Anxiety Recovery ... Chasing "Rest and Digest" (Episode 93)

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"I MUST BE CALM OR ALL BETS ARE OFF!"

If this feels like a rule you're living by, you may find that you're chasing calm all the time, looking for ways to force your way into the coveted parasympathetic "rest and digest" state. Anxious people tend to work very hard to create calm and to maintain it at all costs.

This week on Disordered the guys are talking about "rest and digest" or the state of neutral calm that an anxious person would pay a large sum of money to achieve. What is rest and digest? How does one get into that parasympathetic state we hear about from all the wellness gurus online? There must be some way to calm and regulate your nervous system to get to that place, right?

Well, as usual, we're looking at a paradox here. An anxious person chasing calm - trying to force "rest and digest" - is not terribly likely to achieve or maintain that desired state.

Great. So are you and your anxiety stuck forever? Not really. Tune in and give this episode a listen for more on why demanding calm is generally a bad plan, and why its safe to stop doing that, even if you're really anxious!

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Disclaimer: Disordered is not therapy or a replacement for therapy. Listening to Disordered does not create a therapeutic relationship between you and the hosts or guests of the podcast. Information here is provided for psychoeducational purposes. As always, please consult your mental health and/or medical care providers. If you are having a mental health crisis, always reach out immediately for in-person help.