133: Why These Popular Hacks Won’t Heal Your Anxiety

2025-09-15

Download

Ever pushed yourself to eat clean and work out, hoping it would calm your anxiety, only to feel even worse? Here’s why it happens…In this episode, I dig into why gut health, exercise, and diets, while helpful, aren’t the cure for chronic anxiety. They can lower the intensity, but they don’t touch the root. The real work is creating safety in your nervous system and reconnecting with the younger version of you that still carries the alarm. I talk about the trap of chasing quick fixes, how hypervigilance keeps us stuck, and why small daily p...

Ever pushed yourself to eat clean and work out, hoping it would calm your anxiety, only to feel even worse? Here’s why it happens…

In this episode, I dig into why gut health, exercise, and diets, while helpful, aren’t the cure for chronic anxiety. They can lower the intensity, but they don’t touch the root. The real work is creating safety in your nervous system and reconnecting with the younger version of you that still carries the alarm. I talk about the trap of chasing quick fixes, how hypervigilance keeps us stuck, and why small daily practices of safety can shift everything. By building that foundation, all the other healthy habits finally have a place to stick.

You’ll Learn:

The reason gut health alone won’t heal chronic anxiety
What happens when diet and exercise are used as coping strategies instead of real healing
The surprising link between childhood hypervigilance and constant feelings of danger in adulthood
Why quick-fix solutions like probiotics or gluten-free diets often fall short
The damage of forcing yourself into rigid health routines without emotional regulation
What it feels like to create “islands of safety” in your body for the first time
How connecting with the younger version of yourself shifts the foundation of healing
Why safety is the real supplement for anxiety, not another pill or trend
The critical role of nervous system regulation before diet and exercise can truly help

Timestamps:

[00:00] Introduction

[02:59] Why gut health alone won’t heal chronic anxiety

[06:49] Building safety as the real foundation for healing anxiety

[12:31] Why focusing only on gut health misses the deeper work of anxiety healing

[17:10] Healing anxiety by creating safety and reconnecting with the inner child

[20:47] Why safety and inner child connection must come before gut health and exercise in healing anxiety

[23:49] Healing anxiety by reconnecting your adult and child self through safety

Find more from Russell:

Russell Kennedy | LinkedIn

Russell Kennedy | Facebook

The Anxiety MD | Website