or saying mean things. If you want to learn more about anger and how to manage it, listen to this podcast. I detail FOUR KEYS ways you can manage your experience of anger (and NO, punching a pillow is not one of them). You will learn that you have to honor and respect your anger and create a better relationship with it. Click HERE to read about CBT School's Mindfulness for OCD Online course Click HERE to read about CBT School's online Course, BFRB School: Joyful living with Body-Focused Repetitive Behaviors (Hair pulling and Skin Picking)

In Case You Didn't know, You are not Alone Just a couple of weeks ago, I attended and was honored to present at the Southern California OCD Conference ran by socalocd.com. It was such an incredible event and I left with my heart feeling full and mind inspired. The thing about these conferences is that the energy of the attendees is so infectious. At the beginning of the day, the room is filled with anticipation and hope. These conferences are held in hope to give tools and support to those in the community with Obsessive Compulsive Disorder. After listening to the keynote speakers and breaking into group sessions where attendees learn tools to manage their OCD (I spoke on Mindfulness and Acceptance and Commitment Therapy for OCD), we meet at the end of the day for a final Q&A with the panelists. The room was filled with togetherness. There was a sense of community and cohesion that warmed my heart (and it lasted for days). The next day, I posted on Instagram how honored I was to attend such a beautiful conference and I sent out the message that YOU ARE NOT ALONE. I knew a lot of people were not able to attend such a wonderful event and I wanted to spread the love and connection that I was feeling. The response flawed me. Direct Messages and emails came in from those who are struggling with OCD and Anxiety and Depression, reporting how alone they feel. It got me wondering. Do you feel ALONE in your suffering? Do you feel like no one understands just how hard it is for you? Do you feel like no one could possibly understand what is it like to experience such anxiety and fear and panic? I am also wondering, Do you feel alone in your bravery? Do you feel like no one understands or appreciates how incredibly brave you are? You get up every day and do your best to get through the day with anxiety and depression and dread. You face your fears, not because you want to, but because you HAVE to. Do you feel so alone that you feel angry? Maybe you are so angry and hurt because no one else you know has to face their fears every single day, day in and day out. Do you feel alone because everyone else seems to do the thing that you fear so easily? If any of this describes you, this episode is for you. You are NOT alone! Click the below link to be added to the group. I would LOVE to have you join us. CBT School Campus Private Facebook Group Link to OCD So Cal Below: OCD SoCal is an affiliate of the International Obsessive Compulsive Disorder Foundation (IOCDF)