The Anxiety Coaches Podcast

1267: Stop Checking Your Anxiety: Claire Weekes on Letting Time Pass

In today's episode, Gina continues her Claire Weekes series with an episode devoted to the often overlooked step in her core clearing protocol: letting time pass. Letting time pass connects importantly with acceptance and floating. The differences between "letting" time pass and "waiting for" time to pass are expanded on. Listen in and come to understand the final letting time pass step in Claire Weekes' anxiety clearing protocol and further your anxiety clearing journey today!Stillpoint Fridays is my once-a-week Friday note — a slower, more personal reflection that’s different from what I share on the podcast.If you’d like a quiet place to land as the week winds down, you can join here: http://eepurl.com/bR2F9P or on our website anxietycoachespodcast.com and sign up for the newsletter.Please visit our Sponsor Page to find all the links and codes for our awesome sponsors! https://www.theanxietycoachespodcast.com/sponsors/Website https://www.theanxietycoachespodcast.comJoin our community Group Coaching Join our Group Coaching Full or Mini Membership Program1:1 Coaching Learn more about our One-on-One CoachingIf you prefer to listen AD-FREE, try our Supercast premium access membership:Learn more about anxiety What is anxiety?Free Guided Meditation for Calming Your Anxious Mind 10-Minute Body-Scan Meditation for AnxietyQuote:Let time pass: do not be impatient with time.-Claire WeekesChapters0:27 Welcome and Series Focus4:13 The Meaning of Letting Time Pass7:54 Recovery Doesn’t Move Straight9:19 Safety Learning in the Brain14:05 Stop Symptom Checking15:11 Practice, Don’t Test17:21 No Verdict Needed19:46 Hidden Signs of Growth22:06 A Gentle Weekly Practice23:25 Modern Steps to HealingSummaryIn this episode we continue our series on Dr. Claire Weeks and focus on her direction to “let time pass.” We look at how this idea connects with acceptance, floating, and the difference between first fear and second fear, with an emphasis on patience as part of nervous system healing.We explore what “letting time pass” means in practice and what it is not. It is not waiting for anxiety to disappear, putting life on hold, counting symptoms, or treating recovery as a test. Instead, we keep living ordinary life while allowing sensations and thoughts to come and go without turning each moment into a measurement.We also discuss why checking symptoms so often can keep anxiety central. We contrast “practice” with “testing,” and we look at how measuring progress too closely can hide deeper change. Progress may show up as continuing with plans, staying in situations longer, returning to the day after a hard moment, and responding with more kindness.We connect Claire Weeks’ advice to modern ideas about threat learning and safety learning. Repeated experiences of surviving anxiety without catastrophe give the nervous system new information over time. We note that old alarms can still return, especially when we are tired, stressed, sick, or facing change, but this does not erase what we have learned.We close with a gentle invitation to notice checking, soften the body, and continue with what we are doing. We emphasize that healing is gradual, not linear, and that we do not need to be impatient with time.#Anxiety #AnxietyRecovery #ClaireWeeks #NervousSystem #MentalHealth #AnxietyRelief #Mindfulness #SelfCompassion #Neuroplasticity #PanicAttack #AnxietySupport #MentalHealthAwareness #LetTimePass #Floating #Acceptance #SymptomMonitoring #OvercomingAnxiety #NervousSystemRegulation #HealingTakesTime #InnerPeace #Calm #MentalWellness #SelfCare #Psychology #AnxietyManagement #StressRelief #SelfHelp #EmotionalWellness #MindsetShift #HealingJourney #GinaRyan #ACP #AnxietyCoachesPodcastSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

1266: What Claire Weekes Really Meant By Floating And Why It Helps Anxiety

In today's episode, Gina discusses Claire Weekes' concept of "floating" and how to best understand this step in her anxiety clearing protocol. Floating is a natural companion to the important "acceptance" step and is an essential aspect to clearing anxiety. Being able to float and not respond to the uncomfortable symptoms anxiety throws at us ensures our best path through any anxiety provoking situation. Listen in and master Claire Weekes' "floating"!Stillpoint Fridays is my once-a-week Friday note — a slower, more personal reflection that’s different from what I share on the podcast.If you’d like a quiet place to land as the week winds down, you can join here: http://eepurl.com/bR2F9P or on our website anxietycoachespodcast.com and sign up for the newsletter.Please visit our Sponsor Page to find all the links and codes for our awesome sponsors! https://www.theanxietycoachespodcast.com/sponsors/Website https://www.theanxietycoachespodcast.comJoin our community Group Coaching Join our Group Coaching Full or Mini Membership Program1:1 Coaching Learn more about our One-on-One CoachingIf you prefer to listen AD-FREE, try our Supercast premium access membership:Learn more about anxiety What is anxiety?Free Guided Meditation for Calming Your Anxious Mind 10-Minute Body-Scan Meditation for AnxietyQuote:Do not resist the wave of fear. The less you fear it, the less it will frighten you.-Dr. Claire WeekesChapters0:27 Floating and Acceptance4:00 What Floating Means8:27 Stop Adding Friction10:42 Nervous System Armor12:49 Active Willingness15:21 Move With the Wave16:17 Floating in Daily Life17:29 A Calm Practice19:03 Less Resistance, More EaseSummaryIn this episode we continue our series on Dr. Claire Weeks and focus on her teaching about “floating.” We explain how this term relates to acceptance, allowing sensations, and non-resistance in modern language. We frame floating as stopping the habit of fighting anxiety rather than doing something to anxiety.We use the example of learning to float in water to show how tension and effort can make it harder to stay afloat. In the same way, we describe how anxiety often leads us to brace, clamp down, and try to control symptoms, which adds more strain. Floating is presented as softening into the experience instead of tightening against it.We also connect the idea to nervous system responses, describing common signs like shallow breathing, clenched muscles, narrowed attention, and racing thoughts. We suggest small acts of release, such as loosening the jaw, unclenching the hands, and easing tension by just a small amount. Floating is described as active willingness, not passivity.We compare this approach to images like Chinese finger traps, quicksand, and waves in the ocean, where struggle makes the situation worse and cooperation is more effective. We then offer simple language to use in difficult moments, such as noticing that sensations are present and returning attention to the next breath or next step.We close with a short practice of relaxing the face, shoulders, hands, and breathing, and imagining resting on calm water. We end by emphasizing that healing comes from changing our relationship with fear, not from winning a battle against it.#Anxiety #AnxietyRelief #PanicAttacks #ClaireWeeks #FloatingThroughAnxiety #NervousSystem #NervousSystemRegulation #MentalHealth #Mindfulness #Acceptance #RadicalAcceptance #SomaticHealing #AnxietyRecovery #AnxietyCoachesPodcast #GinaRyan #StressRelief #SelfCare #EmotionalRegulation #FightOrFlight #MentalWellness #PeaceAndCalm #HealingJourney #OvercomingAnxiety #StressManagement #SomaticPractices #MindfulLiving #LettingGo #SelfCompassion #InnerPeace #MentalHealthAwareness #ACPSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

1265: Acceptance Vs Resistance: The Claire Weekes Method For Calming Anxiety

In today's episode, Gina discusses one of Claire Weekes' most important topics in her anxiety recovery methodology: acceptance. Through liberal application of Weekes' acceptance, individuals with anxiety will improve their anxiety recovery journey. Embracing acceptance of life circumstances automatically reduces resistance. Resistance to what is in our lives is a significant source of our suffering (anxiety related and otherwise). Listen in an strengthen your acceptance practice today!Stillpoint Fridays is my once-a-week Friday note — a slower, more personal reflection that’s different from what I share on the podcast.If you’d like a quiet place to land as the week winds down, you can join here: http://eepurl.com/bR2F9P or on our website anxietycoachespodcast.com and sign up for the newsletter.Please visit our Sponsor Page to find all the links and codes for our awesome sponsors! https://www.theanxietycoachespodcast.com/sponsors/Website https://www.theanxietycoachespodcast.comJoin our community Group Coaching Join our Group Coaching Full or Mini Membership Program1:1 Coaching Learn more about our One-on-One CoachingIf you prefer to listen AD-FREE, try our Supercast premium access membership:Learn more about anxiety What is anxiety?Free Guided Meditation for Calming Your Anxious Mind 10-Minute Body-Scan Meditation for AnxietyQuote:You are the sky. Everything else- it's just the weather.-Pema Chödrön Chapters0:27 Welcome to Anxiety Coaches Podcast1:16 Understanding Acceptance8:56 What Acceptance Is Not10:00 Acceptance in Daily Life13:23 Floating Through Anxiety15:34 A Simple Acceptance Practice18:21 Closing ReflectionSummaryIn this episode, we continue our discussion of Dr. Claire Weekes’s approach to anxiety, focusing on the meaning of acceptance. We explain that acceptance does not mean giving up, approving of anxiety, or resigning ourselves to it. Instead, it means stopping the struggle with what is already happening in the present moment.We distinguish between disliking anxiety and fighting it. We note that resistance can add another layer of fear and stress, while willingness can soften the nervous system. We describe acceptance as a posture rather than a feeling, and we use examples such as dizziness, intrusive thoughts, and a racing heart to show the difference between resistance and acceptance in daily life.We also connect Claire Weekes’s teaching with Pema Chödrön’s ideas about staying present and not hardening against discomfort. We describe acceptance as a form of “floating” through sensations without trying to force them away. This is presented as a way to reduce the second fear and to support nervous system retraining.We end with practical language and a brief micro-practice: pausing, relaxing the shoulders and jaw, breathing normally, and using willingness phrases such as “I’m willing to let this be here” or “I can float through this moment.” We emphasize that acceptance is a skill that becomes easier with repetition and that it allows healing without adding unnecessary suffering.#Anxiety #AnxietyRelief #PanicAttacks #ClaireWeeks #DrClaireWeeks #AnxietyRecovery #MentalHealth #MentalHealthAwareness #NervousSystemHealing #Mindfulness #Acceptance #PemaChodron #SelfCompassion #AnxietySupport #OvercomingAnxiety #StressRelief #InnerPeace #MentalWellness #AnxietyCoachesPodcast #GinaRyan #FloatingThroughAnxiety #HealingJourney #SelfCare #MindsetShift #DropTheStruggle #PanicDisorder #HealthAnxiety #Agoraphobia #FightOrFlight #NervousSystemRegulation #VagusNerve #SomaticHealing #ACTTherapy #CognitiveBehavioralTherapy #Overthinking #IntrusiveThoughts #SelfHelp #EmotionalHealing #HolisticHealth #MentalHealthPodcast #PodcastEpisode #WellnessPodcast #MindBodyConnection #CalmYourMind #StressManagement #AnxietyTips #MentalHealthCommunity #NonResistance #InnerCalm #Empathy #ACPSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

1264: How Claire Weekes Explained Anxiety: First Fear, Second Fear and Real Recovery

In today's episode, Gina discusses an important component of Claire Weekes' conception of anxiety: first fear and second fear. First fear is the body's initial alarm response to a threat or other aversive stimulus in the environment. We cannot control first fear. Second fear includes the thoughts and interpretations of the first fear. It is with second fear that anxiety grows into an intense, unpleasant, chronic syndrome. It is also with second fear that we can influence if not outright control our response. Listen in to learn more about this distinction and how to gain better control over second fear and start to eliminate your anxiety today!Stillpoint Fridays is my once-a-week Friday note — a slower, more personal reflection that’s different from what I share on the podcast.If you’d like a quiet place to land as the week winds down, you can join here: http://eepurl.com/bR2F9P or on our website anxietycoachespodcast.com and sign up for the newsletter.Please visit our Sponsor Page to find all the links and codes for our awesome sponsors! https://www.theanxietycoachespodcast.com/sponsors/Website https://www.theanxietycoachespodcast.comJoin our community Group Coaching Join our Group Coaching Full or Mini Membership Program1:1 Coaching Learn more about our One-on-One CoachingIf you prefer to listen AD-FREE, try our Supercast premium access membership:Learn more about anxiety What is anxiety?Free Guided Meditation for Calming Your Anxious Mind 10-Minute Body-Scan Meditation for AnxietyQuote:The experience is not nearly as important as your reaction to the experience. Do not add second fear-Claire WeekesChapters0:27 First and Second Fear3:04 Two Arrows of Suffering5:06 What First Fear Means7:43 Understanding Second Fear11:33 Claire Weeks' Four Steps13:31 Riding the Anxiety Wave15:13 How Second Fear Grows16:41 A New Recovery Lens18:29 Freedom Through PracticeSummaryIn this episode, we explore Claire Weekes’ teaching on first fear, second fear, and recovery from anxiety. We discuss how a sudden anxious or panicky reaction is an automatic bodily response, while the added fear about that reaction is what often increases distress.We explain first fear as the body’s immediate alarm response, with physical sensations such as racing heart, tight chest, dizziness, or shakiness. We note that this response happens before conscious thought and is part of the nervous system’s automatic protective function.We then focus on second fear, described as the thoughts and interpretations added on top of the initial sensation, such as “what if this gets worse” or “something is wrong with me.” We compare this to the Buddhist parable of two arrows, where the first arrow is the original discomfort and the second is the added reaction that causes more suffering.We also outline Claire Weekes’ four steps: face, accept, float, and let time pass. These steps are presented as a way to stop adding fear to fear, allow sensations to rise and fall, and give the nervous system time to settle.Finally, we describe how this approach can apply in everyday situations such as panic in a store, intrusive thoughts, dizziness, or fear of another panic attack. The main point is that recovery comes from changing our relationship to the sensations rather than trying to eliminate them completely.#FirstFear #SecondFear #ClaireWeeks #FearOfTheFear #ParableOfTwoArrows #TwoArrows #CatastrophicThinking #SecondaryAnxiety #AutomaticResponse #NervousSystemRegulation #FightOrFlight #AdrenalineBurnout #BrainRetraining #SomaticExperiencing #FaceAcceptFloat #LetTimePass #AnxietyRecovery #PanicAttackRecovery #AnxietyRelief #OvercomingAnxiety #PanicDisorder #AgoraphobiaRecovery #HealthAnxiety #IntrusiveThoughts #MindfulnessForAnxiety #NervousSystemHealing #AnxietySupport #PanicRelief #HealingAnxiety #AnxietyTips #NervousSystemReset #SomaticTracking #AnxietyWarrior #MindfulLiving #SelfCompassion #BeGentleWithYourself #RadicalAcceptance #NonResistance #LettingGo #MindBodyConnection #PeaceAndCalm #EmotionalResilience #BuddhistTeachings #MentalWellness #InnerPeace #MentalHealthMatters #AnxietyCoachesPodcast #GinaRyan #ACPPodcast #MentalHealthPodcast #AnxietyCoaches #WellnessPodcast #PodcastMetadataSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

1263: Claire Weekes Was Right: What We Know About Anxiety Recovery Today

In today;s episode, Gina introduces a new series she is doing on the Anxiety Coaches Podcast, devoted to helping update Claire Weekes' anxiety recovery methods to our contemporary vocabulary and world. Specifically in this episode, the point that anxiety recovery is not about eliminating fear but adapting how we come to meet fear, is emphasized. Listen in for more discussion about Claire Weekes' work and what to expect in upcoming episodes!Stillpoint Fridays is my once-a-week Friday note — a slower, more personal reflection that’s different from what I share on the podcast.If you’d like a quiet place to land as the week winds down, you can join here: http://eepurl.com/bR2F9P or on our website anxietycoachespodcast.com and sign up for the newsletter.Please visit our Sponsor Page to find all the links and codes for our awesome sponsors! https://www.theanxietycoachespodcast.com/sponsors/Website https://www.theanxietycoachespodcast.comJoin our community Group Coaching Join our Group Coaching Full or Mini Membership Program1:1 Coaching Learn more about our One-on-One CoachingIf you prefer to listen AD-FREE, try our Supercast premium access membership:Learn more about anxiety What is anxiety?Free Guided Meditation for Calming Your Anxious Mind 10-Minute Body-Scan Meditation for AnxietyQuote:Recovery lies in the way we meet fear, not in the absence of fear.-Claire WeekesChapters0:27 Claire Weeks RediscoveredSummaryIn this episode, we begin a new series revisiting the work of Dr. Claire Weekes and her ideas about anxiety recovery. We discuss why her books have been influential over the years and how her observations continue to fit with later language about nervous system regulation, neuroplasticity, and trauma-informed care.We focus on the idea that recovery is not about eliminating fear, but about how we meet it. We introduce some of Weekes’ terms in modern language, including “nervous illness” as a broad description for anxiety, panic, health anxiety, and chronic stress-related symptoms.We also address a common misunderstanding of Weekes’ advice. Rather than treating “face, accept, float, and let time pass” as a checklist or technique, we frame them as a different relationship to experience. The emphasis is on stopping the fight with anxiety and learning not to treat every symptom as an emergency.We connect this to modern neuroscience by explaining that repeated alarm teaches the nervous system to keep noticing the same sensations and thoughts. We then outline topics we will explore in future episodes, including first fear and second fear, acceptance, floating, letting time pass, and why reassurance and self-monitoring can keep anxiety going.The episode closes with a reflection on asking, “How do I want to relate to this moment?” instead of “What technique should I use?” We return to the idea that recovery unfolds gradually as we become less afraid of our own experience.#AnxietyRecovery #ClaireWeeks #NervousSystemRegulation #AnxietyCoachesPodcast #HopeAndHelpForYourNerves #FloatAndLetTimePass #MentalHealthMatters #Mindfulness #PanicDisorder #GeneralizedAnxiety #OvercomingAnxiety #NervousSystemHealing #Neuroplasticity #PanicAttackRelief #ChronicAnxiety #InnerPeace #StressManagement #TraumaInformedCare #HealingJourney #MentalHealthPodcast #CalmYourMind #MindBodyConnection #AnxietySupport #EmotionalWellbeing #GinaRyanSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.