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Episode Summary
In this week’s episode of Are You Okay?, Dr. Lucy McBride tackles a subject that touches every one of us: anxiety. In the midst of political upheaval, global conflict, climate change, and personal unpredictability, it's no wonder many of us are feeling unmoored. Dr. McBride offers a framework for understanding and managing anxiety—not as a pathology, but as a normal human response to an abnormal world.
Drawing from clinical experience and personal insights, she explores how anxiety shows up in the body and mind, how to listen to its messages, and how to build a coping toolkit that supports long-term health. She reminds us that the goal is not to eliminate anxiety but to calibrate it to reality—and to reclaim our agency in the process.
Key Concepts Discussed
Anxiety Is Not a Flaw—It’s a Feature
Anxiety is a normal, adaptive human response to stress and uncertainty.
It becomes a problem only when it interferes with physical health, relationships, or quality of life.
Our brains haven’t evolved to distinguish between real-time threats and headline-driven stressors, so the same fight-or-flight response gets activated either way.
The Physical, Emotional, and Behavioral Manifestations of Anxiety
Physical: Elevated blood pressure, jaw tension, back pain, digestive issues, disrupted sleep.
Emotional/Cognitive: Rumination, catastrophizing, inability to concentrate, persistent worry.
Behavioral: Avoidance, procrastination, substance use, overworking, binge behaviors.
The Five-Step Framework for Managing Anxiety
Name it: Identifying anxiety helps restore the rational brain and reduces its power.
Normalize it: Feeling anxious doesn't mean you're broken—it means you're human.
Listen to it: Anxiety often signals unmet needs—like sleep, nutrition, or connection.
Take action: Small steps like deep breathing, sleep, nature walks, and journaling can re-regulate the nervous system.
Seek support: Therapy, social connection, and medical guidance can be critical, even before anxiety becomes debilitating.
Knowing Your Anxiety Baseline and Triggers
Each person lives at a different point on the anxiety continuum (0–10); knowing your “set point” helps you track and manage your symptoms.
Identifying what spikes your anxiety (e.g., health concerns, news cycles, loneliness) enables targeted coping strategies.
Avoiding self-shame for feeling anxious is crucial—your suffering doesn’t have to be the worst to be valid.
Coping Tools That Actually Work
4-7-8 Breathing: A simple breathing technique to engage the parasympathetic nervous system.
Grounding in Nature: Walking barefoot outside, connecting to the earth, and observing the present moment.
Writing: Journaling allows for cognitive defusion—separating thoughts from identity.
Food and hydration: Recognizing hunger and avoiding overuse of caffeine or alcohol as they amplify anxiety.
When to Ask for Help
Anxiety is universal, but when it interferes with functioning, it’s time to seek professional support.
Anxiety disorders are among the most common medical conditions, though often invisible and under-treated.
Calibrating anxiety—not eradicating it—is the goal of treatment and emotional growth.
The Upshot
Anxiety is a normal response to an abnormal world. It’s not a personal failing—it’s your body’s built-in alarm system trying to keep you safe. By learning to name it, normalize it, listen to it, and take small, deliberate steps to manage it, you can begin to feel more in control—even when everything around you feels uncertain. The goal isn’t to eliminate anxiety, but to calibrate it. That’s how we reclaim agency in chaotic times.
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