33. Dr. Russell Kennedy Shares His New Prescription for Anxiety Relief

You all know anxiety is my jam. I'm basically obsessed with all things anxiety, so when I learned of today's guest, you better believe I was all over getting him on The Courageously.u Podcast. 

Today's guest is Dr. Russell Kennedy. Dr. Kennedy grew up with a parent with schizophrenia and developed his own anxiety disorder as a result. Dr. Kennedy has degrees and advanced training in medicine, neuroscience, and developmental psychology. He is also a certified yoga and meditation teacher —and to top it all off, Russell was a professional stand-up comedian for over a decade. His life's work is dedicated to helping people to recover from anxiety. His Book, Anxiety Rx combines his traditional scientific training with lessons learned from his atypical life experience to show people exactly how to escape chronic worry. 

I'm a firm believer that anxiety is not black or white and that it presents itself in many shades of grey. Dr. Russell and I dive deep into the grey areas of anxiety.

• How having a father that lived with schizophrenia ignited Russell's anxiety (4:25)
• What happens when we stop reading ourselves (5:47)
• Why we project on to people close to us (7:55)
• How Russell's anxiety led to him contemplating suicide (8:54)
• What Russell believes is the underlying cause of anxiety (9:22)
• How our ego dragon overprotects us from potential dangers (10:40)
• Why it's important to sit with and notice your anxiety (13:42)
• The one thing Russell wants you to do (14:19)
• Why Russell wants you to stop using the word anxiety (16:48)
• Why you can't have anxiety without being a victim (17:47)
• How your alarm (your inner child) is asking for attention (19:51)
• How to reconnect to your inner child (24:21)
• The correlation between childhood trauma and chronic anxiety (26:50)
• What the three W's of warning are (29:13)
• Why uncertainty drives anxiety (29:33)
• How worries are used to avoid feelings (33:04)
• How to get out of your thoughts and back into sensation (42:06)
• Why one can split from themself (47:03)
• Russell's thoughts on mental health meds and GP's role in prescribing meds (49:50)
• What Russell does when he has a panic attack (56:56)
• Why people mistake a panic attack for a heart attack (58:06)
• Why people cry during yoga (1:02:39)
• Russell's thoughts on health anxiety (1:07:54)

I can’t wait to hear your feedback on this episode! Screenshot and tag me—I’m @courageously.u— and my guest—@theanxietymd and share your thoughts, feelings, and reactions.

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