About this episode

This episode explores the vital role of attention in anxiety recovery and discusses techniques to manage fear and intrusive thoughts.

Questions about this episode? Want to interact with Drew, Josh, and other members of the Disordered audience? Check out the Disordered Community Space! https://disordered.fm/community ------- This episode of Disordered explores the vital role of attention in anxiety recovery. Josh and Drew discuss the core skill of moving your attention while feeling high levels of fear. Many people struggling with anxiety disorders feel their attention is glued to symptoms or intrusive thoughts. Josh describes this as "threat-induced attention," which is a survival mechanism where the brain locks onto perceived danger. You always have agency over your attention. Recovery involves building an "attention muscle" to acknowledge the fear and choose a different focus. Confidence in Attention: Josh shares a personal breakthrough where he felt a massive adrenaline rush on a bus but chose to read a newspaper anyway. This desensitization happened because he trusted his ability to move his attention despite the discomfort. The "Checking State" Trap: Drew explains that many common calming techniques backfire. If you use them to force anxiety away, you end up hyper-focusing on…

People in this episode

Hosts: Josh Fletcher, Drew Linsalata

Topics covered

• anxiety recovery
• attention
• mental health
• fear management
• intrusive thoughts

Keywords

• anxiety
• attention
• fear
• mental health
• recovery
• threat-induced attention
• calming techniques

More episodes of Disordered: Anxiety Help

• Let Me Tell You How I Feel (Episode 153) · April 24, 2026 · 40 min
• Anxiety in the Supermarket or Grocery Store (Episode 152) · April 17, 2026 · 38 min
• Anxiety Disorders and Sneaky Compulsions (Episode 151) · April 10, 2026 · 48 min
• Same Time Next Week - Anxiety Recovery in the "Gaps" (Episode 150) · April 3, 2026 · 44 min
• Failing and Bailing on Anxiety Exposures? (Episode 149) · March 27, 2026 · 36 min
• Rolling Anxiety and Panic (Episode 148) · March 13, 2026 · 36 min

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