Rolling Anxiety and Panic (Episode 148)

Rolling Anxiety and Panic (Episode 148)

From Disordered: Anxiety Help by Josh Fletcher and Drew Linsalata

March 13, 2026 · 36 min

About this episode

This episode discusses the experience of rolling anxiety and how it fluctuates throughout the day.

Want to talk about what you're hearing today with Josh, Drew, and others that are sharing your experience? Check out the Disordered Community Space: https://disordered.fm/community --- This episode of Disordered addresses the experience of constant, simmering anxiety that fluctuates in intensity throughout the day without fully disappearing. We refer to this as undulating panic or a loop of peaking anxiety. The Nature of Rolling Anxiety : Many people that they are different because they don't have anxiety that appears, then disappears. It rolls and undulates throughout the day. This is the rule, not the exception. We explain how an internal fixation on bodily sensations and thoughts creates a cycle where anxiety rises and falls continually. The Monitoring Trap : Using scales like Subjective Units of Distress (SUDs) can become a compulsion. When you constantly scan your body to check if you are a "four" or a "nine," you maintain the rolling, undulating sensitized state you are trying to escape. The Sand Timer Analogy : Physiological and mental arousal (yes, even a full panic attack) has a beginning, middle, and end. Once the "sand timer" of an…

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Hosts: Josh Fletcher, Drew Linsalata

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Organizations: Disordered Community Space

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