12. Explaining Anxiety To a Loved One

In this episode of The Panic Pod we explore driving anxiety, a very common and often misunderstood fear. Most people are not afraid of the mechanics of driving. They are afraid of the internal sensations that might show up behind the wheel. The racing heart, dizziness, intrusive thoughts, the fear of losing control. More accurately, the fear of what anxiety might make them do.We unpack how this becomes a self reinforcing loop, where the fear of fear takes centre stage. We also look at how driving anxiety often overlaps with agoraphobia, particularly when certain roads, distances, or escape routes start to feel unsafe. The episode focuses on understanding the threat response and changing how we relate to it, rather than trying to eliminate anxiety altogether.

In Episode 13, Do What Non-Anxious You Would Do, we explore the role of attention, focus, and intentional behaviour in anxiety recovery. By acting in line with how the non-anxious version of us would behave, we send a signal to the brain that the misfiring threat response is not needed here. We also look at the subtle trap of over-monitoring and over-focusing on our actions, and how this can unintentionally reinforce the very threat response we are trying to disengage from.

In Episode 12, we look at how to explain anxiety to a loved one. Disordered anxiety can be difficult to describe and even harder for others to understand. In this episode, I break down what anxiety actually is, how it feels from the inside, and why reassurance or logic alone often misses the point. This is an episode you can share with partners, family, or friends to help them understand what’s going on and how they can better support you.

Episode 11 looks at mental health anxiety and the common fear of going crazy, sometimes referred to as dementophobia. We explore the fear of losing your mind, or of anxiety becoming so intense that you might lose control. In this episode, I unpack where this fear comes from, why it is so common in anxiety disorders, and how the threat response and misinterpretation of sensations and thoughts keep it alive. The aim is to bring clarity and perspective to a fear that feels overwhelming but is widely misunderstood.

In this episode of The Panic Pod we look at health anxiety. It is extremely common and often driven by doubt, especially in people with obsessive and compulsive traits. Health anxiety tends to pull people into cycles of checking, researching symptoms, consulting Dr Google, seeking reassurance from AI or loved ones, and going down repeated research holes.We unpack these compulsive behaviours and explain how they keep the threat response switched on, even when the intention is to feel safer. We also mention our book on the subject, The Disordered Guide to Health Anxiety by Disordered Press, available on Amazon.

In this episode, we talk about anxiety and intrusive thoughts, including what is often referred to as Pure O OCD. We explore why intrusive thoughts feel so distressing, why they latch onto what matters most, and how anxiety keeps them active. Drawing on my experience as a therapist and as someone who has been there, we begin to separate thoughts from threat and make sense of why the mind behaves this way under anxiety.

In this episode of The Panic Pod, I break down the anxiety symptoms that tend to scare people the most. Heart palpitations, dizziness, shortness of breath, and the strange shifts in perception often called derealization and depersonalization. I talk through why these sensations show up, why they feel so alarming, and what helped me when I went through them myself. If you experience these symptoms and want a clearer understanding of what they mean, this episode will guide you through it with practical, grounded advice.

In this episode we talk about wiring the brain so that we get the credit for anxiety passing. Distress tolerance teaches the brain that we can cope and don't need "saving". It's part of wilful tolerance - an essential skill.

This episode is for people frustrated with their anxiety and have tried everything.

In this episode of The Panic Pod we focus on agoraphobia. Agoraphobia involves a fear of leaving a space that feels safe, usually because of the worry that panic or overwhelm might strike once we are out. Safe spaces often include the home, a small travel radius, or familiar routes that feel controllable.I talk through how this pattern develops, what maintains it, and why it affects so many people. I also draw on my own past experience with agoraphobia to show how understandable this reaction is and how it can be worked with over time.