The Transforming Anxiety Podcast

Good morning, happy Wednesday! This week's episode of The Transforming Anxiety Podcast is a discussion about something pretty simple, but a powerful addition to the toolbox that we're all using to take care of ourselves around anxiety. And that is: the inevitable ​lapses in logic​ that occur in our minds.

Our brains are shameless; they'll think absolutely *anything*. But this concept gives us a solid reminder that just because we think it, doesn't mean it's true. It's like there's a glitch in the matrix...

Sometimes we can approach a challenge (work presentation!) or something icky (a snake!) or something scary (teens driving!) with clarity and rationale. Aaaaaand sometimes, we just totally lose the plot.

What's the difference?

Whether we can, or cannot, tell the whole story, all the way through, using reason and logic.

Does our primal brain get in the way and perceive the situation as a threat? Or are we able to slow things down and calmly walk through the potential outcomes, seeing ALL possibilities as opposed to the one or two that point straight to the worst-case scenario?

Let's talk about it. ​A lapse in logic​. This is something we ALL do. Fun! Join me and we'll sort it out together...

Full show notes are located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/255 

Be sure to join my email list so you don't miss announcements, new classes, and podcast updates by visiting www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com 

Submit your questions to me by CLICKING THIS LINK. You can write me a message OR you can leave me a voicemail. I can reply directly to you and may use your question or comment on a future episode of the show! Also: I just love hearing from you. Let’s be in touch. 😊

Text PODCAST to +1 (816)354-1279 and I'll send mindfulness reminders, anxiety hacks, and little love notes your way from time to time...

Well, this may be (as close as we're gonna get to) the piece de resistance of the podcast: today, we're talking about ​living well​.

Pretty much everything we do around here points to this: how can you feel okay in your skin? How can you move around the world being alright with who you are? ​How can you live well?​

We got pretty caught up in the daily stuff and I think we lose sight of what's most vital. I know I have. And this is something I'm staying really close to right now: living well. Taking care of myself by focusing pretty much *exclusively* on: mind, body, and heart.

I also am asking simple, but powerful, questions like:

Nothing time-consuming, nothing ground-breaking. But it is helping me to get really honest and clear about what I truly want and need in my life. Join me. Let's talk about it. Probably the first of many, but I'm looking forward to this conversation with you...

Full show notes are located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/254 

Be sure to join my email list so you don't miss announcements, new classes, and podcast updates by visiting www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com 

Submit your questions to me by CLICKING THIS LINK. I can reply directly to you and may use your question or comment on a future episode of the show! Also: I just love hearing from you. Let’s be in touch. 😊

Text PODCAST to +1 (816)354-1279 and I'll send mindfulness reminders, anxiety hacks, and little love notes your way from time to time...

Ok, *today* we are going to focus on something that I know brings a lot of confusion, guilt, and pressure (aka anxiety) into our lives...and that is: ​what community looks like​.

I have experienced this myself and I talk to students every week about it. The people in our lives. Get-togethers and social gatherings. Family and holidays and vacations. Friend groups, acquaintances, colleagues.

How are we supposed to interact with all of these people? How many people should we have in our lives? ​What does community look like​?

If you feel like you're constantly cycling through obligations, expectations, and trying to live up to some social-media-inspired lifestyle, full of people, this one is for you. Let's talk about community and take some time to define this for ourselves together today.

Full show notes are located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/253 

Be sure to join my email list so you don't miss announcements, new classes, and podcast updates by visiting www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com 

Submit your questions to me by CLICKING THIS LINK. I can reply directly to you and may use your question or comment on a future episode of the show! Also: I just love hearing from you. Let’s be in touch. 😊

Text PODCAST to +1 (816)354-1279 and I'll send mindfulness reminders, anxiety hacks, and little love notes your way from time to time...

Good morning. ☀️ I hope this finds you well. That you're doing ok so far this week. That you're hanging in, finding some flow, letting yourself breathe, and being kind with yourself.

On this week's episode of ​The Transforming Anxiety Podcast​ I wanted to explore how we can move through *all the things* without having quite such a death grip on life.

Because, I mean, I think we DO. I've noticed we're holding on to it all pretty tightly...hoping that we can make it, that we can push through, that we can force it all to work and get all the people to cooperate and generally get things together.

But I wonder: what if we loosened our grip? What if we relaxed our jaws, shook off some tension, and let go just a little bit? What if we ​hold it lightly​?

We don't have to swing all the way into "screw it, nevermind, I give up" mode. We could just...chill. You've heard of this, yeah? The concept of chilling out. 🙃 Me too. Let's give it a go together.

Join me for this week's conversation and let's take a look at where we're hanging on for dear life...and see if we could ​hold it lightly​ instead. I'll see you there.

Full show notes are located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/252 

Be sure to join my email list so you don't miss announcements, new classes, and podcast updates by visiting www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com 

Submit your questions to me by CLICKING THIS LINK. I can reply directly to you and may use your question or comment on a future episode of the show! Also: I just love hearing from you. Let’s be in touch. 😊

Text PODCAST to +1 (816)354-1279 and I'll send mindfulness reminders, anxiety hacks, and little love notes your way from time to time...

Ahhhhh, it's good to be back...back to transforming anxiety. I missed you.

In this week's episode of The Transforming Anxiety Podcast I'm sharing a bit with you about why I took a(n unplanned) break, how I personally struggle a bit, and what we have to look forward to together: work that I want to do, practices I want to steep myself in, teachings I want to stay close to.

With you...

I want you to know that I don’t take the fact that you're here lightly. I don’t for a second take it for granted that you’re here with me. That you listen in. That you share your inbox with me. That this work means something to you. It means the world to me, too. And that’s why I do it. That’s why I show up. That’s why I love on you and bring you these conversations, from my heart and my research and my curiosity and a deep love for all of us who feel and struggle and work with and around and inside of anxiety. I get it. I walk this path right alongside you.

I'm so glad to be back. I've been thinking about you. And working hard. And also had to just take a moment to breathe and sit in the dark.

But I missed you. Let's get back to transforming anxiety...

Full show notes are located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/251 

Be sure to join my email list so you don't miss announcements, new classes, and podcast updates by visiting www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com 

Submit your questions to me by CLICKING THIS LINK. I can reply directly to you and may use your question or comment on a future episode of the show! Also: I just love hearing from you. Let’s be in touch. 😊

Text PODCAST to +1 (816)354-1279 and I'll send mindfulness reminders, anxiety hacks, and little love notes your way from time to time...

This week on The Transforming Anxiety Podcast we’re going to talk about that inner pileup of garbage that happens after days, weeks, months, YEARS of conversations, work, get-togethers, parenting, and activities. Alllll the garbage that starts gumming up the works, internally. The residue that happens when we ignore ourselves a little bit, when we bite our tongues, when we hold back, when we make ourselves small…

And, more importantly, we’re going to talk about a few specific ways you can take out the trash for yourself so that you feel better and things run more smoothly.

If you’ve ever felt bogged down at work, slow to make decisions, overly impatient with your family, or just like you can quite THINK clearly…it may be because the inner trash is piling up. These are all pretty common signals that something needs to be said, that it’s time to take a good, hard look at how you’re adulting, or that maybe a regular routine or pattern could use some adjustment.

This one is full of practical approaches to emotional ick. Ways to take care of yourself and clear things out. A little preemptive spring cleaning mid-winter, y’know.

Join me and let’s do this one together. Let’s take out all the trash…

Full show notes are located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/250 

Be sure to join my email list so you don't miss announcements, new classes, and podcast updates by visiting www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com 

Submit your questions to me by CLICKING THIS LINK. I can reply directly to you and may use your question or comment on a future episode of the show! Also: I just love hearing from you. Let’s be in touch. 😊

Text PODCAST to +1 (816)354-1279 and I'll send mindfulness reminders, anxiety hacks, and little love notes your way from time to time...

I don't know about you, but I looooove to put my nose into other people's business. (Except I do know about you...I'm guessing you do this, too. Only about 100% of my students and friends and family do it. 🙃)

I mean, from our vantage point, we can so clearly see what they should be doing, right? If they would just behave, if they would just cooperate, if they would just do it the right way then all our lives will be easier.

* sigh *

The cost of taking your eyes off your paper and nosing around to see what someone else is doing is HUGE. And that’s what we’re going to talk about on today’s episode of The Transforming Anxiety Podcast. Using a cute little story I like to call: the neighbor’s dandelions.

What are we looking for when we try and control someone else? Are there any upsides? And what are the consequences? Join me for today’s show and let’s discuss…

Full show notes are located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/249 

Be sure to join my email list so you don't miss announcements, new classes, and podcast updates by visiting www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com 

Submit your questions to me by CLICKING THIS LINK. I can reply directly to you and may use your question or comment on a future episode of the show! Also: I just love hearing from you. Let’s be in touch. 😊

Text PODCAST to +1 (816)354-1279 and I'll send mindfulness reminders, anxiety hacks, and little love notes your way from time to time...

I have something that sounds fun today, but is way more important than its cute little name and that is: time confetti.

Have you ever had the feeling that you should have more time in your days and weeks than you do? Or sat down to relax for a few minutes and then looked at the clock to realize that an hour had flown by? Or felt so completely fragmented and distracted mentally that even when you get a moment to focus on something...you can't?

We can't manage time itself, but we CAN manage ourselves around time. And looking how we shred our time into little itty bitty pieces of confetti and then bemoan the loss of it is a pretty powerful way to start the new year.

It'll give us something to think about while we cook this month and gear up for 2024...more about that in last week's episode of The Transforming Anxiety Podcast. 😉

Join me for this conversation and let's gather up that confetti and stop tearing up our time. We'll do it together. 🩵

Full show notes are located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/248 

Be sure to join my email list so you don't miss announcements, new classes, and podcast updates by visiting www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com 

Submit your questions to me by CLICKING THIS LINK. I can reply directly to you and may use your question or comment on a future episode of the show! Also: I just love hearing from you. Let’s be in touch. 😊

Text PODCAST to +1 (816)354-1279 and I'll send mindfulness reminders, anxiety hacks, and little love notes your way from time to time...

New year! But same me. Same you. Same all of us. This week's episode of ​The Transforming Anxiety Podcast​ is a "what's new in the new year" but also an acknowledgment of: not much. 🙃

Goals, resolutions, and plans are all *great*. Yup. And also...maybe we can just slow-roll the new year and spend this month (this quarter?) considering what we want it to look like.

I'm putting the new year in hibernation-mode. And I offer a spin on how to come up with those grand plans and goals we all think about in the new year, too.

Join me and let's talk about it. ​What's new in the new year?​ Everything..and nothing. Yeah? But let's do it together

Full show notes are located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/247 

Be sure to join my email list so you don't miss announcements, new classes, and podcast updates by visiting www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com 

Submit your questions to me by CLICKING THIS LINK. I can reply directly to you and may use your question or comment on a future episode of the show! Also: I just love hearing from you. Let’s be in touch. 😊

Text PODCAST to +1 (816)354-1279 and I'll send mindfulness reminders, anxiety hacks, and little love notes your way from time to time...

To start out the new year, I am SO excited to bring a really great conversation to you on this week's episode of ​The Transforming Anxiety Podcast​. I'm talking with Scott Stabile, author, teacher, and love activist, about his new book: Enough As You Are.

This book is an absolute must read. Pick it up anytime, on any page, and you'll find important lessons that you can bathe your brain in so that you can remember to remember: you are enough just as you are. Love wins. And practices like compassion, truth-telling, and being present are key.

I thought this discussion was the perfect way to begin this year. To clean the slate. To bring fresh eyes and a new perspective as we embark on the next iteration of your path, your growth, your LIFE.

​Join me for this rich conversation with Scott Stabile​...we'll see you there.

Full show notes are located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/246 

Be sure to join my email list so you don't miss announcements, new classes, and podcast updates by visiting www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com 

Text PODCAST to +1 (816)354-1279 and I'll send mindfulness reminders, anxiety hacks, and little love notes your way from time to time...

Tis the season, friend...this week on The Transforming Anxiety Podcast we're going to talk about joy. It seems we have a verrrrry tricky dynamic with joy. Have you noticed?

We want to feel happy. We crave ease and contentment. And then, as soon as we feel like things are going okay, a nagging sense of doom creeps in.

How can we get more joy in our lives? <-- I think this is what we're wanting, yeah?

Well, the answer is weirdly counterintuitive. But I promise it's effective.

Join me for this week's episode and let's talk about joy.

Full show notes are located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/245 

Be sure to join my email list so you don't miss announcements, new classes, and podcast updates by visiting www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com 

Text PODCAST to +1 (816)354-1279 and I'll send mindfulness reminders, anxiety hacks, and little love notes your way from time to time...

Ohhh this is gonna be a good conversation heading into the holidays...something I talk about with EVERY single student of mine is their own personal definitions.

Meaning:

We get wrapped up in the ideas of what we think good moms do, how the dinner needs to go, and what we need to prepare, plan for, and schedule for the family. We get consumed with doing more, going nonstop, and pulling off flawless gatherings.

Folks...let's lay that weapon down.

Stop letting outside definitions of what good enough looks like rule (read: wreck) your life.

Today we're going to talk about it and I'm STRONGLY inviting you to come up with your own personal definitions.

For all of it...

Join me for this week's episode of ​The Transforming Anxiety Podcast​ and let's talk about personal definitions.

Full show notes are located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/244 

Be sure to join my email list so you don't miss announcements, new classes, and podcast updates by visiting www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com 

Text PODCAST to +1 (816)354-1279 and I'll send mindfulness reminders, anxiety hacks, and little love notes your way from time to time...

Y'know how movies sometimes have the "​director's cut​" where they play the whole movie with the filmmaker(s) speaking over the top of it, giving insights and outtakes and ideas about the whole process?

Today, on ​The Transforming Anxiety Podcast​, I want to use this Hollywood idea and apply it to our relationships (haha, yup).

I think we can borrow from this to give ourselves, and the people we love, more insight into how we're thinking and feeling. In real time.

Join me for this discussion as we explore the director's cut in *your* life...and consider how this could bring hugs swaths of awareness, clarity, and compassion into your mind and heart.

Full show notes are located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/243 

Be sure to join my email list so you don't miss announcements, new classes, and podcast updates by visiting www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com 

Text PODCAST to +1 (816)354-1279 and I'll send mindfulness reminders, anxiety hacks, and little love notes your way from time to time...

This one seems timely, given where we're at in the year...and, I don't know, history. Let's talk about ​expectations​ today.

Should we raise our expectations? Lower them? Drop them altogether? And where the hell do our expectations come from in the first place?

Yeah...

This isn't a step-by-step tactical roadmap to sorting out expectations. But this conversation IS a study in awareness and giving ourselves some room to *breathe*.

And after the last few years + as we go deeper in the holiday season, we all need reminders and spaces like this, methinks.

​Join me for this brief exploration into expectations​...let's do this together.

Full show notes are located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/242 

Be sure to join my email list so you don't miss announcements, new classes, and podcast updates by visiting www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com 

Text PODCAST to +1 (816)354-1279 and I'll send mindfulness reminders, anxiety hacks, and little love notes your way from time to time...

On this week's episode of The Transforming Anxiety Podcast, we're going to hang out in the gray a bit. That messy middle between the extremes of "all or nothing" and "right or wrong." That murky space where most of life is lived.

We're going to explore 2 contradictory approaches that we can practice. Even though we like things all neat and tidy and black-and-white. These 2 practices can be useful in a wide range of situations and the truth is: sometimes we need one practice (tapas), and sometimes we need the other practice (titrating).

If you haven't heard the words "tapas" or "titrating" before, don't worry, we'll get into all of it together today.

I know this isn't a place where we like to hang out, the gray. But join me there today and let's explore it together. I'll see you there...

Full show notes are located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/241 

Be sure to join my email list so you don't miss announcements, new classes, and podcast updates by visiting www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com 

Text PODCAST to +1 (816)354-1279 and I'll send mindfulness reminders, anxiety hacks, and little love notes your way from time to time...

Good morning, happy Wednesday. ☺️ It's time for a(nother) conversation about thoughts. We circle back to our thinking from time to time around here because it's so dang important.

We tend to glorify thinking in our culture; we definitely consider thinking to be a "higher" power than feeling. But...is it? What are our minds telling us? Is it worth listening to?

This is what I want to explore with you in today's episode of The Transforming Anxiety Podcast. Where do our thoughts come from? And are our minds straight up lying to us? (Hint: yup. Methinks so. At least sometimes.)

Join me and let's discuss...

Full show notes are located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/240 

Be sure to join my email list so you don't miss announcements, new classes, and podcast updates by visiting www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com 

Text PODCAST to +1 (816)354-1279 and I'll send mindfulness reminders, anxiety hacks, and little love notes your way from time to time...

Welp, we've made it to November. Which means: everyone is gonna start talking about gratitude. ​So, ok, ok, I put together a gratitude episode for us​. 🙄

Ha, ok, it's not all bad. I roll my eyes at gratitude a *little bit* because it sounds so damn cheesy. We hear about it all. the. time. and it just sounds a wee bit too earnest for me to get overly serious about.

But in (yet again) researching for this episode and (yup, again) reading up on the benefits of gratitude, and (uh huh, again) digging in with the science backing this concept, turns out, there may be something to this.

(I know...duh. My saying gratitude works is kinda like my saying a Pulitzer-prize winning book is good. No one needs my sign off. But, there we go.)

Join me for this week's episode of ​The Transforming Anxiety Podcast​ and let's talk about gratitude. I promise I'll make it worth your while...

Full show notes are located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/239 

Be sure to join my email list so you don't miss announcements, new classes, and podcast updates by visiting www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com 

Text PODCAST to +1 (816)354-1279 and I'll send mindfulness reminders, anxiety hacks, and little love notes your way from time to time...

I have another amazing interview for you this week on ​The Transforming Anxiety Podcast​...Scott Simon is joining me to talk about his book, Scare Your Soul. And this is far more than a book: it's an entire *movement*.

Scott is a speaker, entrepreneur, and writer. And he has completely transformed his life by harnessing the fear he felt about, well, a lot of stuff. Starting with: his fear of singing in public.

You've heard the old "feel the fear and do it anyway" adage? Yeah, yeah...but, HOW? ​That's what Scott's here to share with us​.

His book outlines a roadmap for HOW to get out of the fear that limits you, keeps you doing the same ol' same ol', and traps you in a life that's not quite you. And the stories he shares along the way are inspiring, silly, heart-wrenching, and wildly motivating. His voice shines straight through the book.

​Join me for this conversation with Scott​. His perspective on fear is so refreshing. I'm looking forward to sharing this one with you...

Full show notes are located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/238 

Find out more about Scott Simon and join the Scare Your Soul movement by visiting www.scareyoursoul.com 

Be sure to join my email list so you don't miss announcements, new classes, and podcast updates by visiting www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com 

Text PODCAST to +1 (816)354-1279 and I'll send mindfulness reminders, anxiety hacks, and little love notes your way from time to time...

How are you? I'm so glad that we get to hang out each week. That you make space for these notes in your inbox. That you join me on this path of transforming anxiety and self-compassion and kindness and awareness. I truly believe this is the most important work of our lives. And it means a lot that you're here. Thank you. ☺️

I wanted to have a short and simple conversation with you this week about emotions; particularly with how we ​react to emotions​.

I wonder what could be different if we considered our feelings as information...

I wonder what could shift if we used emotions as suggestions as to what could be going on inside of us...

I wonder if we could hang out with our emotions for a moment, instead of reacting to how we're feeling, what could change...

Let's talk about it. Join me for this episode of ​The Transforming Anxiety Podcast​ and let's explore reacting to emotions together. See you there...

Full show notes are located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/237 

Be sure to join my email list so you don't miss announcements, new classes, and podcast updates by visiting www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com 

Text PODCAST to +1 (816)354-1279 and I'll send mindfulness reminders, anxiety hacks, and little love notes your way from time to time...

This week on The Transforming Anxiety Podcast I want to consider a phrase I know you've heard before, don't burn your bridges, alongside a less common idea, burn the boats. It's a fiery mash-up this week. We're going to explore why it's important to ​keep the bridges, burn the boats​.

This conversation is all about relationships and commitment. Awareness and engagement. It's mostly about intention.

What do you want? And how do you get there?

Let's talk about it together today...​see you there​.

Full show notes are located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/236 

Be sure to join my email list so you don't miss announcements, new classes, and podcast updates by visiting www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com 

Text PODCAST to +1 (816)354-1279 and I'll send mindfulness reminders, anxiety hacks, and little love notes your way from time to time...

I have a wonderful guest for you today. I am SO excited for this episode of ​The Transforming Anxiety Podcast​.

Honestly, this one isn't optional. This work isn't a "nice to have" kind of thing.

I don't think I can overstate how important ​polyvagal theory​ is in the world of transforming anxiety. These principles give us a how-to guide in befriending our nervous systems and, therefore, a shortcut directly into slowing down the fight-or-flight stress response and leaning towards the rest-and-digest relaxation response.

There are many tools and practices out there: thought work, meditation, yoga, breath work, somatic tools, etc. that give us a way inside, a way to sit, a way to cultivate awareness and compassion and steadiness.

And really, polyvagal theory is the science-backed scaffolding that shows you how and why those other practices are so effective. They all have elements of this theory embedded in them and use our nervous system in various ways to create, well, freedom.

​Join me for this great conversation with Deb where we explore​:

I'll see you there...

Full show notes + a video of our conversation are located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/235 

To find out more about Deb Dana, visit https://www.rhythmofregulation.com/ 

Be sure to join my email list so you don't miss announcements, new classes, and podcast updates by visiting www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com 

Text PODCAST to +1 (816)354-1279 and I'll send mindfulness reminders, anxiety hacks, and little love notes your way from time to time...

This week's episode of ​The Transforming Anxiety​ is literally straight from my heart to yours. We're talking about ​preemptive quitting​ this week. Why? Because this is the sit-down-pay-attention-clear-the-decks talk I had to have with myself recently.

Preemptive quitting is when you quit ahead of time. You quit as a backwards way of protecting yourself from rejection, disappointment, or failure. You say NO so that no one can say no to YOU.

And hey, it kinda works.

I just suspect there's probably a better way to go about our lives and thought we should talk about it. I know I need this. And I'm offering my personal work to you this week because I suspect I've got some company out there.

​Join me for this week's conversation​...

Full show notes are located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/234 

Be sure to join my email list so you don't miss announcements, new classes, and podcast updates by visiting www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com 

Text PODCAST to +1 (816)354-1279 and I'll send mindfulness reminders, anxiety hacks, and little love notes your way from time to time...

Something I think we all *know* but don't spend much time understanding is that: change is hard. On this week's episode of ​The Transforming Anxiety Podcast​, I wanted to explore it with you on a deeper level. ​WHY is change so hard?​

There are a couple different kinds of change that happens in our lives. One way change occurs is that something big and major happens, and it affects everything. New job, new city, new baby, new relationship...the loss of a loved one, retirement, an empty nest, the end of a relationship. These kinds of changes strike quickly and affect everything and it's up to us to deal with the aftershocks as we adjust to the new normal.

But there are other, slower, choice-based changes in our lives, too. Habits, routines, ways of speaking, feelings, belief systems, how we show up in the world. These things take constant choices, daily decisions, and real commitment...so that we can ultimately cross over a line and feel fundamentally transformed as a result.

The latter is what I want to focus on today.

Join me for this conversation re: change. And bringing some awareness and a 4-step process to make change a bit easier (if not outright pleasant). 😉

​See you there​...

Full show notes are located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/233 

Be sure to join my email list so you don't miss announcements, new classes, and podcast updates by visiting www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com 

Text PODCAST to +1 (816)354-1279 and I'll send mindfulness reminders, anxiety hacks, and little love notes your way from time to time...

Time for some real talk: this week on ​The Transforming Anxiety Podcast​, we're going ​underneath the conversation​...

Y'know how when you're talking with someone, there are the words that are actually being said, the back-and-forth dialogue that is happening out loud...and then there's the inner conversation you're having ABOUT the conversation?

We all do this. We say, "sure, I'll be there!" when we're really thinking, "ugh, I don't have time for this." Or we complain to our partner about the dirty clothes on the floor while we're really thinking, "why don't you see me and understand me as a PERSON?!"

Yeah. ​Underneath the conversation​.

If you're feeling chronically misunderstood, bitterly resentful, or completely out of sync with what's happening around you, you may be missing what's underneath the conversation.

Remember: we all do this. We're just trying to make it through the day and get dinner on the table. But...

...being willing to get honest about what's underneath the conversation can change your talks, and relationships, forever.

Join for this week's show. Let's talk...like underneath the conversation REAL talk.

Full show notes are located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/232 

Be sure to join my email list so you don't miss announcements, new classes, and podcast updates by visiting www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com 

Text PODCAST to +1 (816)354-1279 and I'll send mindfulness reminders, anxiety hacks, and little love notes your way from time to time...

I'm SO excited to be back to our conversations with authors, psychologists, and all-around amazing people. This week on ​The Transforming Anxiety Podcast​ I have a brand-new book to share with you: ​Generation Anxiety: A Millennial and Generation Z Guide to Staying Afloat in an Uncertain World​ written by psychologist, keynote speaker, and consultant Dr. Lauren Cook.

Dr. Lauren has a refreshing and accessible approach to anxiety and her thoughts are geared specifically towards millennials and Gen Z'ers, making the work timely and uniquely suited to young professionals, parents, and those coming of age with tech, media, and the flood of cultural conditioning that is baked into our world today.

Join me for this conversation around anxiety, our shared phobia (it's weird and gross), and her insights for keeping your head above water in these trying times.

If you'd like to catch the video version of our conversation just click here. This is a great episode not only for all of you millenials and gen Z'ers, but for those who have people in these age groups in their lives.

To find out more about Dr. Lauren, visit www.drlaurencook.com and you can find her on Instagram and TikTok @dr.laurencook

Full show notes are located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/231 

Text PODCAST to +1 (816) 354-1279 and I'll send mindfulness reminders, anxiety hacks, and little love notes your way from time to time...

Super quick, simple, and powerful practice for you today on ​The Transforming Anxiety Podcast​: we're going to talk about ​naming the things​.

Most of the time, we're lost in our thinking. We're telling stories about what's happening, we're fighting against how we're feeling or doing our damnedest to try to feel something *else*, and we're spinning out over the difference between our current situation vs. what we think should be happening.

*sigh*

Today we're going to explore the practice of naming the things. Simply recognizing and being aware of what is...and naming it.

I feel anxious.

I don't like this.

I need a break.

I'm tired.

No editorializing, no fixing, no explaining. Just: right now, it's like this.

Become aware. Observe. Name it. Simple...not always easy, sure, but worth practicing.

Let's talk about it together on this week's episode of the podcast. ​Join me there​...

Full show notes are located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/230 

Be sure to join my email list so you don't miss announcements, new classes, and podcast updates by visiting www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com 

Text PODCAST to +1 (816) 354-1279 and I'll send mindfulness reminders, anxiety hacks, and little love notes your way from time to time...

This week's ​Transforming Anxiety Podcast​ is all about giving you a handful of tools that you can use to take care of yourself when you're really *in it* with anxiety. We're going to talk about ​the boat, the volcano, the mountaintop, and the tide​.

These are all mental images, drawn from nature, that illustrate the journey, the experience, or an ideal direction to point yourself in re: transforming anxiety.

The boat: being safely carried above the water is a good thing, but we have to be willing to look underneath to see what's going on.

The volcano: because we live this close to that eruption point and would rather create space so we can pause and respond mindfully vs. reacting impulsively.

The mountaintop: our struggles, challenges, and pains aren't permanent; we aren't always going to be climbing up a mountain. We can remember to stop, grab a granola bar, and take in the view.

The tide: it all ebbs and flows, crashes and recedes, over and over again.

Join me for this discussion and these tools to support yourself on your path...

Full show notes are located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/229 

Text PODCAST to +1 (816) 354-1279 and I'll send mindfulness reminders, anxiety hacks, and little love notes your way from time to time...

I think we could all use a little break, a deep breath, ​a mid-year check-in​...

And sure, we can touch base with those goals and resolutions from January. That's not a bad idea.

But I'm more interested in a mid-year return to self.

We live our days, our hours, and our minutes smack dab up close to whatever's happening: what we need to do, all the stuff we have to accomplish, where we need to go, things we need to check off the list.

But this week on ​The Transforming Anxiety Podcast​ we're going to zoom out, get some perspective, and take the eagle view of life. The long game. The bigger picture.

Sometimes we all need to hit pause and remind ourselves: we're human beings, not human doings. We need to live, breathe, and BE...not produce, go, and do.

Let's talk about it together this week. Mid-year check-in, baby. Mid-year return to self...

Full show notes are located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/228 

Text PODCAST to +1 (816)354-1279 and I'll send mindfulness reminders, anxiety hacks, and little love notes your way from time to time...

We've all had those experiences where something seemingly trivial happens and we *explode* in response. A spilled cup of coffee. A stubbed toe. A snarky comment from a tween. And we get apoplectic.

Similarly (but opposite) we've completely utterly totally *shut down* when someone says the wrong thing at the wrong moment on the wrong day with the wrong stars aligned.

What's up with that?

We're going to explore this phenomenon in this week's episode of ​The Transforming Anxiety Podcast​. We're talking about ​the window of tolerance​. How / when / why do you get thrown outside of what feels handle-able? And how do you intentionally practice widening that window so it includes more and more of life's life-y-ness?

Let's talk about it. ​Join me for this week's show​...

Full show notes are located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/227 

Text PODCAST to +1 (816) 354-1279 and I'll send mindfulness reminders, anxiety hacks, and little love notes your way from time to time...

This week on ​The Transforming Anxiety Podcast​, I want to offer a simple, but pretty profound way to practice acceptance. We're going to explore the teaching: ​right now, it's like this​.

This one isn't full of practical, tactical steps that you can take. Or things you can go and DO. Nope.

This is more of a quiet, meditative sort of thing. A sit-with-it-and-see-what-comes-up kind of practice.

It's something I've been working with for the past couple years and I want to offer this teaching to *you* in the hope that it will serve and support you, too. It's one for when you're in it. For when things are difficult and challenging and you sometimes just want to take your skin off and get away from yourself. THAT is what this is for.

I'm with you. Let's practice together, yeah? Right now, it's like this...

Full show notes are located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/226 

Text PODCAST to (816) 354-1279 and I'll send mindfulness reminders, anxiety hacks, and little love notes your way from time to time...

If you've been hanging out with me for a while, then you know I'm *super* stuffy and serious about things...

...hahaha, just kidding.

And this week, I'm gonna embrace it. On ​The Transforming Anxiety Podcast​ we're exploring 5 high-brow mindfulness tips. You're probably already guessing these things are the exact opposite of "high-brow." Aaaand you'd be right.

I've found that mindfulness and meditation seem to connote a certain formality. And it doesn't need to be that way. In fact, since most of us like fun things, we might as well make THIS fun, too. You with me?

​Come join me for this conversation​ and let's explore how we can use these ideas to make mindfulness not only a little lighter, but something you're actually going to DO...

Full show notes are located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/225 

Text PODCAST to (816) 354-1279 and I'll send mindfulness reminders, anxiety hacks, and little love notes your way from time to time...

This week's episode of ​The Transforming Anxiety Podcast​ starts out with a funny story about my brother's granny-in-law...and then segues into an exploration on how we can refuel, restore, and recharge our bodies in order to create a deeper well of resilience and, ultimately, less anxiety for ourselves.

In my experience, we have to consistently and continuously refill our buckets. Throughout our days we're relying on a wellspring of patience, kindness, compassion, and goodness to show up how we WANT to show up. But what happens when that well runs dry?

This episode is all about filling that well up. Cultivating a sense of strength, flexility, and resilience so that you can be the most YOU possible.

​Join me and let's talk about your charging stations​. I'll see you there...

Full show notes are located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/224 

Text PODCAST to (816)354-1279 and I'll send mindfulness reminders, anxiety hacks, and little love notes your way from time to time...

It's time for another talk about: rest.

But listen, we aren't talking about rest so that you can get more done. It's not about resting so that you can go more, power through, and push harder. This isn't about overcoming a necessary evil (meaning: rest) so that you can get to the "real" part of life (meaning: productivity).

Nope.

This is about resting in the interest of cultivating more resilience.

I think we're deeply confused about rest. I think many of us view rest as a hurdle on the way to more hustling, doing, and going. I think we resent rest.

And I want to come at it from a new angle today on The Transforming Anxiety Podcast. Whaddya say?

Let's talk about rest. Rest for resilience...

Full show notes are located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/223 

Text PODCAST to (816) 354-1279 and I'll send mindfulness reminders, anxiety hacks, and little love notes your way from time to time...

How are we doing? It's Wednesday...again. Morning...again. Are we ready? I know - I'm not sure we're ready either. But here we are. We're in it together. Let's do this...yeah?

I have a simple idea for you this week on The Transforming Anxiety Podcast. In fact, it's just 2 words: Oh. Really. Oh really. ​Oh really​...?

I wanna explore using these 2 words as a way to curb our collective death grip on *being right* and invite more curiosity, inquiry, and connection.

What if, when presented with a challenging conversation, we asked, "oh really...?" What if, when someone offered a conflicting opinion to our own, we approached them with an, "oh really...?" What if, when we heard a nugget of information that was brand-new, we took it in with a genuine, "oh really...?"

"Oh really..." is a bridge for unity. It's a phrase to bring people together. "Oh really..." will connect you to the world around you.

Let's talk about it. Join me for this week's episode...

Full show notes are located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/222 

Text PODCAST to (816) 354-1279 and I'll send mindfulness reminders, anxiety hacks, and little love notes your way from time to time...

How are you? How's summer treating you so far? Sunscreen, sweat, and late summer nights are all a *thing* over here, and I'm loving it. I went for years craving the fall and winter months; there's something so cozy about that time of year. But I tell ya what: these days, there's something about the brightness and vibrancy of summer that brings me alive in another way. And I'm here for it. I'm curious to hear how it's feeling for you...

This week on The Transforming Anxiety Podcast​ we're going to explore a metaphor that I hope will really bring your nervous system into color in a whole new way: we're talking about ​anxiety as an alarm​.

I know many of us treat anxiety like an emergency; if we're feeling remotely anxious it means Something Has Gone Wrong. But I want to challenge that this week with a mental image that I hope will stick with you and help you reconsider the messaging behind anxiety when it shows up.

Sneak peek: are the curtains on fire? Or are we dealing with burnt toast? ​Join me for this week's episode to hear what I mean​...

Full shownotes are located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/221 

Text PODCAST to (816) 354-1279 and I'll send mindfulness reminders, anxiety hacks, and little love notes your way from time to time...

It seems like if we know something, we should act accordingly, right? If you know what you want or should do, then...do it! I mean, according to the 80's G.I. Joe cartoon, "knowing is half the battle" so it only makes sense that if we *know* what we want to do, we will *do* it.

And yet...

...we don't.

Turns out knowing is knowing and doing is doing, and the knowing actually has very little to do with the doing.

🤷‍♀️

This week on The Transforming Anxiety Podcast we're going to explore this tricky little reality...the chasm between knowing and doing.

There's science behind this, good reasons why we don't just DO what we KNOW we want for ourselves, and an important link between this chasm and anxiety. Join me for this week's episode and let's talk about it.

Text PODCAST to (816) 354-1279 and I’ll send mindfulness reminders, anxiety hacks, and little love notes your way from time-to-time…

Full shownotes are located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/220 

Are you a control freak? Are you a *secret* control freak and don't want to admit it? Are you surrounded by control freaks and feeling the pressure of complying with their wishes?

I'm going to guess: yes, yes, and yes.

Why do we seek to control? How come control freaks get such a bum rap? What can we do instead of plugging down the same old, ill-fated, control-grabbing path?

On this week's episode of The Transforming Anxiety Podcast we're going to talk about control, being a "control freak," and how to re-think this approach to life. Let's hear it for the control freaks.

Full show notes are located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/219 

Over the last few years, I've found a handful of things that are true when they're put in action, but don't SEEM like they'd be true when you find yourself in a situation that you're not sure how to get out of, how to take care of, or how to navigate. So I pulled together this motley crew of practices and we're going to talk about it today on The Transforming Anxiety Podcast.

Today, we're talking about counterintuitive things.

Things that really don't make much sense on paper, but when you live it? Makes all the difference.

And these practices are things that will support you:

Join me for this week's episode of The Transforming Anxiety Podcast and let's talk about counterintuitive things...and how you can use these ironic practices to uplevel your day-to-day life.

Full show notes are located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/218 

So, a while back, my therapist called me a "people-pleaser." Which, to be honest, I thought was totally rude. 🙃 It's just a term I've never personally identified with and the idea that some under current of making everyone happy was yanking me around didn't feel great.

But I got curious...

What if I AM a people-pleaser?

So I started researching. How do people-pleasing behaviors show up? What are the symptoms and signs of people-pleasing?

Aaaand it made things pretty clear.

I'm bringing my findings to you on this week's episode of  The Transforming Anxiety Podcast . Are you a people-pleaser? Do you, like me, not think you are, but maybe you kinda sorta not-so-secretly are?

 Join me for this conversation (and my totally dumb riff on that old *you might be a redneck, if...* sketch).

And hey: wanna dig into your own people-pleasing tendencies and start cleaning that up? CLICK HERE and let's talk.

Full show notes located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/217 

I have another interview for you this week on The Transforming Anxiety Podcast; this week, I'm talking to author, long-distance hiker, and community-creator, Nicole Antoinette, about her new book How To Be Alone .

Nicole hiked all 800 miles of the Arizona Trail from the Utah border to Mexico...alone. She camped and rationed water in the desert and dealt with all the wildlife one imagines coming across, all while dealing with the thoughts, feelings, and discomfort that are an inevitable part of the human experience...especially if you're alone and confronted with 800 miles of your own mental chatter and meaning-making.

This is a powerful conversation that covers everything from people-pleasing to the reality of change to hiking gear to sobriety to divorce. We didn't leave much out.

And hey: whether you're interested in hiking or not, think of the trail as a microcosm of LIFE. Everything she confronts on the AZT directly relates to the work we do around here: transforming anxiety, tree by tree by tree (you'll see what I mean in the episode).

If you'd like to catch the video version of our conversation, just CLICK HERE. I can't wait for you to hear this one...

To find out more about Nicole, visit www.nicoleantoinette.com and you can find her on Instagram @nic.antoinette 

Full show notes are located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/216 

Today on The Transforming Anxiety Podcast we're going to do an exercise in awareness...and we're going to use the vehicle of complaining to practice.

We all complain. It's a very socially-acceptable way of relating and conversing with others. I'm pretty sure it's some peoples' love language (SO FUN!).

What is complaining? Why do we go there so often? Does it get us anywhere?

This isn't a conversation about trying to convince the people around you to not complain. It's not a how-to fix-it guide for solving the so-called problem of complaining.

It IS an investigation into the act of complaining and an invitation to bring awareness in. Which is sometimes all we need.

Join me for this week's episode and let's take a look at complaining...

Full show notes located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/215 

A few weeks ago I did a podcast about your daily routine and I heard from a lot of you that it was helpful and gave you a new way to think about and set up your day. And then I got a great question: what about the WEEKEND?

And it made a lot of sense to me; after all, there's a completely different vibe to the weekends than there is to the regular ol' work day. And we still want to feel productive, sure. But our days off from work and school also invite a sense of joy, connection, and rest that maybe doesn't seem as accessible during the week.

So...let's take a look at it together. Join me for this week's episode of The Transforming Anxiety Podcast and let's explore your daily routine: the weekend edition.

Full show notes are located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/214 

You know I like to come at anxiety from all angles and I want to consider something that we haven't talked about on The Transforming Anxiety Podcast yet: victim mentality.

This is different from being the victim of a crime, of a natural disaster, of random violence or an accident or disease or some other action or event. Those are real and traumatic and difficult and that is NOT what we're discussing.

I'm talking about:

These are mindsets that can completely sabotage you...and they all lead straight to spinning out in anxiety.

Join me for this week's episode and just *consider* how this one shows up for you. Spoiler alert: we all do it. This isn't something you're immune to. But you can cultivate more self-awareness and self-compassion and take yourself off this hook.

Full show notes located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/213 

This week on The Transforming Anxiety Podcast we're going to explore how you talk to yourself in a really specific way: we're going to find your story.

We all have one. A story that we tell about ourselves, our circumstances, our experiences, our LIVES. And this story isn't true, in a real sense. It's "true" only because we tell it over and over and over again...until we absolutely completely totally believe it.

And then we go to work to create a reality based on that story.

In this week's episode I'm going to share a couple ways you can start to unearth your story + what that story really means...and why you want to see all of this with fresh perspective.

Full show notes are located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/212 

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  I have another interview for you: this time with Dr. Kirk J. Schneider about his brand-new book, Life-Enhancing Anxiety...and can we talk about how amazing just that phrase is?? What if anxiety were life ENHANCING instead of, as he talks about, life DENYING?

In this interview we explore:

This is a rich conversation and I hope that you find it helpful. Join me for my discussion with Dr. Kirk Schneider in this week's episode...

If you'd like to see the video version of our conversation, visit www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/207 

You can find out more about Dr. Kirk Schneider and his books and articles by visiting www.kirkjschneider.com 

Full show notes located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/207 

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 

Welp, it's that time of year. When we all get serious about New Year's resolutions, plans for 2023, and goals.

But I have an idea and want to explore it with you on this week's episode of  The Transforming Anxiety Podcast : how about a  no goal new year ?

We are SO obsessed with more, better, faster, further. We think the only measure of our worth is what we can achieve, accomplish, and produce. But there's a better way.

Because also, please let's not forget what the last 3 years have been like, my goodness. A global pandemic, wild political and social unrest, fear and uncertainty, more mass shootings, war, the deepening climate crisis...not to mention the individual struggles and pains we've all experienced.

Maybe now, more than ever, we need to let go of the idea of pushing harder, achieving more, and keeping our nose to the grindstone. This moment calls for more steadiness, more deep breaths, bids for connection and offers of kindness, a focus on self-compassion, and listening to what we really want and need. Goals seem borderline superfluous right now.

Welcome to the  no goal new year . Let's do this...

Full show notes are located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/199 

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:

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:

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 

Now, despite the word "efficiency" in the title of this week's episode of The Transforming Anxiety Podcast, this is NOT a discussion about time management, life hacks, and getting more done. In fact, this is about the *opposite* of that stuff.

We're talking about protecting your efficiency today.

So, let's back up. I had a moment on a tall mountain in Colorado during a long hike when I thought to myself, "I bet there are people out there who are way more efficient with their hiking." People who aren't distracted, who aren't fiddling with their packs, who aren't spending time and energy doing things that don't serve them while they're on a tough hike at high altitude.

And this shows up in our minds and our emotions, too. We get distracted with planning thoughts, judgmental thoughts, thoughts about how a conversation went yesterday or how we want something to go tomorrow. And when we get lost in those thoughts, we can't use our minds efficiently with what we find valuable, meaningful, and important.

We feel anxious, overwhelmed, and stressed on a regular basis and when we try and show up in our lives as the parents, friends, workers, and family members that we want to be, we have to try and funnel all the anxious energy into something completely different...and we can't use our emotions efficiently at all.

So...let's talk about protecting your efficiency and clean all of this up together.

Full show notes are located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/189 

As you go through the motions of your day, it's easy to lose track of the bigger picture. We get so mired in our to-do lists, the work deadlines, the kids' activities, and just trying to keep our heads above water, that we can completely miss the larger perspective.

Or any perspective, really.

Everything starts to feel important. Little things add up and we get stressed out. Overwhelm comes in waves as we try to do more, keep it together, and press forward.

I know this all too well. I hear you. Which is why I want to offer you a reframe on this week's episode of The Transforming Anxiety Podcast: it matters...and it doesn't matter.

Is it important that you get you get your work done, get dinner on the table, send a well-timed "happy birthday" message to a close friend, and clean out the basement? Sure. It matters.

...and it just doesn't matter at all.

I offer you this concept as a portal to freedom. Of course it all matters. It's meaningful to you. You value the things you're doing and the experiences you're having. Absolutely.

And in the end? It doesn't matter as much as we think it does.

When we can hold both of those truths at the same time, we're really on to something. You can't look too closely at it, or else it gets all mind-bendy and slithers out of view.

But recognizing that all of it matters, and at the same time none of it matters, is one of the most liberating realizations I've come across.

Full show notes located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/188 

Well, it's no secret that life can be hard. In all of its amazingness, life throws in plenty of challenges, difficulties, and pain.

And I see the suffering life hands us in 2 ways: there's the suffering that creates more suffering. And the suffering that creates *freedom*.

When something bad happens we can choose to be with that pain, we can feel what it feels like to have something bad happen. Or we can suffer MORE.

And for why? Let's not suffer more.

A couple examples of how to create more suffering when you're already in pain:

But...you could point yourself in the direction of freedom instead. When suffering comes knocking, you could:

On this week's episode of The Transforming Anxiety Podcast, we're going to explore the 2 kinds of suffering: the kind that leads to more suffering, and the kind that leads to FREEDOM...

Full show notes are located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/187 

Has anyone ever told you to "be the bigger person?" Or to look for the "silver lining?"

Yeah, these are helpful ideas. Valuable concepts. Things I teach my kids even. I can be the bigger person and show patience, compassion, and kindness. I can find the silver lining in a tough situation. Sure.

But sometimes? Sometimes I don't want to.

Today on The Transforming Anxiety Podcast we're going to talk about those little teachings and aphorisms that we wind up using against ourselves. We're going to talk about those times when you want to be a regular person, not the bigger person...those times when you see the whole damn cloud, not that tiny silver lining on the perimeter.

We're going to talk about spiritual weaponizing.

In this episode, I want to highlight what we're doing when we use these ideas against ourselves + invite you to drop those weapons. If the idea works, great. If the teaching points you in the direction of freedom, awesome.

But if you're using concepts like these to push yourself harder and faster? If you're using these phrases to power through when you want to just stop and take a breath? Yeah...let's not keep spiritually weaponizing these things and fighting against ourselves.

Full show notes located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/186 

Y'know on your phone how you can set your notifications to ping you in real-time, so that every time you get an email it pops up on your screen? Orrrrr you can set it so that you have to open the app and actually *check* your email to see what's new?

Yeah, that's kinda sorta what we're talking about today on The Transforming Anxiety Podcast.

Because we do this with: our to-do lists, requests from family and neighbors, societal norms and expectations, text messages, and work projects. We tend to walk around with our "push notifications" from the external world wide open, setting ourselves up to be virtual antennas for whatever messages are coming our way.

But I want to consider what would shift if we moved towards a "pull" system instead. What if we didn't allow our attention, energy, focus, and awareness to be yanked around by whatever "they" wanted from us? What if we checked in with ourselves first...and determined whether we had the capacity or bandwidth for whatever request was landing in our laps? What if we allowed the people around us to empower themselves, take care of themselves, and feel however they're feeling...all without our needing to contribute if we didn't sincerely want to?

What then?

Let's explore the idea of push vs. pull this week together in this episode of The Transforming Anxiety Podcast.

Full show notes located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/185 

Most of us have a tendency to mentally time-travel into the future and, while we're there, tell wild stories about how everything is going to HORRIBLY wrong. You know what I mean?

Our minds fill our attention with such scary stories of doom and gloom and instead of remembering that these predictions aren't REAL, we fall for those tales and wind up filled with dread, overwhelm, and anxiety.

So here's what we're going to talk about on The Transforming Anxiety Podcast this week: anticipation is worse than reality.

If you ever find yourself losing the plot, fully immersed in the story your mind is weaving, worried sick about how to control the future, this episode is for you.

Full show notes located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/184 

I'm baaaack! And oh it feels good to be with you, bringing you a brand-new episode of The Transforming Anxiety Podcast. And ha, we're going to kick it off with a killer topic; we're diving back in talking about why it doesn't suck.

Which...well, let me explain. 😂

There's a lot of data backing the importance and benefits of practicing gratitude. Grateful people tend to be physically healthier, more resilient, have deeper relationships, feel more joy and happiness, and experience decreased levels of depression and anxiety to name a few perks. Not too shabby.

But if you have a little bit of an inner eyeroll when you think about creating some kind of regular gratitude practice, join me in lowering the bar and making this even easier: I love to ask myself, "how does this NOT suck?"

From simple things like my to-do list to larger-scale situations (pandemics, war, social justice issues) it can get pretty easy to get bogged down in just how difficult, scary, and awful things can be. But I like to right-size things by asking, "why does it not suck?" and finding places where I can rest easy, let go, and even get grateful.

Join me for this new episode of the podcast and let's explore why it doesn't suck...

Full show notes are located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/183 

Come join the 6-week How to Meditate to Transform Anxiety course by visiting www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/howtomeditate 

This course will teach you:

Sign up by September 12, 2022 by visiting www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/howtomeditate 

August is here! And I'm traveling like a pre-COVID jetsetter this month. So I'm going to practice what I preach and go a little easy on myself...and I'm hoping that this proves supportive and valuable for both of us. 🤗

First of all: make SURE you're subscribed wherever you listen to podcasts so that you don't miss the upcoming bonus series, a little something I'm calling Mindful Mondays. I designed these episodes to give you a short-and-sweet overview of mindfulness meditation + some ideas on how / why these practices really help to support those of us who tend towards anxiety. So tune in for those August 8th through August 29th.

Secondly, there are 177 episodes of The Transforming Anxiety Podcast out there and with that many, there are a few that have risen to the top as clear MVPs. This month we're going to revisit some of the most popular episodes (so far!). I find that hearing these things multiple times definitely helps...and it often lands much differently than the first go-around.

So, in that spirit, we're going to do another round of Worry is Not Love this week. I have been thinking about worry: What do you worry about? What does it look like when you worry? Does worry ever "work" for you?

Here are some common things I hear from clients:

I can't help but worry...

I worry about things I said or did in the past...

I worry because I think if I don’t worry, then the thing I’m worrying about will happen...

I worry about everything...

Sound familiar?

This week on The Transforming Anxiety Podcast, we're going to break worry down and get specific with it.

And I'm going to offer you some practices to crowd the worry out...

Because: most of us worry because we love. But: worry is not love.

Full show notes are located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/182 

Welcome to a 4-part series that I'm doing through The Transforming Anxiety Podcast feed called: Mindfulness Monday.

Each Monday from August 8 - August 29 we're going to explore a different aspect of mindfulness meditation. By now, no doubt you've heard about the benefits of meditation. Maybe you've tried it yourself, but it hasn't stuck...or maybe you're not sure where to start.

Whatever your experience so far with meditation, you're *here* because you want to find relief from anxiety. And I've heard from many of you that you're looking for a way in with meditation. A way to practice. Some more of the "how and why" behind meditation...and practical ways this approach could support you on your path out of anxiety.

These short podcast episodes will give you:

An overview of mindfulness meditation (what is it?)

What to expect with a meditation practice (why do it?)

How meditation supports those of us who tend towards anxiety (will this help me?)

This week we're going to be taking a look at practice. Cuz here's the truth: the benefits of ANY of this work don't come without practice. We have to show up and regularly practice being kind, showing compassion, being present, having awareness, and being mindful in general.

Just like if you were learning a foreign language or learning to play an instrument, you'd practice. Just like great athletes, it takes repetition and consistency. Just like with our relationships and routines and health and finances...we keep showing up, day after day, practicing. Yeah?

So let's talk about practice today. How this plays into mindfulness and meditation and what the heck this all has to do with anxiety, sound good?

Full shownotes are located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/mindfulmonday4

August is here! And I'm traveling like a pre-COVID jetsetter this month. So I'm going to practice what I preach and go a little easy on myself...and I'm hoping that this proves supportive and valuable for both of us. 🤗 

First of all: make SURE you're subscribed wherever you listen to podcasts so that you don't miss the upcoming bonus series, a little something I'm calling Mindful Mondays. I designed these episodes to give you a short-and-sweet overview of mindfulness meditation + some ideas on how / why these practices really help to support those of us who tend towards anxiety. So tune in for those August 8th through August 29th.

Secondly, there are 177 episodes of The Transforming Anxiety Podcast out there and with that many, there are a few that have risen to the top as clear MVPs. This month we're going to revisit some of the most popular episodes (so far!). I find that hearing these things multiple times definitely helps...and it often lands much differently than the first go-around.

So, in that spirit, we're going to do another round of The Inner Voices this week. Ever feel like there's a nonstop chatterbox in your mind, commenting on every single thing that you do throughout the day?

Yeah, you're not alone.

Most of us are particularly "head-y," meaning we live in our minds and think think think incessantly. We have opinions and judgments and stories. We are constantly listening to a running commentary about what's happening around us. It's nonstop up there.

In order to gain some perspective, I've found it helpful to separate all that chatter into 3 separate inner voices:

Personalizing these inner voices means we're not quite so entangled with them. We can see who's talking ("hey there, critic!") and recognize thoughts that are specifically UNTRUE ("thank you, culture"), all while taking certain beliefs or comments with a grain of salt ("I hear ya, council").

​This week on The Transforming Anxiety Podcast, we're going to explore these inner voices and, in doing so, gain an important amount of perspective. <-- It's this perspective that will help you gain authority over all that inner chatter.

Sound good?

​See you on the podcast...

Full show notes located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/181 

Welcome to a 4-part series that I'm doing through The Transforming Anxiety Podcast feed called: Mindfulness Monday.

Each Monday from August 8 - August 29 we're going to explore a different aspect of mindfulness meditation. By now, no doubt you've heard about the benefits of meditation. Maybe you've tried it yourself, but it hasn't stuck...or maybe you're not sure where to start.

Whatever your experience so far with meditation, you're *here* because you want to find relief from anxiety. And I've heard from many of you that you're looking for a way in with meditation. A way to practice. Some more of the "how and why" behind meditation...and practical ways this approach could support you on your path out of anxiety.

These short podcast episodes will give you:

An overview of mindfulness meditation (what is it?)

What to expect with a meditation practice (why do it?)

How meditation supports those of us who tend towards anxiety (will this help me?)

This week we're going to be taking a look at compassion.

Here's what I know for sure: you cannot hate yourself into feeling better. You can't beat yourself into calm. You cannot berate yourself with negative self-talk and hope to create the life you want.

It doesn't work that way.

When you cultivate a sense of compassion, for others but most importantly for yourself, you invite a space and kindness that allows for, say, experiences like anxiety to wiggle loose and dissipate. Holding on and trying to control and spinning in worst-case scenario thinking is a recipe for more of the same, more ANXIETY.

Compassion ushers in room to expand, grow, and breathe.

Join me for this episode and let's explore compassion together...

Full show notes located at www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/mindfulmonday3 

August is here! And I'm traveling like a pre-COVID jetsetter this month. So I'm going to practice what I preach and go a little easy on myself...and I'm hoping that this proves supportive and valuable for both of us. 🤗 

First of all: make SURE you're subscribed wherever you listen to podcasts so that you don't miss the upcoming bonus series, a little something I'm calling Mindful Mondays. I designed these episodes to give you a short-and-sweet overview of mindfulness meditation + some ideas on how / why these practices really help to support those of us who tend towards anxiety. So tune in for those August 8th through August 29th.

Secondly, there are 177 episodes of The Transforming Anxiety Podcast out there and with that many, there are a few that have risen to the top as clear MVPs. This month we're going to revisit some of the most popular episodes (so far!). I find that hearing these things multiple times definitely helps...and it often lands much differently than the first go-around.

So, in that spirit, we're going to do another round of Friend Anxiety this week. Now, I'm not here to dole out any friendship decrees. This is more of a discussion with some general ideas to bear in mind.

If you changed your perspective on the friendships in your life, would you feel differently? Could you feel *better* even?

We're going to take a look at friendships and the ideas of:

If you've experienced any bumps or shifts in your friendships (pandemic-related or not), then join me for this episode. I'll help you bring some fresh ideas into your friendships...and wiggle loose the anxiety that may be showing up instead of the love you want to be feeling for your pals.

Full show notes are located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/180 

Welcome to a 4-part series that I'm doing through The Transforming Anxiety Podcast feed called: Mindfulness Monday.

Each Monday from August 8 - August 29 we're going to explore a different aspect of mindfulness meditation. By now, no doubt you've heard about the benefits of meditation. Maybe you've tried it yourself, but it hasn't stuck...or maybe you're not sure where to start.

Whatever your experience so far with meditation, you're *here* because you want to find relief from anxiety. And I've heard from many of you that you're looking for a way in with meditation. A way to practice. Some more of the "how and why" behind meditation...and practical ways this approach could support you on your path out of anxiety.

These short podcast episodes will give you:

This week we're going to be taking a look at presence. Just like they say in Vegas: you must be present to win. 😉 Presence is so important for overall emotional health aaaaand I have this theory that presence *just might be* the opposite of anxiety.

Thoughts?

Join me for this episode and let's explore presence together...

August is here! And I'm traveling like a pre-COVID jetsetter this month. So I'm going to practice what I preach and go a little easy on myself...and I'm hoping that this proves supportive and valuable for both of us. 🤗 

First of all: make SURE you're subscribed wherever you listen to podcasts so that you don't miss the upcoming bonus series, a little something I'm calling Mindful Mondays. I designed these episodes to give you a short-and-sweet overview of mindfulness meditation + some ideas on how / why these practices really help to support those of us who tend towards anxiety. So tune in for those August 8th through August 29th.

Secondly, there are 177 episodes of The Transforming Anxiety Podcast out there and with that many, there are a few that have risen to the top as clear MVPs. This month we're going to revisit some of the most popular episodes (so far!). I find that hearing these things multiple times definitely helps...and it often lands much differently than the first go-around.

So, in that spirit, we're going to do another round of How to Let it Go this week. Anxious people often hear things like:

Calm down!

Don't worry so much...

Oh, just relax.

Let it go...

*sigh*

Yeah, WE KNOW! Amiright?! If we could calm down, quit worrying, relax, and let it go, we so totally would. No argument there.

It's more a matter of HOW TO, yeah? The stumbling blocks on the way to calming down, relaxing, and letting it go are what we struggle with.

This week's episode of The Transforming Anxiety Podcast is a 3-part framework that answers that "how to?" question. We'll explore how to let it go with 3 simple concepts borrowed from the Buddhist teachings.

Join me for this one if this is something you'd like to start implementing in your life right away...

Full show notes are located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/179 

Welcome to a 4-part series that I'm doing through The Transforming Anxiety Podcast feed called: Mindfulness Monday.

Each Monday from August 8 - August 29 we're going to explore a different aspect of mindfulness meditation. By now, no doubt you've heard about the benefits of meditation. Maybe you've tried it yourself, but it hasn't stuck...or maybe you're not sure where to start.

Whatever your experience so far with meditation, you're *here* because you want to find relief from anxiety. And I've heard from many of you that you're looking for a way in with meditation. A way to practice. Some more of the "how and why" behind meditation...and practical ways this approach could support you on your path out of anxiety.

These short podcast episodes will give you:

This week we're going to be taking a look at awareness. Whatever we're doing, well, we can't do it without the power of awareness.

In a world where we're all rushing towards the next thing, scurrying through our to-do lists, and feeling constantly overwhelmed and exhausted, mindfulness meditation holds some pretty powerful tips for how to get aware, be in this moment, and LIVE.

Full show notes located at www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/mindfulmonday1 

August is here! And I'm traveling like a pre-COVID jetsetter this month. So I'm going to practice what I preach and go a little easy on myself...and I'm hoping that this proves supportive and valuable for both of us. 🤗 

First of all: make SURE you're subscribed wherever you listen to podcasts so that you don't miss the upcoming bonus series, a little something I'm calling Mindful Mondays. I designed these episodes to give you a short-and-sweet overview of mindfulness meditation + some ideas on how / why these practices really help to support those of us who tend towards anxiety. So tune in for those starting Monday, August 8th.

Secondly, there are 177 episodes of The Transforming Anxiety Podcast out there and with that many, there are a few that have risen to the top as clear MVPs. This month we're going to revisit some of the most popular episodes (so far!). I find that hearing these things multiple times definitely helps...and it often lands much differently than the first go-around.

So, in that spirit, we're going to do another round of Certainty, Uncertainty, & Anxiety this week. 

If you're anything like me, you've tried a lot of things in order to create more certainty in your life:

Anyone? 🤚 

It seems like if we can just be certain about how things are going to go, that we can be ok.

But there's a far more useful and beneficial way of going about it.

Instead of hoping the other people are going to cooperate, planning to the max, and trying to predict the future, what if we strengthened our ability to deal with uncertainty?

Basically: since certainty isn't coming for us, let's learn how to deal with uncertainty.

You in? Let's do this (again)... 💜

Full show notes are located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/178 

Ever get totally caught up in the to-do list and wind up lost in a sea of going and doing and just completely forget that you're ALIVE?!

Yup, me too.

This week, on The Transforming Anxiety Podcast, I want us all to hit *pause* and remember: this. is. LIFE. We're living it.

And...there's an invitation in this pause to move, with intention, towards those places where you feel the MOST alive.

I got to really thinking about this for myself. Where do *I* feel the most alive? What takes me closer to myself? To who I want to be in the world?

And I found a few hints that I'm on the right track:

Let's explore this together this week. Come join me for a short-and-sweet discussion on where *you* feel the most alive. And let's keep moving in that direction together...

Full show notes are located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/177 

Fun times...today we're talking about CONFLICT over on The Transforming Anxiety Podcast.

But then, we talk about all sorts of fun stuff around here: anxiety, family drama, feelings, the messiness of life, emotional health...I mean, we were overdue for a chat about conflict, no? 🙃

Here's how I thought we'd do this one:

I'll share with you 2 different approaches I take with conflict to support myself and reframe the whole thing... We'll consider how anxiety plays into conflict + what to do to ease that anxiety so you don't get caught up in a panicky spin 

Let's do conflict and transform that anxiety...

Full show notes are located at www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/176 

It's hot, hot, hot here in Kansas City, so I wanted to offer something this week on The Transforming Anxiety Podcast to help cool things down.

I work with SO many clients who are experiencing some form of burnout: at work, at home, with their families, even with their friends. And what's happening is that they're holding on *so tightly* to whatever they're doing that they're building tension...physical tension, mental tension, and emotional tension.

That tension is HOT...there's a reason they call it "burnout," after all.

This week we're talking about cooling your mind (because that's where this all starts) and exploring what cooling it down looks like, and how that could serve you.

Listen: if tension and burnout got you where you wanted to go, you'd be there by now. It doesn't work...

Meaning: you need to cool it. 😎 

See you on the podcast…

Full show notes are located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/175 

How are you doing? I hope summer is treating you well...although I know the news and events just keep hitting + the pandemic that just. won't. end. I hope your heart is doing alright in the midst of all of this. I know it's a lot.

That's why we're here...to drop in and take care of ourselves. Even for a few minutes each week with the podcast. With awareness. With compassion and kindness.

This week on The Transforming Anxiety Podcast we're going to talk about running away from yourself...specifically how *most* of us are packing our schedules full and cramming our to-do lists with junk as a way to flee from ourselves.

It seems so noble, being busy. But in this week's episode, I invite you to consider: WHY are you so busy? What is all that busy-ness about? And is it possible that you're using your calendar and to-do list as a way to run away from yourself (and your habits, emotions, wants, and thoughts)?

Full show notes located at www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/174 

There's anxiety...and then there's the ANXIETY of anxiety. The anxiety on top of anxiety. The anxiety we feel about anxiety. Y'know what I mean?

This is a wild ride. It’s a multi-layered, tornado spin of pure adrenaline. We’re going to talk about it today on The Transforming Anxiety Podcast because even though it’s no good, it’s VERY common.

And normalizing this experience, knowing and reminding yourself that nothing has gone wrong because you get anxious over being anxious, is super helpful.

You can feel better. Anxiety doesn’t have to be quite so gobsmacking and total. And it certainly doesn’t have to be in control of you. Let's talk about it together...

Full show notes located at www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/173 

Happy SUMMER! It's officially here and I'm on vacation this week. I'm visiting my home-away-from-home, Chicago, and right now I'm probably walking along Lake Michigan with an iced coffee in hand, hanging out with my adopted city, visiting my old apartment, and making sure some of my favorite places (like Ann Sather's, Unabridged Books, and Intelligentsia) are still there. 

Annnnyway, this week, since I'm gone, I'm sharing a talk on Happiness & Joy that I recently gave to a mindfulness meditation group. I'm doing more and more of this work as I finalize my meditation teacher certification and I wanted to share a bit of it with YOU this week on The Transforming Anxiety Podcast.

I have found that mindfulness and meditation are 2 of the most important tools I have in transforming anxiety. This talk will give you a little taste of that world and I hope you find it helpful. 💜

Full show notes are located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/172 

One of the most valuable things we, as people who tend towards anxiety, can learn to do is regulate our nervous systems. 

Why?

Feeling anxious ups the adrenaline and cortisol in your system. And you become a bit of a pressure cooker, constantly turning up the volume with more to-do lists, more people-pleasing, and more perfectionism.

Regulating your nervous system on purpose is like hitting the release valve and blowing off all that extra steam...it helps to recalibrate your nervous system and bring things back to steady state. *phew*

In this week's episode of The Transforming Anxiety Podcast we're going to talk through 5 ways to regulate your nervous system. These are things you can put into place *right away*.

You know how it is to feel anxious, like your nervous system is totally amped up, on overdrive, and pouring gas on an already panicky fire.

Let's turn that down by practicing the opposite - soothing, easing, and down-regulating yourself. Sound good?

Full show notes are located at: www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/171 

I know you've noticed that all day, every day, your mind is talking to you. It has ideas, stories, and opinions. And those ideas, stories, and opinions are pretty much the *same* ones from yesterday...and the day before...and the day before that.

And just like the songs on the radio, if you hear something often enough, you start humming along. You start singing the words. Basically: you fall for it. You start to believe the latest Justin Bieber song is the best thing out there...and that your mind must be right about that whole, "you're not good enough" thing.

So in this episode of The Transforming Anxiety Podcast, we're going to take a closer look...

...like, imagine you're walking down a city street and you pass a shop with one of those sidewalk signs out front. It's all cute with its chalk artwork, enticing you to come inside. You know the drill.

Now: imagine your mind is that sidewalk sign. And one of those top 10 ideas that your mind thinks all day every day (usually something like, "you’ve got to get all of this done," or, "you can't handle this") is what you've got plastered on it, in pretty font.

Would you stop in that shop? Would you buy what you're selling?

Join me for this episode and let's talk about it.

Full show notes are located at www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/170 

I'm sure you've noticed the never-ending nature of life. More emails, more laundry, more projects, more dinners to cook...and then clean up after. We're all in an infinity loop of doing and going.

Yet, we're also stuck in this weird trap of believing that somehow, someday, we'll be caught up. That we'll have achieved, accomplished, and completed enough that we can finally sit down and relax.

I want to take a closer look at this phenomenon with you today on this week's episode.

I'm calling this one: there's always something. And I want to debunk the myth that there's NOT always something. Let's just embrace that. Because it's true!

But this doesn't have to be bad news. How we approach this is key. Let's discuss...

Full show notes are located at www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/169 

I recently finished reading Jane Goodall's newest book, The Book About Hope: A Survival Guide for Trying Times and I got to thinking...we should talk about hope.

Because no matter what your personal experience with anxiety looks like, no matter whether anxiety is something new to you or a very old companion, no matter how often anxiety ebbs and flows in your life, there's a common thing that brings all of us together each week for The Transforming Anxiety Podcast.

That thing is hope.

Without hope, what's the point? Without hope, we lose touch with the hunch we have that things can feel better. Without hope, we stop trying to create what we want in our relationships, at work, with our kids, and in our friendships. Without hope, we stop moving forward.

Hope may not always be at the forefront of your emotional landscape, but hope is always there. Let's talk about it this week: what hope is, how to harness hope, and what you can take away from this and into your week immediately.

Hope is necessary...

Full show notes located at www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/168 

Q for you: how do you show up?

How do you show up with your family? How do you show up at work? How do you show up with your friends? How do you show up for the things you enjoy, the causes you believe in, and the activities that you engage in?

...a lot of us are *barely* showing up.

And I don't mean we aren't getting stuff done. Look around. We 👏 are 👏 DOING 👏 IT. 

But are you there for your life? Do you fully experience the things you're doing, the words you're saying, the people you're with? Are you connected? Or are you merely going through the motions?

Are you showing up fully in your life?

That's what we're talking about today on The Transforming Anxiety Podcast. I wanna explore this one with you and consider the ways you may be hitting the "medicate-and-run" button instead of fully showing up, being present in your life.

This is an important one. Let's get HERE...

Full show notes are located at www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/167 

Quick poll: on a scale of 1 - 10 (1 being not at all, 10 being totally tuned in), how readily are you paying attention to YOURSELF?

Uh huh...most of us are saying a big fat, "umm..." to that one and, if we're honest, landing closer to the 1 than the 10 on that scale.

This week on The Transforming Anxiety Podcast we're going to talk about it. Listening to your body is something I mention in passing a lot around here, and I thought it was time to give this topic the deep dive it deserves.

We're going to look at this one from several angles: a few fundamental elements, like listening to your body when it's tired, sick, or injured. But also listening to your emotions, knowing that your body (physically and emotionally) will *always* win, and getting curious about what your body is holding on to...

Full show notes are located at www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/166 

If you've been hanging around with me for a while, you know I talk a *lot* about acceptance (if you're new, buckle up...it's a very common theme here). But I've bumped into something interesting in my own personal work and I wanted to bring it to the podcast and explore it with you and that's: acceptance vs. apathy.

The thing with acceptance is that we don't have to LIKE it in order to ACCEPT it. This is tricky. We fall into believing that if we don't like it, we can't accept it. That's not the case. Our collective acceptance of COVID is a good example: we accept that it's part of the reality of the world, we don't like it whatsoever. You follow me?

But sometimes we veer away from acceptance towards apathy, adopting a "I don't care, whatever" kind of attitude and calling THAT come-what-may approach "acceptance."

There's a biiiiig difference between acceptance and apathy. And it's worth discussing because we can't leapfrog ourselves into acceptance from apathy...dammit.

Join me for this week's episode and let's talk about it.

Full show notes are located at www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/165 

Anyone else feel like they're trying to be Wonderwoman on a daily basis? 🙋‍♀️

The pace we (try) to keep is *insane*. We are rushing from here to there pretty much nonstop. We go from this thing to that thing and when we arrive we think, "huh, I don't even remember the drive over."

We are very rarely HERE. And you know what? That's the only place we're rushing. It's only ever MORE here. THERE is always in the future. We never get THERE. We're only ever HERE.

Have you noticed...?

This week on The Transforming Anxiety Podcast we're going to discuss rushing and rushing. Because we all have a hunch that slowing down would be helpful and would probably feel way better. But why? How?

Let's talk about it...

Full show notes located at www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/164 

We find patterns everywhere in nature: waves, stripes, spirals, and symmetries are just a few patterns we find in plants and animals. And wouldn't you know it, we humans are natural beings. And we love a good pattern, too, don't we?

This week on The Transforming Anxiety Podcast we're going to explore patterns...more specifically how we tend to repeat our patterns. 

I want to explore with you where this shows up (hint: it's not just in what you're DOING) and a subtle, but extremely important, difference in how we repeat the patterns in our lives.

So if you've ever wondered why you keep living out the same patterns (even when you *know* it's not working for you), join me for this episode and let's crack this one open so you can see it differently...

Full show notes located at www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/163 

Anxious people often hear things like:

Calm down!

Don't worry so much...

Oh, just relax.

Let it go...

*sigh*

Yeah, WE KNOW! Amiright?! If we could calm down, quit worrying, relax, and let it go, we so totally would. No argument there.

It's more a matter of HOW TO, yeah? The stumbling blocks on the way to calming down, relaxing, and letting it go are what we struggle with.

This week's episode of The Transforming Anxiety Podcast is a 3-part framework that answers that "how to?" question. We'll explore how to let it go with 3 simple concepts borrowed from the Buddhist teachings.

Join me for this one if this is something you'd like to start implementing in your life right away...

www.kellyhanlinmccormick.com/podcast/162