How To Step Away from Anxiety

The Science of Happiness

PRX and Greater Good Science Center

Social Sciences, Science

4.5 • 2K Ratings

🗓️ 21 May 2026

⏱️ 22 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Do you have a hard time calming your nerves? Author Raina Telgemeier tries a practice to get out of her head, one step at a time.

Summary: In this episode of The Science of Happiness, bestselling graphic novelist Raina Telgemeier reflects on growing up with anxiety, panic attacks, and emetophobia—the fear of throwing up—and shares how transforming those experiences into stories helped her feel less alone and inspired young readers to seek support. Through a week-long walking meditation practice, Raina explores what it means to slow down, reconnect with her body, and face discomfort with curiosity rather than avoidance.

How To Do This Practice:

Choose a small, quiet space: Find a place where you can walk slowly back and forth for about 10–15 steps without interruption. This could be a hallway, living room, backyard, or even a hotel room.
Set a timer for 10 minutes: Giving yourself a set amount of time helps you stop checking the clock and allows you to settle more fully into the practice.
Begin walking slowly and naturally: Walk at a comfortable pace, paying attention to the sensation of each step—your heel touching the ground, the shift of your weight, and the movement of your body.
Focus on your breath: As you walk, gently notice your breathing. You might take a slow breath before turning around at the end of each pass, letting your breath help anchor your attention.
When your mind wanders, return to the movement: Thoughts, worries, memories, or distractions will come up. Rather than judging yourself, simply guide your attention back to your steps and breathing.
Notice how you feel afterward: When the timer ends, pause for a moment before moving on with your day. Take note of any shifts in your body, mood, or pace of mind, even subtle ones can matter.

Try the full practice here: https://ggia.berkeley.edu/practice/walking_meditation

Scroll down for a transcription of this episode.

Today’s Guests:

RAINA TELGEMEIER is an American cartoonist and New York Times bestselling author. Her books have received many awards, including multiple Eisner Awards, a Boston Globe-Horn Book Honor and a Stonewall Honor.

Learn more about Raina Telgemeier here: https://goraina.com/

RICHARD DAVIDSON is the founder and director of the Center for Healthy Minds at the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Learn more about Richard Davidson here: https://www.richardjdavidson.com/

Related The Science of Happiness episodes:

How to Find Calm Through Walking: https://tinyurl.com/43dr26re

Related Happiness Breaks:

Walk Your Way to Calm, with Dacher: https://tinyurl.com/y8md2759

Message us or leave a comment on Instagram @scienceofhappinesspod. E-mail us at happinesspod@berkeley.edu or use the hashtag #happinesspod.

Help us share The Science of Happiness! Leave us a 5-star review on Apple Podcasts or share this link with someone who might like the show: https://tinyurl.com/2p9h5aap

Transcription: https://tinyurl.com/mrxkfvkj

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	I started having panic attacks and anxiety when I was nine years old.
0:05.7	They were confusing, they were isolating, they were terrifying, and they came out of nowhere.
0:11.3	And I think the problem with panic attacks is that a lot of times the thing you're scared
0:14.9	about is irrational.
0:16.5	So there's no rhyme or reason for it.
0:18.1	So anybody from the outside will see you reacting to this
0:21.1	stimuli and they'll say, well, it's not that big of a deal. Just calm down, you know, and when you're
0:26.9	in the middle of a panic attack, it's just not possible. So I've been dealing with a metaphobia,
0:32.1	which is the fear of vomit since I was a kid and it's followed me through my entire life and I have spent a lot of time
0:39.2	just avoiding situations where I might encounter it and that looks really different when you're
0:44.3	nine years old than it does when you're in your 30s. You know, I don't have kids because I'm scared
0:49.4	of people throwing up. That is the reason I don't have kids. It's the reason I didn't want to be
0:53.6	pregnant. It's like there are so many things in my life that are kind of tied to this fear. And in my late 30s,
0:59.1	it was finally time for me to just start tackling. Get over this because I knew how much it was
1:04.2	limiting my life and how it was keeping me from just like going out of my house and interacting
1:09.1	with people. And so I finally got myself into cognitive
1:13.2	behavioral therapy. I started to be able to contextualize the fear and see it as a chapter and a story
1:20.3	about my life. And so I think that was what really allowed me to write guts. And I had been writing
1:26.1	graphic memoir since 2010.
1:28.3	So, you know, 10 years later, I'm like, okay, I can finally tackle these really big, deep issues that I've dealt with since I was a child.
1:43.3	Welcome to the Science of Happiness. I'm Dacker Keltner. What happens when we step into our fears instead of avoiding them?
1:51.3	Raina Telgamyer has spent years bringing her fears and anxieties to life through storytelling.
	...

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