The Anxious Truth - A Panic, Anxiety, and Mental Health Podcast

Why on Earth am I talking about living recklessly? Most of us would agree that being reckless involves intentionally doing dangerous things and being somewhat responsible. Let’s take a few minutes to relate that to the process of anxiety recovery. And no, I am not going to teach you how to be truly reckless. It might just feel that way.

When we do the hard and scary recovery things that we’re always talking about, that often feels really dangerous. You resist that for two reasons. First, nobody wants to do difficult scary things. This is just human nature. But you may also resist this recovery principle an entirely different level as well. You may resist this because intentionally doing scary and difficult things may FEEL IRRESPONSIBLE, DANGEROUS, AND RECKLESS.

In many ways, the process of recovery actually feels like living irresponsibly and recklessly for many of us. We're not truly doing dangerous things. But when we stop trying to save ourselves from the perceived but false threats and disasters of disordered anxiety, that often feels very wrong. That feels dangerous. That feels irresponsible. That feels reckless. When we engage in the practice of exposure, non-reactivity to fear, and disengaging from the maladaptive thinking habits that fuel conditions like GAD, we may truly feel like we are being reckless.

In this light, the process of recovery can be very much an exercise in learning to live recklessly, even if it really isn’t.

• For full show notes on this episode: https://theanxioustruth.com/184
• My books, social, and other links: https://theanxioustruth.com/links
• MUSIC CREDIT: "AfterGlow" by Ben Drake (with permission) https://bendrakemusic.com