136: Why Thinking Can't Heal Your Anxiety
Mon Oct 06 2025
What if worrying is just your mind’s way of trying to stop you from worrying?
In this episode, I pull apart the myth that positive thinking can cure anxiety. The alarm in the body and the worries in the mind feed each other in a loop that never ends. Childhood separation leaves a mark when you aren’t seen, heard, or protected, and that’s where the alarm takes root. Growing up with a father who had schizophrenia, I learned to escape into worry as my coping strategy. The real healing began when I turned toward the younger version of myself and felt what I’d spent years running from.
You’ll Learn:
The reason changing your thoughts alone can’t heal chronic anxietyWhat happens when childhood separation creates an alarm that gets buried in the bodyThe surprising link between being highly sensitive and carrying lifelong anxietyThe damage of relying on worry as a coping strategy that turns into addictionWhy the alarm–anxiety cycle keeps looping between body and mindWhat it feels like to abandon your younger self and the pain it createsHow the brain’s insular cortex and amygdala drive the fight-or-flight loopWhy worry is the mind’s attempt to stop you from worryingThe path back to connection by feeling the alarm instead of escaping into thoughtHow seeing, hearing, and defending your inner child becomes the foundation for healing
Timestamps:
[00:00] Introduction
[03:31] How unmet needs in childhood turn sensitivity into lifelong alarm
[04:04] How the alarm anxiety cycle traps us in worry
[09:32] The deeper separation between mind, body and inner child that fuels anxiety
[10:28] The neuroscience of how alarm in the body fuels anxiety in the mind
[13:50] Reconnecting with the inner child through feeling the body’s alarm
[19:13] Healing anxiety by feeling the body’s alarm and reconnecting with the inner child
Resources Mentioned:
Anxiety Rx by Russell Kennedy | Book or Audiobook
Find more from Russell:
Russell Kennedy | LinkedIn
Russell Kennedy | Facebook
The Anxiety MD | Website
The Anxiety MD | Instagram
The Anxiety MD | YouTube
More
What if worrying is just your mind’s way of trying to stop you from worrying? In this episode, I pull apart the myth that positive thinking can cure anxiety. The alarm in the body and the worries in the mind feed each other in a loop that never ends. Childhood separation leaves a mark when you aren’t seen, heard, or protected, and that’s where the alarm takes root. Growing up with a father who had schizophrenia, I learned to escape into worry as my coping strategy. The real healing began when I turned toward the younger version of myself and felt what I’d spent years running from. You’ll Learn: The reason changing your thoughts alone can’t heal chronic anxietyWhat happens when childhood separation creates an alarm that gets buried in the bodyThe surprising link between being highly sensitive and carrying lifelong anxietyThe damage of relying on worry as a coping strategy that turns into addictionWhy the alarm–anxiety cycle keeps looping between body and mindWhat it feels like to abandon your younger self and the pain it createsHow the brain’s insular cortex and amygdala drive the fight-or-flight loopWhy worry is the mind’s attempt to stop you from worryingThe path back to connection by feeling the alarm instead of escaping into thoughtHow seeing, hearing, and defending your inner child becomes the foundation for healing Timestamps: [00:00] Introduction [03:31] How unmet needs in childhood turn sensitivity into lifelong alarm [04:04] How the alarm anxiety cycle traps us in worry [09:32] The deeper separation between mind, body and inner child that fuels anxiety [10:28] The neuroscience of how alarm in the body fuels anxiety in the mind [13:50] Reconnecting with the inner child through feeling the body’s alarm [19:13] Healing anxiety by feeling the body’s alarm and reconnecting with the inner child Resources Mentioned: Anxiety Rx by Russell Kennedy | Book or Audiobook Find more from Russell: Russell Kennedy | LinkedIn Russell Kennedy | Facebook The Anxiety MD | Website The Anxiety MD | Instagram The Anxiety MD | YouTube