meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
Disordered: Anxiety Help

Anxiety and Compulsive Wellness (Episode 48)

Disordered: Anxiety Help

Josh Fletcher and Drew Linsalata

Health & Fitness, Mental Health

4.9665 Ratings

🗓️ 9 February 2024

⏱️ 41 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Are you using wellness concepts, techniques, programs, and principles as a way to resist feelings of anxiety?


There's absolutely nothing wrong with taking care of oneself and wanting to be healthy physically, mentally, emotionally, and even spiritually. But in a large community of people struggling with disordered and chronic states of anxiety, compulsively seeking, chasing, and engaging in wellness rituals as a way to desperately stomp out any possibility of feeling anxious or uncomfortable can become a problem.


This week on Disordered we're looking at compulsive wellness, characterized by the assertion that one must be perfectly healthy, manage or micro-manage bodily functions and systems, and always be perfectly stable, optimized, and fully prepared to minimize the chances of being triggered into an anxious state. Especially in a social media climate jam-packed with body-centric and often less-than-reputable anxiety management or cure programs, it can be easy to be drawn into the compulsive wellness cycle.


If you find yourself there and trying to break out, know that you're not doing anything wrong, its OK to want to feel better, and even if you stop desperately chasing every wellness hack you come across, you can still be OK.

---

Want to pre-order Josh’s book, “And How Does That Make You Feel?” 

⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://geni.us/JoshFletcher⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

----

If you love Disordered and think you might benefit from spending 30 full days in an everyday intensive small group recovery support group led by Josh and Drew,⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ check out Disordered Boost at https://disordered.fm/boost⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

-----

Want to ask us questions, share your wins, or get more information about Josh, Drew, and the Disordered podcast?


Visit us on the web at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://disordered.fm⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠


Disclaimer: Disordered is not therapy or a replacement for therapy. Listening to Disordered does not create a therapeutic relationship between you and the hosts of the podcast. Information here is provided for psychoeducational purposes. As always, when you have questions about your well-being, 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.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

The compulsion to use wellness to control how you feel all the time could become problematic.

0:07.0

Why am I doing this? Am I doing this to give my overall mood a better chance throughout the day?

0:13.0

Or am I doing this to try to neutralize all feelings of fear and uncertainty to make me feel better?

0:20.0

And that's an important question that you should ask yourself.

0:22.6

The difference is that for a person who's in a non-disordered state,

0:25.6

or it's not the only of chronic anxiety,

0:27.6

the wellness is not an imperative.

0:29.6

It becomes a tool.

0:31.6

Wellness and compulsive wellness becomes counterproductive

0:34.6

when it's a part of your resistance to feelings of anxiety.

0:40.4

If I can just optimize my body, then I will minimize the chances of ever being anxious

0:45.2

or having a relapse or feeling bad in any way.

0:51.9

Welcome to Disordered. This is episode 48 entitled Anxiety and Compulsive Wellness.

1:01.1

I am Joshua Fletcher, also known as Anxiety Josh, on social media, and I'm a psychotherapist

1:07.1

specializing in anxiety disorders based in Manchester in the UK.

1:12.9

And I am Drew Linzalata. I am a therapist in training, also specializing in anxiety and

1:17.4

anxiety disorders in New York, in the U.S. I am also an author and a podcaster on this topic,

1:22.1

an educator, and a former sufferer for many years of anxiety disorders, OCD, and depression.

1:28.2

Drew, I feel perfect today, and I've eradicated all of my anxiety because I got into an ice bath at 5 a.m. after listening to Joe Rogan.

1:37.9

And I had a kale smoothie. And then I've not had a single drop of alcohol or fat, the saturated fat. And I've meditated

1:47.1

atop a mountain. Or I'm also doing the ketosis diet. Many, what other wellness things

1:56.4

I've been doing? Anyway, I did all that. and now I'm anxiety free.

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Josh Fletcher and Drew Linsalata, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Josh Fletcher and Drew Linsalata and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2026.