Anxiety Setbacks, Progress, and Not Wanting to Go “Backwards” - Q&A With Annie!
- Shannon Jackson
- Aug 11, 2024
- 24 min read
Anxiety Setbacks, Progress, and Not Wanting to Go “Backwards” - Q&A With Annie!
On this episode of A Healthy Push podcast, I sat down with Annie to answer your questions on setbacks, progress and not wanting to go "backwards" in anxiety recovery. I know it can feel like a setback to have really anxious moments, or to experience a panic attack, but these things don't lead to a setback. Feeling is just a part of the journey, and it's totally normal!
We answered lots of great questions, so be sure to listen to the full episode to hear all the insights. Here are some of the most asked questions and insights shared on this episode...
01. Can you still feel anxious when you are healing?
One of the most common questions we received was whether it's normal to still feel anxious during the healing process. The answer is Yes! I can't emphasize this enough!
Often, recovery means facing hard things and feelings that you might have been suppressing or avoiding for a long time. Feeling is healing, and it's natural to experience anxiety as you navigate your recovery journey. Let yourself feeling without attaching meaning to it and without digging into why.
02. How will big life events impact my recovery?
We had lots of questions from listeners about how major life events, such as a big surgery or the loss of a pet, might impact recovery or lead to anxiety setbacks. While these situations are super tough to navigate, they won't derail your recovery. You are so much more capable than you think!
Let yourself be. Let yourself be with the hard. You're going to have so many emotions that you're working through. Let yourself be with the pain, with the grief, with the sadness of whatever you are going through. There is no need to push yourself in these moments.
So, while big life events can bring up a lot of feelings, anxiety included, they also offer us the opportunity to slow down, honor what we need in the moment and practice all the healthy tools we have available to us.
03. What does progress look like? What are some signs that you're on the right track?
There are so many signs to look out for. I did an entire episode on this topic—episode 82, to be exact. It's all about the signs that you're actually recovering. So if you're wondering, "Am I getting better?" that episode will definitely help shed some light on it for you.
Here are some of the big ones...
You No Longer Interpret the Hard Moments as a Sign of Failure Those hard moments filled with anxiety and panic are no longer flashing lights signaling danger. They are just hard moments that don't have to mean anything. These difficult, anxious moments are an indicator that you’re allowing yourself to experience the hard things, which leads to a whole lot of healing in the long run.
You’re More Willing to Try Uncomfortable Things You've embraced the idea that you can't get rid of anxiety or make it go away completely. Instead, you're saying, "Okay, I'll take it with me and see what happens." This is huge because it means you're not waiting until you feel ready, confident, or capable. You're just diving in and trying things out, regardless of the discomfort.
You’re More Supportive of Yourself Your self-talk has changed; you're not being so hard on yourself. Instead, you're being much more compassionate and holding space for yourself. Your relationship with yourself has started to change dramatically. When you support yourself through your recovery, it obviously makes the process a lot easier, but it also helps prevent those really difficult emotions from not popping up so much. So, supporting yourself, even though it sounds basic, is a huge indicator that you're on the right path and making so much progress.
Anxiety recovery and healing isn't linear. Embracing the journey with all it's ups and downs, and supporting yourself in healthy ways can make the process so much easier. Healing will happen with small healthy steps, you've got this!
Feeling like you've tried everything but you're still struggling with lots of anxious thoughts, symptoms, panic attacks, and fears? Take my FREE 60-minute masterclass today and learn 5 shifts that will actually help you to overcome anxiety, panic disorder, and agoraphobia. And I promise, you won't hear any of the usual stuff from me - like doing breathing exercises, grounding practices, cutting out caffeine, and doing more exposures. Let's get you the peace and freedom you deserve without it being so hard!
Check out my masterclasses here and start experiencing lots more peace, joy, & freedom!
TRANSCRIPT
00:01.91
ahealthypush
Okay, I know how much you guys love the Q and&A episodes. So here we are with Annie. We're going to have another Q and&A discussion. So hi, Annie. I'm so happy to see you.
00:12.64
Annie
I know, me too. Thanks for having me back again. I always love doing these, so I'm excited.
00:16.59
ahealthypush
Yeah, me too. And it's been a while. um So I put it out there. You know, we always put it out there and say what questions, what thoughts, like what frustrations are you having? And it seemed like a big theme that was coming up was setbacks, like being worried, like, am I recovering? Like, how am I doing? Am I making progress? I don't want to go backwards, sort of all this stuff. So we have quite a few questions that we're going to try to get to and I'll just let you take it away.
00:48.68
Annie
Yeah, I know I'm super excited because this is something that even now I still wonder about a lot. But the first question we're going to start pretty simple, which is, can you still feel anxious at times while you're here healing?
01:00.85
ahealthypush
Oh my gosh. Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes. I can't emphasize this enough. I think sometimes we think, right, the success looks like me not feeling anxious or me not panicking. And it's just so backwards because often when you're healing, right, that's when you're really feeling because you're actually allowing yourself to face and feel rather than fighting and suppressing. So I know this is, I think this is a saying, I feel like it's so
01:33.25
ahealthypush
corny, but it's that feeling is healing. like You're not going to go through the anxiety recovery journey and not feel anxious.
01:36.54
Annie
Definitely.
01:41.49
ahealthypush
And that also shouldn't be a goal. It shouldn't be like, I am going and doing, and I'm not going to feel anxious. It's like, no, we're welcoming the anxiety in, we're taking it with us, and we're we're doing the things. So yeah, I don't ever want anyone to think that It has to look like you not feeling anxious and that means that's like a ah that's how you know, you're recovering. It's like no I Think back to when I was in my recovery journey and I I say this all the time I'm like, I wish I could see it I wish I could like hit replay because I'm sure even in those Months like that.
02:19.76
ahealthypush
I was really healing and getting to that really solid place. I'm sure there is anxiety I'm sure there was panic like I'm sure there were things that I was doing that I probably was not the most healthy things to be doing and like it still happened.
02:25.46
Annie
Hmm. Hmm.
02:34.58
ahealthypush
right so it's it's never You can't feel anxious, you shouldn't feel anxious.
02:35.59
Annie
yeah
02:38.89
ahealthypush
like No, anxiety is going to be there. That's part of it. It totally makes sense. and The more you actually let the anxiety be there and you give yourself that grace, that easier and and actually the more quickly the healing happens.
02:53.93
Annie
Yeah, exactly. I know. I feel like in the beginning, it can be so hard to wrap your head around that.
02:59.45
ahealthypush
Mm.
02:59.54
Annie
and And now like I feel like I'm still finally like just getting to that point where I am understanding that. But yeah, it is so important.
03:05.07
ahealthypush
Yeah.
03:05.99
Annie
And it's like, it's so backwards in what you think it would be. It's like, no, you want to feel this way. Like that's a good thing means you are giving yourself an opportunity to work through it. So I think
03:14.53
ahealthypush
Yeah and I think I feel like I have to include in here. I feel like maybe this is why this comes up so much and I know this like was a thing for me when I was healing. I was in therapy and I remember many times like my therapist wanting me to rate my anxiety and kind of how much anxiety I was feeling and for me it was so it was always problematic.
03:30.56
Annie
Uh-oh.
03:33.94
Annie
Yeah.
03:36.42
ahealthypush
It was like I always thought you know okay well if I'm a seven eight nine like This isn't good. like I shouldn't be feeling this way. I should be you know more calm. i shouldn't like This shouldn't be happening. and For somebody like me, I know there are many people listening that are like me, super big analyzers. like You think you can just like figure your way out of all of this and like solve this equation, and then you're miraculously going to be better. So when somebody is like asking you how much anxiety do you feel?
04:07.35
ahealthypush
you know, did you feel less than when you start and that stuff just gets in your head so much and Yeah, I totally had to get away from that.
04:12.60
Annie
literally yeah totally and just expecting it to pop up sometimes like I feel like it's been helpful for me to just be like I will panic again like I'm just gonna expect that
04:15.89
ahealthypush
So I think what I would say is, you know don't try not to analyze your feelings especially in the anxious moments and instead just like let yourself feel and Also remind yourself of how far you've come like that will be way more helpful
04:38.76
ahealthypush
yeah
04:39.88
Annie
If I don't, great, but it will probably happen.
04:43.20
ahealthypush
Right? Yes, I love that.
04:45.38
Annie
Yeah, so someone else asked, how is the best way to deal with setbacks?
04:49.80
ahealthypush
Oof.
04:50.09
Annie
And then they also said they hadn't had a strong panic attack in a while, and now they've had a few. And so they're just feeling very confused.
04:55.54
ahealthypush
Oof. Yeah, I gosh, this is like, things have been going so well, right? And now they're not, because I had an anxious moment or had a panic attack, or, you know, some days I've been feeling good, but then it all comes back. And I get this, like, we've all been here. And this is a topic that we talk a lot about in my 10-week program, Panic to Peace, because it's something that comes up, like often. So what I would say here, I don't love
05:22.00
Annie
Mm
05:26.66
ahealthypush
the term setbacks. I'm not a fan. I feel like it creates so much fear that somehow you're going to screw things up and you're you're going to get to this place where you're not going to be able to come back from it. I just don't believe that. I believe you're on this journey, you're you're healing, you're doing the work, and you're gonna have hiccups.
05:43.87
Annie
-hmm.
05:50.13
ahealthypush
Like, shit is gonna happen. You're gonna have anxious moments, you're gonna have panic attacks. And sometimes it's because, you know, you have some life stressors going on. Sometimes maybe, you know, you didn't sleep great the night before you got into an argument with your partner. um Maybe it's because, you know, you've been doing some avoiding um or you haven't really been letting yourself feel, you've been trying to push away. So it's more helpful, I think, to take a look at that and say, okay, what you know how might I have contributed to this or what might have happened that have caused this?
06:17.66
Annie
Hmm. Well,
06:28.60
ahealthypush
But I also kind of just say, who cares? Who cares? panic attack you had a few panic attacks after not having them for a while okay like we don't need to analyze this we don't need to figure this out we don't need to go down the whole of like oh god Why did it happen? If I can figure out why it happened, then I can make it not happen again. It's like, no, no, no, no. That doesn't work. We know that. So, you know, just letting yourself have the hiccups, have the anxious panicky moments. Try not to analyze the why and go down that rabbit hole.
07:05.00
ahealthypush
Just let yourself have those moments and be compassionate with yourself. Like way better, way better.
07:11.18
Annie
Yeah. Yeah, I totally agree. I know. I think that's so important. And it just can be so tough in the beginning when you're like, Oh, how to panic attack, I'm not going to get better. But it's really in the response and you just being okay with letting it happen and letting it pass is what makes it happen so much less frequently in my experience. But I totally get to be such a struggle.
07:31.30
ahealthypush
Yeah.
07:33.50
Annie
So
07:33.97
ahealthypush
Oh, it is. but So often, you know I'll work with students and they'll say to me, like, Shannon, I don't get it. I've been doing so well. And then i you know I've been panicking and I'm like, okay, well, let's talk about it. And they're like telling me, well, I'm doing these bigger things. I'm doing things that are really uncomfortable or i was you know I've had sort of a lot of stress recently.
07:50.42
Annie
Yeah.
07:54.31
ahealthypush
And I'm like, okay, well, then this all makes sense. so
07:57.95
Annie
yeah
07:58.87
ahealthypush
We don't, you know, you usually don't have to look too far to figure out why it's happening.
08:01.77
Annie
Yeah.
08:04.82
ahealthypush
But I was encouraged, don't torture yourself. Like, let's drop the trying to figure it out and just let yourself have the hiccups.
08:10.23
Annie
yeah
08:11.76
ahealthypush
And we're just gonna keep going.
08:14.91
Annie
Exactly. Exactly. I love that.
08:17.51
ahealthypush
Yeah.
08:17.63
Annie
Well, question number three is how do you know you aren't going backwards in your recovery?
08:22.79
ahealthypush
oh
08:25.14
ahealthypush
So I think the obvious thing that I'm going to say here is feeling doesn't mean you're going backwards. So I just want to get that out of the way. Cause I think a lot of times we can think I had the anxious moment or I had the panic attacks and I'm going backwards and it's like, no, no, no, no, you're just feeling and that's okay. You know, it's sometimes we even say like, Oh God, it's, it's all coming back. And it's like, no shit's not coming back. Like you were just feeling, you're feeling anxious or you had a panic attack. That's great. That's not you going backwards.
08:58.68
Annie
Yeah.
08:59.37
ahealthypush
But I think it is important right to, along your journey, right check in with yourself and do this fairly routinely like and be honest with yourself. you know Am I letting myself feel? Am I making space for anxiety? Am I letting myself live and do the things I want and have to do? And am I taking anxiety with me? um you know Really being honest with yourself, what are the choices that you're making? I always say this, right recovery is hugely about choices. And we feel like sometimes we don't have control, but like we have so much control of what our journeys look like, and we can make it right so that we're not
09:40.14
ahealthypush
sort of retreating and falling back into past behaviors and patterns. But we can't do that if we're not checking in with ourselves. So I would say that's really important.
09:49.80
Annie
Yeah.
09:51.71
ahealthypush
And two, I have to say here, you want to know, right, that you're not going backwards. Like, I'm not going backwards. I'm getting better, right? Like, I'm healing. I'm i'm doing the right thing. But when you actually start healing, this stuff is stuff that you're not really questioning anymore. You're just like, shit's happening. Sometimes it doesn't look pretty. Like I feel pretty good in general, right? Like I'm making healthier decisions. I'm i'm living more in a way that feels good. And you're not so focused on making it look a certain way.
10:23.80
ahealthypush
um So yeah, i you don't need to know that you're not going backwards. Like, the get rid of it.
10:28.87
Annie
yeah Yeah.
10:30.39
ahealthypush
i I don't like this going backwards notion along with setbacks.
10:35.03
Annie
Exactly. You know, this reminds me, I think one of my favorite things you've ever said is just that it's not linear. And at the same time, it doesn't if you feel like you're having a little like bump in the road of your recovery, like it doesn't erase everything, like you're still where you are, you still have all of your experiences you've had, and that doesn't just go away. And that was one of the things that I feel like you've said that has helped me more than anything.
10:56.18
ahealthypush
Right.
11:00.75
Annie
So
11:00.85
ahealthypush
Yeah, it's like it's so hard for us because as humans, we all obviously just want things to be easy.
11:08.46
Annie
Mm-hmm.
11:09.07
ahealthypush
But it's it's not like that. So it's like, you know, I've had this is sort of I don't know, it's on topic, but a little bit of a tangent. You know, I've been sick for quite a while now and it's been really rough and I haven't been able to like exercise and work out and the the way that I usually do and that's really hard for me because I'm like very fit.
11:27.58
Annie
know
11:29.68
ahealthypush
And I've had to remind myself, like Shannon, youre sure, maybe you're going to lose a little bit of muscle. But once you get back into it, like your body is used to it. It knows it. It'll pick it right back up, and you're going to grow it back, no problem.
11:43.39
Annie
exactly
11:44.25
ahealthypush
The recovery is so similar.
11:44.49
Annie
Exactly.
11:45.96
ahealthypush
like You have so much knowledge. You have so much wisdom. All of that is there. It's going to take, of course, that those repeated actions when you get back into it, but it's not going to take that long for your brain to go, okay, here we go. like I know what to do. you know very so yeah I'm glad that you brought that up.
12:03.24
Annie
Yeah, I love that comparison. That's such a good way of putting it.
12:06.45
ahealthypush
Yeah.
13:15.59
Annie
Okay, so for our next question, we sort of have two different similar questions. But the first one is, I'm currently recovering from surgery and worried about what that will do to my recovery. And the second one, which is pretty similar, obviously different, but similar, is my cat passed away recently, and I'm afraid of what that's going to do to my recovery.
13:31.10
ahealthypush
Yeah.
13:34.66
ahealthypush
Hmm.
13:35.80
Annie
So fear from life events, really, and how that's going to affect things, which is very relatable.
13:41.53
ahealthypush
Yeah, this is huge. right There are always things that are going to be outside of your control. like It's not like you can hit pause while you're working to recover. and That's sort of a really shitty part about recovery. right is It's because it's like, I'm just trying to get better and I don't need anything to mess with it. But life is life right and life continues to happen.
14:03.82
Annie
Yeah.
14:04.47
ahealthypush
so yeah These things are very similar and I'll sort of explain why. so The underlying fear here right is like ah shit's out of my control. I can't really push myself like I normally would. I can't do the things that I normally would do, and I'm really afraid that I'm going to go backwards. like Here we go again. Great. I'm going to go backwards. So with these sort of events, I always say, what is going to be most helpful for you is you supporting yourself, like actually letting yourself just be like so for the person that's recovering from surgery, recover, that is your focus, like recover,
14:32.01
Annie
Mm-hmm.
14:50.23
ahealthypush
get well. Like we do not need to be focused on anxiety. And am I doing enough? What should I be doing? I can't get out and do exposures. I can't. Holy good God. That is going to make things so hard for you when you actually heal and get better and feel like you can get back out there. So letting yourself just sit on the freaking couch. Don't do anything. Like what you need to do is heal. So supporting yourself. And then, you know, the second one, I'm so sorry that your cat died.
15:20.54
Annie
No.
15:21.69
ahealthypush
I can relate to this. I don't even want to think about it. My cat's almost 20 and like can't even I don't want to think about it.
15:25.86
Annie
Oh.
15:28.42
ahealthypush
um But yeah, a loss, right? Any loss is so incredibly hard and it throws you for a loop and it makes things really, really challenging.
15:34.75
Annie
Mmhmm.
15:39.76
ahealthypush
So similarly, I would say just let yourself be. like Let yourself be with the hard. You're going to have so many emotions that you're working through. like Let yourself be with the pain, with the grief, with the sadness. There is no need like to push yourself in these moments. It's not like, oh God, I'm going to lose it all. like you know and so I'm glad that you said what you did, Annie, in the previous question because it's like, You're not going to lose stuff. It's not going anywhere. like You know all this and in you have the autonomy rate to make the choices that are going to be most helpful to you when you are in that place where you can. But if you are not supporting yourself through hard moments and you're just expecting, I'm just going to push and push and push, like you're going to find yourself in a really miserable place.
16:31.16
ahealthypush
And I have to say, this is a big reason why a lot of people end up struggling with anxiety, is because they are not supporting themselves.
16:37.45
Annie
Yeah.
16:40.42
ahealthypush
And the anxiety finally bubbles over and you start experiencing panic attacks. And before you know it, you're just like, uh-uh, I have to get better, I have to heal. And you're trying to force and push yourself. And your body is like, holy cow, I know, I need you to pump the brakes.
16:54.71
Annie
Yeah.
16:56.30
ahealthypush
Like I don't need you to put your foot on the gas pedal. like
17:00.20
Annie
Exactly.
17:00.35
ahealthypush
Slow down, listen to what's going on within yourself and honor what you need. like Listening to your needs and honoring them, so much more helpful than pushing yourself.
17:10.23
Annie
Yeah. Yeah. And I i feel like it goes hand in hand with recovery when you think about it, because I know a lot of us who struggle with anxiety, it's because we do tend to push down those feelings of grief and sadness and the difficulties that come with recovering from something like that. And by taking the time to slow down, I would argue that that's actually you are recovering while you're doing that, because you're teaching yourself how to be with those uncomfortable emotions, just like anxiety.
17:25.20
ahealthypush
Yeah.
17:34.46
ahealthypush
Yes.
17:35.38
Annie
So yes,
17:36.17
ahealthypush
Yes. And that's pushing yourself like we we don't give enough credit to the pushing ourselves that looks like slowing down and resting and not not doing and just being.
17:43.81
Annie
Yes. Exactly. Well, our next question is, I've been very up and down with my recovery. When will it be consistent? I feel you.
17:55.10
ahealthypush
I feel you.
17:56.53
Annie
yeah
17:57.50
ahealthypush
I this again, right? I wish I could go back. God, I don't think
18:02.48
Annie
um
18:03.40
ahealthypush
that I ever felt like shit's consistent. I'm consistently feeling good, right?
18:07.51
Annie
and
18:08.85
ahealthypush
like I'm consistently not feeling anxious or I'm consistently...
18:09.24
Annie
like
18:13.47
ahealthypush
you know There was more more moments, of course, where I was like, okay, there's more peace here.
18:19.00
Annie
Hmm.
18:19.00
ahealthypush
But we can't shoot right to always feel at peace. We can't shoot to always feel calm. We can't shoot to always feel just good and happy. like That's not realistic.
18:28.26
Annie
Yeah.
18:30.53
ahealthypush
So I honestly ask here, does it need to be consistent? like do we really Does that need to be something that we have a goal? like Does that need to be a goal? I say no.
18:44.55
Annie
Yeah.
18:45.20
ahealthypush
I do not like this idea. I think we've all been sold sort of that picture. I swear it was in like every guidance counselor's office in school, like this person walking on these stairs and just like, your life goes upward all the time.
18:57.48
Annie
Yes.
18:59.35
ahealthypush
And it's just like, what?
19:00.87
Annie
Right.
19:02.04
ahealthypush
Like, if you know, I think so many of us were sold this and now it's just like, what the hell? Like, where's that staircase?
19:07.60
Annie
Yes.
19:08.74
ahealthypush
I am not continuously walking upwards.
19:09.38
Annie
Yes.
19:10.94
ahealthypush
Like I'm up. Down around like falling down the friggin stairs yeah upside down so it's like you know that is not realistic you know letting yourself have the ups and downs.
19:12.66
Annie
Yes I know.
19:25.60
ahealthypush
I always say that's natural. That's what it looks like. like That's what healing looks like.
19:29.91
Annie
Yeah.
19:30.51
ahealthypush
It looks messy and you know not trying to make it look great or consistent or not messy. like Life is just not consistent.
19:37.51
Annie
Exactly.
19:40.23
ahealthypush
Healing is not consistent. Our feelings aren't consistent. It's like, let's just not aim for things to be consistent. I would love that.
19:48.55
Annie
Yeah, I know. I seriously love that so much. That's still something I personally am trying to work on. And I feel like when you just say like, the only consistent thing about life is that it's inconsistent, like, you know, just gives you a lot more space to breathe, and it can be tricky, but it is worth it. So and our next question is, I have trouble staying consistent without a measure of success, or I guess it's more of a statement.
20:06.49
ahealthypush
Yeah.
20:14.21
ahealthypush
Oh, okay. I follow this because I feel like, gosh, so many of us are so similar. rate like I want to know that I'm doing a good job. like I want to know that this is working.
20:24.97
Annie
Yeah.
20:28.10
ahealthypush
like I want to know that like I'm doing the right thing. it's just That's so hard because any healing journey, I don't care what it is that you're on. It's just like You're not going to have this clarity, especially in it, of like, I am on the right path.
20:44.30
Annie
yeah
20:45.66
ahealthypush
I am you know making all the progress. i am You're going to always have the moments where you're like, ah I doubt myself. I doubt everything. i'm not This is not working. so I think something helpful here could be to ask yourself and really defining for yourself like what is success to you like. Okay if you want to want something to be measurable what is success and i would say when you're defining this anxiety cannot be a part of it.
21:13.41
Annie
Yeah.
21:15.11
ahealthypush
It cannot be success means I don't feel anxious.
21:15.77
Annie
Yeah.
21:19.01
Annie
yeah
21:19.00
ahealthypush
Success means I don't panic. like No, and and no, no, no. We've already, I hope I've driven that home. So you know if you're like, I don't know how to measure success, it I don't really know what's important to me.
21:26.48
Annie
Yeah.
21:31.35
ahealthypush
you know It's really asking yourself, what are you working so hard for? like Why are you working so hard? What are you working towards? like What is the living that you want more of? you know are you doing the living while letting anxiety come along. So there's a way definitely that you can define sort of what success looks like for you and then create small steps that will help to motivate you and get you there. And this is a big part also of what we do in Panic to Peace. It's one of the first things that we start off with because
22:03.01
ahealthypush
the recovery journey is so demotivating, like everything about it.
22:06.16
Annie
Yeah.
22:07.82
ahealthypush
It's just like, I'm going to have to do all this really hard stuff and you want to throw in the towel before you even get started. So defining you know what success looks like so that we can create you know intentions and goals and and small steps, that is going to help you actually to stay motivated or to get some motivation and to build the confidence and to keep wanting to do the things and actually push yourself.
22:14.92
Annie
Yeah.
22:33.06
Annie
yes um my gosh that's so good
22:35.65
ahealthypush
Yeah.
22:35.77
Annie
i know like
22:35.89
ahealthypush
i Yeah.
22:37.74
Annie
I don't know, I'll probably always struggle with it for like some extent for my life. But yeah, it's, it's hard. as I totally feel this person on this. But I know something that helps me too is just like, when I know I'm doing something really hard, and I feel like over time, you kind of get a better gauge of it.
22:52.04
ahealthypush
Hmm.
22:53.28
Annie
But it's like, also like treating yourself like maybe you just go get like a latte or something. And it's like, that can be so motivating. It might sound silly, but just little things like that. So Oh
23:03.71
ahealthypush
Yeah, no, I love that. I think incentives, we talk about that too. Like incentives are great. Don't just force yourself to get out there and do a bunch of miserable things that you don't care about. Like, love that.
23:14.07
Annie
exactly oh my god Okay, so question number seven is what does progress look like? What are some signs that you're on the right track?
23:24.51
ahealthypush
Yeah. Okay. So ah there are so many. There are so many. So I'll say here, I'll jump into a few, but I did like an entire episode sort of dedicated to signs that you're actually recovering. And that's episode 82. So if you're like, I want to know, like am I getting better? That episode will help to shed some light on that for you.
23:46.03
Annie
Okay.
23:47.83
ahealthypush
But let's talk about some big ones. So I would say the first one, and kind of goes along with everything that we've talked about, is you're no longer interpreting the hard moments as assign a sign of failure.
23:56.95
Annie
Okay.
24:01.78
ahealthypush
like
24:02.02
Annie
more
24:02.96
ahealthypush
Thanks moments, the panic attacks, they're no longer like these flashing lights, danger, oh my God, shit's a mess. They are just hard moments and they don't have to mean anything. You're not assigning meaning anymore. You're just letting those things happen and you're staying focused on the living and and doing the things that you're doing and being consistent. um I would say the next thing, you when you're really making progress, right you're on the right track, your self-awareness really increases.
24:25.34
Annie
Yeah.
24:35.40
ahealthypush
you are much more aware of your actions and behaviors and how they contribute to the anxiety that you're experiencing. And you just you know sort of the things and and the ways that you don't you know the things that you no longer want to be doing, the unhealthy patterns, and you're breaking away from those patterns. you have, you know, like, just caught myself, like I was wanting to go back and do that thing or I was, and you know, I always say have grace with yourself, you're gonna, that's gonna happen.
24:58.18
Annie
yeah
25:08.35
ahealthypush
But you have that increased self-awareness to sort of check yourself and say, okay, nope, hold on, like slow down, we gotta make a different decision.
25:14.67
Annie
Yeah. Yeah. Definitely.
25:16.98
ahealthypush
That's huge. um The next one might sound really silly and overly simplistic, but I swear it is one of the hardest things for so many people. you're actually being supportive of yourself. Your self-talk has changed. You're not being so shitty to yourself. You are just being much more compassionate. You're holding space for yourself. Really, your relationship with yourself has started to change dramatically and that when you support yourself through your recovery,
25:47.77
ahealthypush
It obviously makes your recovery a lot easier, but it also helps those really difficult emotions from not popping up so much.
25:56.70
Annie
Yeah.
25:56.71
ahealthypush
So supporting yourself, it sounds so silly and basic, but that is such a huge indicator that you're on the right path and you're making so much progress.
26:04.24
Annie
Yeah, definitely.
26:05.75
ahealthypush
um Okay, the next I would say, of course, I have to put this one in here. You're you're more willing right to try uncomfortable things. like you're You've got the idea of like, okay, I cannot get rid of anxiety. I can't make it go away. I'm just going to say attack with it, take it with me, and we'll just try it and see what this looks like. And that's such a big one, of course. And it's not waiting until you feel ready or confident or capable. It's like, nope, we're just going to try and see.
26:35.29
Annie
Yeah.
26:35.76
ahealthypush
Um, the last one I like, I could go on, but the last one that I'll say here, cause I think it fits really nicely and helps to tie up this whole conversation is that when you're really healing and making the progress, you are doing a lot less questioning of whether or not you're healing. It is not at the forefront. I can remember this very vividly throughout the beginning, the middle of my recovery journey where things were so freaking hard, I was constantly in that state of am I getting better?
27:08.62
ahealthypush
Am I ever going to get better? I'm never going to get better.
27:11.95
Annie
Yes.
27:11.94
ahealthypush
What am I doing? What am I doing wrong? Like what is happening? And I can very vividly remember this, like that dissipated. And maybe I had, you know, a thought here and there, but i it wasn't this, oh my gosh, am I healing? Is it happening? What what can I do? Like, when you are really on the path, and you're really staying committed and consistent, this sort of drops and falls um to the wayside.
27:31.42
Annie
Yeah.
27:41.38
ahealthypush
Not to say, right, that you don't ever have self-doubt or the questions, but you really are doing a lot less questioning and you're just like living living, doing the things, letting yourself feel and letting it look however it looks.
27:55.61
Annie
ugh guys oh my gosh i feel like there is just so much wisdom packed into that last question like so much good advice there and i completely agree with all of that i love it so much
28:05.06
ahealthypush
Yeah, yeah, it's I get it. Trust me, like I and he gets it. I get it. Like, I've been there and I know it's so incredibly hard because it's like you, you don't want to go backwards. You want to make sure you're on the right path. You want to make sure that you're healing and the healing journey does not it shouldn't be so forceful. It shouldn't you know, you're you obviously want it. It's obviously, you know, very important to you. But less forcing, more letting yourself be, more supporting yourself.
28:36.52
ahealthypush
like Just the small, simple, we've talked about so much in this episode is going to be incredibly helpful and actually help you to feel like, okay, I've got this.
28:41.29
Annie
Yeah.
28:46.00
ahealthypush
I've actually got this.
28:47.57
Annie
Yes, exactly.
28:48.01
ahealthypush
so Of course, I have to say, like this is a all of this is such big pieces that we cover and in Panic to Peace and we're going to be opening the doors again. in September of 2024, and I'm super excited to welcome in like more amazing students and to help them along their journey.
29:02.37
Annie
me
29:07.45
ahealthypush
And so if this is something that you've thought about and you're like, I just don't know, I want you to like go look at the the page, my panics piece page, and just absorb. Take it in, and like if you really feel like this is the right thing for me, I should do that, I want to do this, like I would love to see you in there and support you on your journey.
29:24.83
Annie
Bye. Yes.
29:28.80
ahealthypush
But yeah, these questions, Annie, were amazing. I loved these. So yeah, we'll have to do another Q and&A episode again soon.
29:37.69
Annie
Definitely. I know I always have so much fun just listening to all the wisdom you have to share. So thank you for sure.
29:43.20
ahealthypush
No, thank you. I love when you chime in and like share your thoughts. It's so helpful, but I obviously just love chatting with you too, so.
29:51.15
Annie
No, it's a win-win.
29:52.64
ahealthypush
Great. All right, I'll talk to you soon.
29:54.98
Annie
Bye.
