At a time of unsettling news at home and abroad, these shows offer tips and first-person accounts to alleviate a spiraling sense of unease.
There’s no shortage of reasons to feel anxious at the moment — a relentless barrage of devastating news from across the globe, soaring food and housing prices, and an impending presidential election in a polarized nation. But for people who live with an anxiety disorder, spiraling and uncontrollable worries can be constant, regardless of whether there’s any obvious external reason for them.
These six podcasts deliver a mix of evidence-based tips and first-person accounts that may help alleviate and perhaps even neutralize anxiety.
‘The Anxious Truth’
This long-running self-help podcast is grounded in a combination of clinical expertise and everyday experience. The host, Drew Linsalata, is a self-described “former sufferer” of panic disorder, agoraphobia and depression. Now training to be a mental health therapist, Linsalata has been delivering accessible, friendly and practical advice in “The Anxious Truth” for more than 10 years. Some episodes are practical — how to calm down from a panic attack in the moment, how to find a therapist. Others are more reflective, focusing on topics like the destructive effects of doomscrolling, how spirituality factors into anxiety recovery and how the fear of a panic attack is often what brings one on. Personal responsibility, such as how to deconstruct the feeling of powerlessness that often comes with anxiety, is a recurring theme in the show.
Starter episode: “Do I Have to Stop Fearing Anxiety to Fully Accept It?”
‘The Mental Illness Happy Hour’
Back in 2012, well before either podcasts or conversations about mental health had reached the mainstream, the comedian Paul Gilmartin began hosting this wry, candid and compassionate weekly interview show. His “Happy Hour” guests are mental heath clinicians and podcast listeners as well as a mix of fellow comedians, writers and performers — including the actress Mara Wilson, the comedian Aparna Nancherla and the author Susan Cain. What unites them is a willingness to delve into their experiences with trauma, grief and clinical diagnoses like generalized anxiety disorder and schizophrenia. Each episode is bookended by Gilmartin reading a selection of anonymous listener submissions, which can include darkest thoughts, shameful secrets and gratitude lists. It all adds up to a comforting space in which brokenness is not just OK, but celebrated.
Starter episode: “Raised to Present Well — Dr. Kate Truitt”
‘Your Anxiety Toolkit’
As the name suggests, this series offers a variety of practical and problem-focused techniques that listeners can use in their daily lives, with an emphasis on anxiety disorders, obsessive-compulsive disorder (O.C.D.) and depression. The host, Kimberley Quinlan, a licensed marriage and family therapist, strikes a warm and encouraging tone as she shares science-based tidbits from her own clinical practice. Many of the tools are grounded in mindfulness — the practice of paying attention to the present moment, and to one’s thoughts, with an attitude of acceptance. Since the essence of anxiety for many people is worrying about an anticipated hypothetical scenario, this kind of approach can be ideal for breaking out of that mind set.