Anxious Parenting? Learning to do LESS with Joanna Hardis | EP 329

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Anxious parenting can feel overwhelming, especially when your own anxiety drives you to do more - more rescuing, more protecting, more intervening. But what if the path to better parenting actually requires learning to do less?

In this episode, I'm joined by anxiety/OCD specialist Joanna Hardis to talk about how anxious parenting patterns keep us stuck and what we can really do about them. Joanna just released her new book "Just Do Nothing (For Parents): Parenting Better by Doing Less". Joanna brings training, experience, and insight into why anxious parenting makes us want to swoop in and fix everything our kids feel.

We discuss:

• Why anxious parenting drives us to do MORE when we need to do LESS
• The false binary many parents feel trapped in (super involved vs cold and callous)
• How to tell if you're reacting to your own distress or responding to the actual situation
• The difference between danger and discomfort in anxious parenting
• Practical ways to build distress tolerance as a parent
• Why anxious parenting patterns don't stop when kids get older
• How to practice "microdosing discomfort" to break anxious parenting cycles

If you struggle with anxious parenting, whether you have toddlers, teenagers, or adult children, this conversation will give you a new framework for understanding why you do what you do and how to make different choices that serve both you and your kids better.

ABOUT JOANNA HARDIS Joanna is an anxiety and OCD specialist practicing in Cleveland with extensive experience working with families and training in SPACE (Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions). 

Find her at joannahardis.com

RESOURCES Find show notes and links at theanxioustruth.com/329

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Disclaimer: The Anxious Truth is not therapy or a replacement for therapy. Listening to The Anxious Truth does not create a therapeutic relationship between you and the host or guests of the podcast. Information here is provided for psychoeducational purposes. As always, when you have questions about your own well-being, please consult your mental health and/or medical care providers. If you are having a mental health crisis, always reach out immediately for in-person help.