Listen Now

We have another interview this week, this time it's with Dr. Ellen Vora, author of The Anatomy of Anxiety: Understanding and Overcoming the Body's Fear Response.  I read this about Ellen's work: "This is a paradigm shift in how we view anxiety and the mind-body connection... Anxiety truly is our teacher, and this book is a must-have for anyone looking to heal." ~ Dr. Nicole LePera I. Couldn't. Agree. MORE. Ellen's whole-body approach to anxiety, her work on healing, and her deeply kind presence is a balm in our stress-fueled world. And her book gives solid, practical ways to take care of ourselves in a real way. If you'd like to see the video version of our conversation, visit www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/211  You can find out more about Dr. Ellen Vora and her work by visiting www.ellenvora.com  Full show notes located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/211 

If I were to ask you, "what is the opposite of anxiety? " I'm guessing you'd say something like: calm, peace, relaxation. Right? Sounds pretty good. And on the surface of things, I think this makes sense. If anxiety is an agitated, wound up, nervous energy, then something soothing like calm or peace seems to be the opposing emotional experience. Except...I'm teaching a path out of anxiety. I'm offering a "how to" roadmap to create change and turn the volume way down on anxiety. I'm interested in actually *transforming anxiety*. And I've been working on a theory about a deeper, truer converse to anxiety. This is one of those MUST LISTEN episodes of the podcast . Join me for this week's show to learn more about the opposite of anxiety...and why it isn't as simple as calm, peace, and relaxation. (Hint: it has to do with telling the TRUTH...) Full show notes are located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/210 

It's the little, ordinary, daily things that we do that make the biggest difference in our lives because: we do them so often. It's what makes up the biggest part of our lives. Today on The Transforming Anxiety Podcast, I want to focus on your daily routine and how it's working, or not working, for you. In talking with students, I get the sense that it's not WHAT they're doing throughout the day that's problematic and creating anxiety for them, it could be WHEN they're doing what they're doing. I want to consider the arc of your day and give you a framework to structure the building blocks of your day around. So that you can get what you need, and want, to do done and so you can optimize your time, work with your natural flow of energy, and create a healthy lifestyle. Join me for this episode and let's explore your daily routine together. Full show notes located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/209 

For most of us, there are things we know we want to change in our lives: habits, thoughts, ways of showing up in our relationships, career paths, how we're spending our time, what we do with our money... But knowing we want, or even need, to change something vs. actually making the change? Well. That's tricky. Because: change is hard. You follow The Transforming Anxiety Podcast and, I'm guessing, are looking to make some changes for yourself re: anxiety, at the very least. That's the whole name of the game around here. But...it can be a pretty serious struggle. And we're going to talk about it today on the podcast. Why change is so hard + what you can do to start facing change head-on and integrate the shifts you want to see in your life. Join me for this episode...it's a pretty important one. Full show notes are located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/208 

This week on The Transforming Anxiety Podcast we're talking about intense, negative, or uncomfortable emotional experiences...and how you can allow yourself to ebb and flow through them. When you're up against something difficult, it can be tempting to avoid the hell out of it. Cut and run. Push it all WAY down so that you don't have to look at it. But I want to offer you a way to intentionally and deliberately move in and out of intense experiences and *why* you'd want to do that. How it can help. And what letting yourself ebb and flow can do to alleviate the overall experience. Join me for this week's episode and let's explore ebbing and flowing together... Full show notes located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/206 

This week on The Transforming Anxiety Podcast, I want to talk about something important: sleep. And not just that you should get quality sleep (sure) or that sleep is good for you (duh), but I want to explore the idea of befriending sleep  with you. This is more of a mindset kind of thing. How do you approach sleep in your head? How do you talk to yourself about sleep? When you go to bed, are you going to war with yourself? Do you value rest, and sleep, or think of it as something that gets in your way? These are all important things to consider. Sleep, after all, is at the core of our physical, mental, and emotional health. Join me for this conversation and let's explore befriending sleep... Full show notes located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/205 

"I feel so bad about it..." <-- This is how most of us are feeling about...well, basically everything, amiright?? Parenting, work, our homes, friendships, how we're showing up in our marriages...you name it, we can feel guilty about it. Why is that? I want to explore guilt with you today and touch on healthy guilt (I did something bad, I own it, I apologize, I learn) and unhealthy guilt (I can't / don't want to meet society's expectations of me, my cultural conditioning is at odds with my authentic self, these shoulds and supposed-to's are killing me). Healthy guilt = path towards positive change Unhealthy guilt = road straight towards anxiety If you have an ongoing experience with guilt, this is worth looking at. Let's talk about it together... Full show notes are located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/204 

Ohhhh I have something so FUN for you this week: my dear friend, Becky Vollmer, has a new book out in the world (birthed on January 3, 2023) and I brought her on The Transforming Anxiety Podcast to talk all about it. Becky is like that wise, sassy, older sister who is full of encouragement and shares her hard-earned life lessons, and she's heavy on the love part of "tough love." Her book reads *just like* having a conversation with her. And if you've found yourself in tough spots, navigating big decisions in life, or generally feeling trapped in inaction thanks to what Other People think, I'm telling ya, this book will wiggle you loose and point you firmly in the direction of FREEDOM. If you'd like to see the video version of our conversation, visit www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/203 (another fun perk of doing interviews!). The audio will come straight to your regular podcast feed through all major platforms. I so hope you enjoy the conversation, energy, and offering from Becky. You can find out more about her and her work by visiting www.youarenotstuck.com  Follow Becky on Instagram @youarenotstuck Full show notes are located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/203  

I have something really important for you this week on  The Transforming Anxiety Podcast : we're going to talk about  breathing for anxiety . For sure, someone somewhere along the way has suggested you "take a deep breath" when they noticed you were feeling anxious or overwhelmed. You've likely handed out this advice yourself; it's almost a knee-jerk response when we see someone is upset. "Ok...take a deep breath..." And there's a solid reason for that: IT WORKS. I want to share a bit of the how and why behind this so that you have a deeper appreciation for the power of the breath, particularly in transforming anxiety. And towards the end of the episode I share 2 breath practices you can use right away to support yourself in actually transforming anxiety. It's one thing to know these things in your mind; it's a whole other thing to implement them and practice with them so they become yours. That's where the transformations occur. Join me for this episode and let's breathe together... Full show notes are located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/202 

Now that winter is upon us and we're into the cold, dark, quiet of the season I thought we'd explore this together. Winter is a time of year, but it's also something that we experience in our lives: those fallow, dormant, even painful periods of wintering that we all cycle through. Plenty of people throw energy against winter, hating the wintry weather and dreading the long, dark nights. But this week on The Transforming Anxiety Podcast, I want to rethink wintering and approach the season with a new sense of perspective and even, perhaps, appreciation. Winter isn't something just be endured. There is restoration in the season, renewal in the stillness, and recovery in the quiet down time. Spring and summer are only possible because of the winter...and that's true literally, in the seasons of the year, and metaphorically, in the seasons of our lives. Experiencing the dark of a personal winter season makes the light of an airy summer situation all that much brighter. As Rumi says, "Don't think the garden loses its ecstasy in winter. It's quiet, but the roots down there are riotous." Same with you during this season, my friend. Let's talk about it together... Full show notes located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/201 

Well this is fun...this week is episode #200 (!) of  The Transforming Anxiety Podcast ! That's 200 conversations, 200 times we've hung out together, 200 weeks, of transforming anxiety. First of all: thank you. Thank you for showing up and being here with me. Thank you for sharing the show with your friends, family, co-workers, and neighbors. Thank you for sharing your thoughts and experiences with me by writing in and letting me know how it's impacting you. I'll keep it coming, every Wednesday, and I sincerely look forward to all we'll do together in our next 200 episodes... Now...THIS week we're going to talk about  your only job . There's a theme that I started in last week's episode on  no goal new year  that I want to keep with as we get into 2023 and that is: you only have one job, ever, and that is to take care of yourself. That's it. Join me for this episode and let's explore what that looks like, how you can think about your daily activities differently, and what taking care of you means re: anxiety. Full show notes located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/200 

We're doing it...we almost made it to the end of 2022. Can you believe it? I know we always say that because humans seem to be mesmerized by time passing, but honestly, in this case, I almost can't believe it. What we've all been through, the tumult of this moment in history, is so intense. Our nervous systems are on fire. And...we're doing it. Hard, messy, icky though it may be, we. are. doing. it. This week on  The Transforming Anxiety Podcast  we're going to look at our thinking...specifically  metacognition  and how we can think about our thinking. It's a very cool mind ninja trick that we can use our thinking to consider our thinking; and it's a really meaningful skill to employ when we want to better understand ourselves, what we're up to, and what we want. Join me for this episode and let's talk about metacogntion and get to thinking about our thinking together ... Full show notes are located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/198 

This one goes out to the version of you that is IN IT...that is having the worst time, feeling the most intense feelings, and can barely imagine how things will ever feel okay or normal again. I hear you. I see you. I've been there. And this week's episode of  The Transforming Anxiety Podcast  speaks directly to THIS moment:  when you're in it . This is a pretty heavy heart-to-heart. Keep this episode handy.  Bookmark this page . Because when you're IN IT, you can't get clever and creative and resourceful. You can't pull yourself out. You need something to refer to say step 1, step 2, step 3. And this episode, I hope, can be that for you... You've got this. You're doing it. This is figureoutable. I can help. Full show notes located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/197 

On this week's episode of  The Transforming Anxiety Podcast  I want to challenge the notion that  outer order creates inner calm...because maybe NOT . I mean...have you seen Monica on Friends? Have you ever been around someone who is a complete neat freak? Are YOU kinda sorta obsessed with tidiness? Is it working to create that *inner calm* promised with the whole "outer order" fantasy? Just seems like if this were really true, then cleaning up and decluttering would basically equate to feeling calm. And I've yet to run into even ONE example of that.  Let's talk about it today . And challenge this idea, sure, but also explore what this might look like for you and how you can ease yourself down off this perfectionist ideal. Full show notes located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/196 

This week on The Transforming Anxiety Podcast  we're going to explore  protecting your headspace . Think of your mind as a plot of land, all the real estate that you have in your mind, just like a city. When we aren't paying attention, the real estate in our minds get rented out to low-level thoughts, phone notifications, and other people's ideas about what we should do. We gotta be better stewards of our headspace. This is a practice in awareness and challenging our habitual patterns and tendencies. It's a matter of waking up and asking: does this work for me? It's the work of prioritizing our headspace like it's our most important asset. Psst: it is. Join me for this week's episode and let's talk about it more...  Full show notes located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/195 

The holidays are almost here and that means a lot of get-togethers and family time. So I thought it might be helpful to explore  mindful communication  on this week's episode of  The Transforming Anxiety Podcast . Mindful communication pulls in, yup, elements of mindfulness and gives us a framework to think about how we're communicating. Because: communication is so ordinary, yet so powerful. What we say matters. We're going to explore some different elements of mindful communication in this episode, namely: Show up and be present Lead with curiosity and kindness Remember what matters Join me this week to zoom in on communication and consider how this could impact your experience of anxiety, stress, and overwhelm...and how practicing here could transform all of that for the better this holiday season. Full show notes are located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/194 

This week on  The Transforming Anxiety Podcast  we're discussing thoughts, but in a way we've never talked about it before: we're going to explore  the quality of your thinking . Here's what I mean. We talk a lot about WHAT you think about. And how your thoughts affects your emotions, your actions, and how your life goes overall. But this week we're going to talk about the content, the focus, the *substance* of your thinking. Where does your mind go? What form do your thoughts take? When you zoom out and consider the bigger arc of your thinking mind, where does it typically go? Now, this isn't about high quality or low quality thinking. It's not about good or bad thinking. I'm talking more about the makeup of your thoughts, the qualities your mind returns to. Join me for this week's episode and let's dig in together... Full show notes are located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/193 

Now, for this week's episode of The Transforming Anxiety Podcast, we're talking about anxiety, specifically how ​anxiety is okay​​. Because there's an underlying assumption that anxiety is bad, that it's something to be avoided, that we need to resist it. This is how we react to it. Even in our conversations about transforming anxiety, there's the unspoken idea that we'd want to because: anxiety = bad. So this week, let's talk about it. Is anxiety all bad? Can it be okay? How else can we think about anxiety? We're going to explore: ​The fight-or-flight stress response The rest-and-digest relaxation response The excite-and-delight challenge response The tend-and-befriend bonding response There's more than one way to go about this. And I want to invite you to consider that anxiety as we know it is only one option... Full show notes located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/192 

This week on The Transforming Anxiety Podcast we're going back to the basics; we're going to talk about the foundation of you. A foundation is the lowest level of a structure, the load-bearing support that holds everything up. And THAT is what I want to consider with you today. What is *your* lowest level? The part of you that's below ground, totally behind the scenes, holding everything up? When you are on the path of transforming anxiety, cultivating healthy habits, living mindfully, and creating a sustainable life that fulfills you, it's tempting to skip to the most triggering, or most exciting, parts. To try and fix the juiciest and most attention-grabbing problems right away. But we HAVE to start with the foundation. We have to fortify and solidify there first. Without a solid foundation, nothing else matter. With it? The sky's the limit. We're going to talk through 3 primary basics...and then 4 other elements to consider as you strengthen your own foundation. We have to start here. And then? Game on... Full show notes located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/191 

Well, this sounds super fun. Let's talk about feeling UNCOMFORTABLE on purpose, yeah? 🙃 But there's a reason for this... The key to doing / getting / achieving / feeling pretty much *anything* you want? It's on the other side of some discomfort. If you want to do something new, you're going to have to feel uncomfortable. If it were totally easy and obvious how to do that thing, you'd already have done it. If you want to get or achieve something you've never had before (a loving partner, a promotion, a new habit), you're going to feel some discomfort on the way. You'll definitely have to get vulnerable, face rejection, and dig deep to uplevel your relationships, work, and routine, so it's bound to get uncomfortable. And if you're used to feeling anxious, stressed, overwhelmed, and worried and really want to create a new feeling state for yourself? It's going to require you to do new things, challenge your thinking, and open yourself up to new emotions. Spoiler alert: not totally comfortable, that journey. So, being willing to practice discomfort on purpose? It's not for the sake of being uncomfortable. It's in the interest of things, feelings, and experiences you want for yourself. All of that is on the other side of discomfort. Let's explore how you can practice discomfort in a safe way and how that training can cross-pollinate over into strength and resilience in all areas of your life. Join me for this week's episode of The Transforming Anxiety Podcast. Full show notes are located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/190