Hear Dr. Twitchell’s personal experiences with the effectiveness of breathing exercises for managing anxiety. Learn about specific methods such as Stasis breathing and the Wim Hof breathing protocol, and their physical and emotional benefits, along with the benefits of nasal breathing and the impact of exhalation length. Get practical tips for incorporating breathing exercises into daily life and performance situations and learn a five-minute practice for significant mental health improvements.

00:30 Personal Journey with Controlled Breathing and Anxiety
01:22 Discovering Stasis Breathing
02:16 Physical and Emotional Benefits
03:41 Exploring Wim Hof Breathing
06:22 Understanding the Autonomic Nervous System
09:06 Comparing Breathing Protocols
13:40 Emergency Breathing Protocol
15:06 Breathing for Performance Anxiety
16:44 Easy Everyday 5 Minute Breathing Protocol
18:51 Stasis Breathing Program Overview
22:29 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
22:54 Kindness Narrative


For full show notes, including resources mentioned, go to:
www.calmyourcaveman.com

Join Dr. Twitchell to learn about the importance of increasing distress tolerance for managing anxiety and negative emotions. This episode examines how resisting anxiety amplifies it and explores methods to accept negative emotions like anger, sadness, and fear by viewing them as temporary and necessary aspects of life. Dr. Twitchell shares personal anecdotes, discusses adaptive functions of emotions, and explains the value of understanding near-death experiences in reducing anxiety related to mortality. Concluding with practical tips and philosophical insights, Dr. Twitchell guides listeners on embracing distress and mortality to achieve a more peaceful and meaningful life.


[00:00:00] - Introduction to Distress Tolerance
[00:01:56] - Clarifying Distress Tolerance
[00:04:11] - Understanding Negative Emotions
[00:05:46] - The Function of Emotions
[00:14:02] - Personal Story: Anger and Self-Care
[00:16:57] - Accepting Mortality
[00:18:59] - Near-Death Experiences and Their Impact
[00:26:43] - Conclusion and Summary
[00:31:27] - Kindness Narrative: A Nurse's Compassion


For full show notes, including resources mentioned, go to:
www.calmyourcaveman.com

Learn about the numerous advantages exercise offers for anxiety management, backed by decades of research. Dr. Twitchell elucidates six key reasons, including distraction, reduced muscle tension, and altered brain chemistry, that make exercise an effective anxiety management tool. Join Dr. Twitchell as she shares the challenges she faced in establishing a regular exercise routine due to anxiety and a busy schedule. She also emphasizes the importance of integrating exercise into daily life by sharing her personal morning beach walk routine for a more productive and less anxious day.


[00:00:00] - Introduction to Anxiety and Exercise
[00:01:06] - Personal Struggles with Exercise
[00:03:35] - The Benefits of Exercise for Anxiety
[00:04:33] - Scientific Research on Exercise and Anxiety
[00:05:09] - Six Reasons Exercise Reduces Anxiety
[00:18:45] - Implementing Exercise into Daily Routine
[00:20:20] - Conclusion and Final Thoughts
[00:21:30] - Kindness Narrative


For full show notes, including resources mentioned, go to:
www.calmyourcaveman.com

Don't miss this effective strategy for anxiety management: adopting a perspective that challenges are opportunities for personal growth. Adriana shares her personal journey of learning to see meaning in extended illness. She explains the scientific research supporting this approach, detailing how finding a sense of macro meaning can shift our responses to stress from threat to challenge.


[00:00:00] - Introduction and Recap
[00:01:27] - Personal Story: Learning to Cope With Illness
[00:03:58] - Discovering a New Strategy: Believing Life Works FOR you
[00:10:05] - The Power of Meaning in Life
[00:15:30] - How Believing Stress Can Benefit You Helps with Anxiety (4 Ways)
[00:22:36] - Summary and Conclusion
[00:27:11] - Kindness Narrative: Building a House


For full show notes, including resources mentioned, go to:
www.calmyourcaveman.com

In this episode, Dr. Twitchell discusses a powerful tool for managing anxiety in both the short and long term—gratitude. Sharing personal experiences of long COVID, Dr. Twitchell explains how a daily gratitude practice helped alleviate anxiety and improve overall well-being. Drawing from scientific research and personal anecdotes, the episode highlights the broad-ranging benefits of gratitude, including reduced inflammation, better sleep, and enhanced emotional resilience. Dr. Twitchell offers practical tips for starting a gratitude practice. The episode concludes with a listener-contributed story, a “Kindness Narrative,” that will aid all listeners in starting a painless weekly gratitude practice.

[00:00:00] - Introduction and Overview
[00:00:34] - Personal Journey with Long COVID
[00:04:19] - Discovering the Power of Gratitude
[00:07:19] - Gratitude Journal Entries
[00:10:58] - Scientific Benefits of Gratitude
[00:19:29] - Impact on Performance Anxiety
[00:23:35] - How to Start Your Own Gratitude Practice
[00:25:37] - Kindness Narrative and Conclusion


For full show notes, including resources mentioned, go to:
www.calmyourcaveman.com

Learn practical methods for applying the technique of self-talk in various situations, from quick interventions during the day to nighttime anxiety management. Dr. Twitchell shares personal examples and guides on thinking, speaking, and writing to oneself in the third person to regulate emotions, providing a comprehensive framework to approach anxiety mindfully. Gain insights on self-transcendence and leveraging the emotion of awe for a broader perspective, and understand how incorporating these practices daily can aid in emotional regulation and mental well-being.


[00:00:00] - Introduction to Calming Techniques
[00:00:25] - Applying Third-Party Self-Talk
[00:00:56] - Emergency Interventions
[00:01:37] - Nighttime Anxiety Management
[00:05:08] - Writing as a Tool for Clarity
[00:07:03] - Shifting Perspectives with Awe
[00:11:19] - Daily Practice and Final Thoughts

For full show notes, including resources mentioned, go to:
www.calmyourcaveman.com

This episode explains how to observe rather than be overwhelmed by your feelings. It also highlights the power of speaking to yourself in the third person to turn down emotional intensity, manage anxiety and improve performance under stress. Practical exercises for implementing these techniques are provided to help listeners climb out of the emotional mud puddle and achieve better emotional regulation and clarity.

00:35 Recap of Last Episode: Approaching Anxiety
01:17 Introduction to Defusing from Emotions
01:48 Understanding Defusion: Right and Wrong Ways
02:05 Defusing Techniques: Observing Emotions
05:51 Using Third Person Pronouns for Emotional Distance
07:55 Research Insights: Third Person Self-Talk
16:10 Practical Exercises for Defusion
18:04 Conclusion and Final Thoughts


For full show notes, including resources mentioned, go to:
https://www.calmyourcaveman.com/episodes/climb-out-of-the-mud-puddle-of-your-emotions

In this episode, Dr. Twitchell discusses the important strategy of approaching anxiety instead of avoiding it. Highlighting insights from the book 'The Upside of Your Dark Side,' Dr. Twitchell explains how modern comfort has increased our sensitivity to discomfort, and how avoidance can amplify anxiety. She proposes a three-step strategy to approach anxiety: 1) Finding a long-term purpose that prioritizes enduring values over short-term comfort, 2) Articulating emotions in detail to defuse them, and 3) Gradually exposing oneself to anxiety triggers to make them familiar and reduce their impact. Dr. Twitchell emphasizes that managing anxiety effectively requires intentional approaching rather than avoidance.


[00:00:00] - Introduction and Overview
[00:00:53] - The Paradox of Comfort and Anxiety
[00:02:05] - The Importance of Approaching Anxiety
[00:05:10] - Steps to Approach Anxiety: Finding Your Why
[00:12:28] - Steps to Approach Anxiety: Describing Your Emotions
[00:18:36] - Steps to Approach Anxiety: Exposure and Familiarity
[00:23:58] - Conclusion and Summary


For full show notes, including resources mentioned, go to:
www.calmyourcaveman.com