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Disordered: Anxiety Help

Productivity Anxiety (Episode 040)

Disordered: Anxiety Help

Josh Fletcher and Drew Linsalata

Mental Health, Health & Fitness

4.9663 Ratings

🗓️ 15 December 2023

⏱️ 43 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Productivity anxiety is an often overlooked subject in our community, so this week Drew and Josh are taking a look at anxiety triggered by an obsession with productivity and the fear of "failure" as defined by not meeting extreme productivity or output goals.

This can show itself almost anywhere in life. Work and career. School and academics. Parenting. Building perfect relationships. Even recovery from an anxiety disorder can be impacted by the drive to do recovery perfectly or to be highly productive in recovery by maximizing every moment to recover properly or as quickly as possible.

Productivity anxiety can also show itself as a need to be constantly busy and pre-occupied in an effort to remain distracted from anxious thoughts or sensations.

Join us to explore this less common but nonethess important topic.

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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 of the podcast. Information here is provided for psychoeducational purposes. As always, when you have questions about your own 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

I should be doing something else. I should be doing something for my kids. I should be on Duolingo

0:06.5

learning Japanese. I should be bettering myself. I want to be the person that gets things done.

0:11.6

I like to be seen that way or I like to see myself that way. If I keep myself busy, then I won't

0:17.2

feel what I feel and therefore I can be less anxious because I'm preoccupied.

0:22.6

Because if you constantly feel like you need to be productive, the threat response thinks that it's being helpful by reminding you that you should be productive all the time constantly.

0:32.3

If you're not meeting your productivity goals, whatever those are in whatever domain of your life it is, you'll feel like you're doing it wrong.

0:39.3

And it's, I got to fix this.

0:40.5

It's a bad.

0:40.8

I don't like this feeling of doing it wrong, so I need to fix that feeling.

0:43.7

Compulsive or recovery productivity anxiety is also a real thing for sure.

0:52.1

Welcome to Disordered.

0:53.7

This is episode 40 entitled Productivity Anxiety.

0:58.0

My name is Joshua Fletcher and I'm a psychotherapist based in Manchester in the UK.

1:03.0

I specialize in working with anxiety disorders and I'm a previous sufferer.

1:08.0

I'm really happy to be an author, a podcast host, and a content creator on the subject.

1:15.0

I turn on my volume button.

1:16.7

I am Drew Linslotta, co-host of Disordered.

1:19.8

I am a therapist in training in New York and the US.

1:22.9

Getting closer.

1:23.9

An author, a podcaster, an educator on the subject of anxiety disorders and a past sufferer for

1:29.1

many, many years of anxiety disorders and depression. So let's talk about productivity, anxiety.

1:34.8

Productivity. Just a note before we get into this much requested topic, a big thank you to everyone

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