The Panic Pod: Anxiety Help

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.