September 11, 2024 • 19 mins
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Can skipping a daily calming ritual or delaying bedtime slightly really aid in anxiety recovery? Discover how these seemingly insignificant acts can accumulate into substantial progress on your journey to overcoming anxiety. This week on The Anxious Truth, we’re breaking down the concept of micro exposures—those small, yet powerful steps designed to help you face and manage your anxiety. By starting with these tiny, manageable experiments, you'll gradually learn to experience anxiety without resistance, laying the groundwork for long-term mental health and stress management.
For full show notes on this episode:
https://theanxioustruth.com/300
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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.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Hey there, welcome to the anxious truth, where this
week, on episode 300 of thepodcast, we're going to talk
about micro exposures.
Micro exposures are small waysto practice dropping your
resistance when you face whatyou fear.
As part of anxiety treatmentand recovery, fear without
(00:25):
fighting can be a huge part ofyour overall recovery plan,
especially if you're in theearly stages and trying to find
ways to sort of get okay withthe idea that you have to stop
fighting and move throughanxiety and fear.
If you're new to the AnxiousTruth, I'm Drew Linsalata,
creator of this podcast and, Iguess, this YouTube channel.
I'm a therapist practicingunder supervision, pre-licensed
in the state of New York,specializing in the treatment of
anxiety and anxiety disorders.
(00:46):
I've been doing this podcastsince 2014, and I'm also a
three-time author on the topicof anxiety and anxiety recovery,
social media dude, a mentalhealth advocate, I guess, a
psychoeducator and,unfortunately, a former sufferer
of anxiety disorders,depression and OCD quite a long
time in my life.
The Anxious Truth is thepodcast where we talk about
(01:06):
evidence-based concepts andpractices that can help you
understand and overcome issueslike panic disorder, agoraphobia
, health anxiety or OCD.
I do hope that you find thework I do helpful in some way,
but always remember that I amone person talking to many
people at the same time, whichmeans that the content I'm
producing is not therapy or asubstitute for therapy.
(01:27):
Always consult qualifiedin-person help if you are
struggling and need more thanyou can get on the internet and
for more anxiety and recoveryresources beyond just this
podcast episode or YouTube video, feel free to visit my website
at theanxioustruthcom.
There are all kinds of goodiesthere, so check it out.
So micro exposures Lately I'vebeen using the term experiment
(01:48):
more than exposure, because Ithink it's a bit more accurate
and it more clearly describesnot only how to face what we
fear, but why we choose to dothat to get better.
If you ask an agoraphobic person, for example, what exposure
means to them, they will likelytell you that to learn to get
back out of the house, they haveto start going out of the house
, even though that's reallyscary to them or might trigger a
(02:10):
panic attack.
For instance, they will pointat things like driving or maybe
walking far from home, goingshopping or attending social
events as examples of exposurethat they might do as part of
recovery.
Now, this would, in fact, be anaccurate description of
exposure, but it doesn't alwayshave to be that big, it
certainly doesn't have to startthat big.
We can start this process withsmall micro exposures that are
(02:34):
designed to help you recognizewhat allowing the experience of
anxiety looks and feels like.
When we incorporate microexposures into recovery, we're
learning to sort of stand upbefore we learn to run, which is
never a bad idea, and this isespecially helpful for anyone
that is finding it sort of verydifficult to start with bigger
exposures.
Even on the small side andwhile we might be using the word
(02:56):
micro in this episode, don't befooled Micro exposures can be a
really important part of theprocess for you, to get you
moving, and even throughout yourentire recovery journey and I
always hate when I say the wordjourney, but here I am using it
anyway.
And here's an added bonusMicro-exposures can often form
the basis of really excellentmental health and stress
(03:17):
management habits that you cantake with you long after you
have overcome your chronic ordisordered anxiety.
These little experiments, ifyou will, can teach us habits
that we can rely on, sort of forthe rest of their lives.
They can be really useful wellbeyond this process.
Of course, I do have to remindyou that even before I would
introduce micro exposures to atherapy client, for instance, we
(03:40):
would do some prep work.
Actually, we would probably doa lot of prep work.
We're always starting with anassessment of the client's
unique circumstances and howthey see their anxiety issues
and themselves.
What you believe about anxiety,how to best address it, and
even what you believe aboutyourself and your past
experiences really does matterhere.
So we always start with a solidbase of psychoeducation, which
(04:03):
is teaching the mechanics ofanxiety disorders and recovery
and an exploration of who andwhere you are, so we can decide
together where you can beststart with exposures, even micro
exposures.
Now for more psychoeducation onthe mechanics of anxiety
disorders and recovery,especially if you're new to the
podcast or the channel, youmight refer to the first 15
(04:23):
episodes of this podcast.
Even though they are, in fact,over 10 years old now.
They do need updating they'restill pretty good.
Or you might check out the bookthat I wrote, which is also
called the Anxious Truth.
You can find that on my website, theanxioustruthcom, or on
Amazon or anywhere else you getbooks.
Just search for the AnxiousTruth.
You might find it helpful.
Now, if we do exposure, to learnhow to fully experience anxiety
(04:46):
, fear or uncertainty,discomfort or even panic,
without fighting those things.
It can be really helpful for usto ask ourselves how we brace
against those experiences allday long, not just when driving
or shopping or being social ormaybe going to work or school.
I mean, how are we fighting,resisting and trying to control
(05:08):
our anxiety from the moment wewake up to the time we fall
asleep?
When you question them, mostpeople struggling with anxiety
in a chronic or disordered statecan quickly identify a long
list of little micro avoidancesand safety behaviors that they
use all day long, trying tominimize the chances of feeling
things that they are just simplyafraid to feel.
(05:29):
So I would urge you to take aminute or two, pause the podcast
episode or the video if youneed to Think about what
strategies you use all day longto try to lower the odds that
you might feel anxious or gettriggered.
Were the odds that you mightfeel anxious or get triggered,
what are you doing to try tocontrol, prevent or fight
against these internalexperiences that you hate and
fear so damn much?
(05:50):
Are there rigid rules andrituals that you insist you must
live by in order to be okay?
If you do this and you findthat your list is really long
and that surprises you or evenshocks you or upsets you, that's
okay.
If you have a whole bunch oflittle rules and rituals and
avoidances and routines that youfollow all day long, that's
fine.
It's not just you.
(06:11):
I would say that most of thepeople listening to this episode
or watching this video onYouTube also have a long list of
avoidances and safety behaviorsthat they engage in all day
long.
So don't beat yourself up.
Now, when you're ready, resumewatching and listening and we'll
explain things in a bit moredetail.
If you look at your list ofmicro avoidances or safety
(06:33):
rituals, you will likely findthings you do to control how you
feel and things you refuse todo because of how you might feel
if you do them.
That second one is obvious foranyone that avoids big chunks of
life because it triggersanxiety or even panic.
But it's not just refusing todrive or socialize that we care
about here.
We also care about the ideathat you cannot sit still or be
(06:56):
idle or quiet for even a minuteor two, because then your
thoughts or anxieties will catchyou and make you feel a certain
way.
So I kind of want to focus ourdiscussion of micro-exposure on
that first part, the part whereyou can experiment, even in your
safe spaces, with little burstswhere you stop, get quiet and
allow things to happen insideyou.
(07:18):
That means sensations in yourbody, thoughts in your mind or
emotions.
These are micro in nature,because it's perfectly fine to
start with 30 seconds at a time,say right in your living room
or your bedroom or your kitchen,it doesn't matter, you don't
have to meditate for two hoursor drive 10 miles from home to
do this.
And the micro-ness I think Ijust made that word up of these
(07:40):
little experiments means thatyou can repeat them often,
sprinkling them throughout yourday.
Does the thought of stoppingand being still for 60 seconds
make you uncomfortable?
Well, it does.
You're not alone in that.
When I was at my worst, that wasa huge challenge for me.
Feeling sensations and hearingscary thoughts was something I
(08:00):
tried really hard to not do allday long, and most anxious
people wind up in states ofchronic or disordered anxiety
for this very reason.
The anxious feelings andthoughts themselves become
threats to be avoided, resistedor managed all day long, from
the time you wake up to the timeyou fall asleep.
But consider this in thecomfort and quiet of our home or
(08:26):
safe places.
How do you expect that you willbe able to do that when you
decide to go to a familyfunction or go to the dentist or
drive to work or school?
I'm actually learning, as I workwith more and more therapy
clients now, that the very firstlight bulb air quote moments in
active recovery come when wework through little 60-second or
(08:46):
three to five-minute stillnessor mindfulness exercises in
session.
These are the littleexperiments that provide the
initial glimpses of howaccepting sort of looks and
feels.
Now, if you've ever wanted, tosay, watch a movie that might
trigger your OCD theme or go outto dinner with your friends or
drive yourself to a yoga classwhich you could not even imagine
(09:07):
, how to accept anxiety to dothat and you just want to keep
asking but how do I accept?
Starting with a little 60second experiment on your sofa
is a really good way to approachthis and begin to see with how
it looks.
So, before we get into that, aquick word about meditation and
mindfulness, though.
Well, really two wordsresistance and expectations yes,
(09:30):
two words.
Many people in the communitythat surround this podcast and
YouTube channel look sidewayswhen I suggest things like
60-second mindfulness ormeditation experiments because
they feel that they just can'tdo it because it makes them
anxious.
And my answer to that iscorrect.
This episode is aboutmicro-exposures.
Exposures are things we do tointentionally feel uncomfortable
(09:51):
, because there are lessonsthere.
I don't suggest mindfulness ormeditation so that you can learn
to not be anxious or afraid.
I suggest them because thereare really ways to learn how to
get better at being anxious orafraid and they can be done in
small bursts anywhere, anytime,so they're super convenient and
they can be really useful inthat respect.
(10:11):
And additionally, when I talkabout mindfulness or meditation,
no matter how often I say thatthese are not calming exercises
or anxiety shields, it'sexpected and common for anxious
people to try to do them to calmdown anyway.
Then I hear that these thingssort of don't work because
expectations were a bit skewedgoing into the exercise to begin
(10:32):
with.
So as you listen to the rest ofthis episode or video, sort of,
please keep those things in mind.
I mean, you can choose to hitthe stop button right now and
bail on this episode, and Iwould absolutely respect that
choice, but if what you arehearing has you thinking about
how you might use microexposures in your recovery work.
Please keep the ideas ofresistance and expectation in
(10:53):
mind as you go forward.
You cannot use these conceptsto advance in recovery while
also insisting that you have tosteer clear of difficult inner
experiences.
Those two goals are actually indirect opposition to each other
and you would have a hard timereconciling those two things.
So please keep that in mind.
Now, remember when I said thatmicro exposures can form the
(11:16):
foundation of lifelong wellnesshabits.
Well, you may find that if youcontinue to practice things like
sitting quietly to accept yourreality without resistance for a
few minutes at a time, you willultimately begin to find the
activity maybe to be calming orrelaxing in some way.
That would be great right.
But if you are terrified ofyour own heart or your own
(11:38):
thoughts, accessing calmness orpeace or serenity through
mindfulness or meditationpractice is not your immediate
goal, because at first,mindfulness and meditation
practices will in fact be littlemicro exposures for you.
Now I'm sort of thinking thatmaybe in two weeks, in episode
301 of the Anxious Truth, weshould probably do like a five
(11:58):
minute mindfulness meditationpractice together, so that you
can really see what that issupposed to look like and if
you'd like to do that in thenext episode of the podcast?
If you're watching on YouTube,leave a comment.
Or if you're listening to thisas a podcast episode, use your
podcast app to click a link atthe top of the podcast
description and that will allowyou to send in a comment via
text.
And, by the way, I'm not goingto see your number, we don't use
(12:20):
it to spam you.
It's just a way for you toleave a comment on a podcast
episode.
So if you want to do that, letme know and and we will do that
in the next episode.
Now, if sitting quietly andmindfully to allow your internal
experiences without resistanceis one form of micro exposure,
well, are there others there?
Sure are.
There is likely an unlimitednumber of micro exposures that
(12:41):
you could do to help yourselflearn recovery lessons, but in
general, most of the other microexposures are going to fall
under one big umbrella, and thatwould be sort of removing
safety rituals or routines.
Not all of them, but themajority of them are going to
fall under that umbrella, whichis removing avoidance.
So, for instance, if you insistthat you must use your
(13:01):
magnesium powder every morningto stay calm that day, and I get
it because I was that guy.
Micro exposure might beskipping that tomorrow more.
If you're terrified that goingto bed and getting even a minute
less than eight hours ofperfect sleep means that you're
going to get crushed by anxietytomorrow, then a microexposure
might be pushing bedtime backfor 30 minutes so that you only
(13:23):
get seven and a half hours ofsleep.
Seeing what happens If you miss, say, morning coffee or tea but
avoid it because caffeine andanxiety we all hear about that.
About trying a small shot ofcoffee when you wake up, that
would be a micro exposure.
Here's an odd one.
If you have any of my books onyour bookshelf but you stopped
(13:43):
reading when you got to theparts where you start to face
with your fear, reading maybejust a few more pages into the
scary parts of the book might bea micro exposure that you can
try.
And if you can't talk to yourfriends right now I mean talk
with your voice, because beingtrapped in a conversation might
make you panic Maybe you couldtext a close friend or someone
(14:04):
who will be patient with you tosee if they can actually have a
voice, live chat for just fiveminutes as a micro exposure.
Hey, can we talk for fiveminutes.
I only got five minutes, butI'd like to hear your voice.
That's a micro exposure.
See how this works.
That's a microexposure.
See how this works.
Microexposures can be done byremoving microavoidances, those
tiny little safety and resistantdevices or rituals.
(14:26):
To see what happens when you dothat, but at a small scale
Because, remember, we're usingthe word micro.
I'm not suggesting that youwake up tomorrow morning and
guzzle a pint of espresso as anexposure.
There's a reason why Isuggested maybe one or two ounce
shot of coffee as a start, forexample.
Or maybe delay your anxietysupplements like your magnesium
(14:48):
or whatever you think you needto take to be calm for an hour
tomorrow before you take them.
You don't want to skip themaltogether or push bedtime even
15 minutes later instead of 30minutes.
These count.
You can actually learn lessonsfrom them.
If you understand and acceptthat when you do these micro
exposures, you will likely feela certain way to some degree.
(15:08):
And remember, you're choosingto do that as practice.
But regardless of what form ofmicro exposureosure you want to
explore, always remember thatthe key in any exposure of any
magnitude macro or micro is theresponse prevention, erp
exposure.
And response prevention is notjust for OCD.
(15:30):
All exposure is ERP.
I need to repeat that Allexposure is ERP exposure and
response prevention.
If you choose to play with microexposures, like maybe I'm
describing in this episode, thepoint of the exposure is to
refrain from saving yourselffrom the feelings you
intentionally choose to trigger.
(15:51):
So, for instance, if you chooseto sit on the sofa quietly for
three minutes, go beuncomfortable for three minutes
and then you're done, you did it.
If holding off on yourmagnesium powder for 30 minutes
makes you nervous, then go benervous for 30 minutes and then
you're done, you did it.
This is really the mostimportant part, because when the
experience ends naturally asscheduled or planned, even
(16:15):
though you didn't bail out orfix your feelings, you can learn
from that.
That is where the lesson is.
So remember, whether it's macroor micro exposure, it's the
response prevention part that wecare about more than anything
else.
Now, tolerating uncomfortablefeelings is a really big ask for
everyone.
This is what makes microexposure so useful.
(16:36):
To start, shorter duration withlower perceived risk, if you
will, but even so, if you findthis at all challenging, be kind
to yourself.
It is supposed to bechallenging to at least some
degree.
So if you've been struggling tocome to grips with the concept
of facing your fear as part ofrecovery, well, maybe
(16:57):
microexposures will offer you away to sort of dip your toe in
the water to see what it feelslike.
I cannot stress enough that,alongside good psychoeducation
and the cognitive part ofcognitive behavioral therapy,
even little experiments orexposures can have a significant
impact on the way you viewanxiety recovery and your belief
in your ability to engage inthe recovery process.
(17:20):
So give it a shot.
If you're so inclined, try somemicro exposures.
Take away some of your microavoidances and safety behaviors.
Sit quietly for 60 seconds andsee what happens when you let
things come up.
Who knows what you might learnif you do that, and even though
those are small things to do,they can count.
So that is episode 300 of theAnxious Truth in the books,
(17:42):
wrapping up.
You know it's over becausemusic.
Anyway, I will end the episodeas I always do and I will ask
you a favor If you are watchingthis as a YouTube video and
you're not subscribed to myYouTube channel, hit the
subscribe button and maybe evenhit the notification button so
that you know when I upload newpodcast episodes or new video
content.
If you're listening to thepodcast as a podcast on Apple
(18:04):
Podcasts or Spotify or someplatform that lets you rate or
review the podcast.
If you really like it, maybeleave a five-star review and if
you really really like it, maybetake a minute or two and leave
a review paragraph or two.
Say what you like about thepodcast, because it helps other
people find the podcast and thenmore people get help.
That's why I do this to beginwith.
So another quick reminderbefore we wrap up, and that is
(18:25):
today.
We're talking about microexposure, small things, and that
matters because at the end ofevery one of these episodes
especially when I started 10years ago and lately in the last
month or so I've been back tothis I'm just going to remind
you that even the small thingsin recovery matter.
Sometimes it's just about makingtiny little shifts so that you
can open yourself up to adifferent point of view.
Test it, see what happens, dipyour toe in the water.
(18:47):
If you take a tiny little steptoday by trying a micro exposure
, no matter how small that isand how insignificant you think
it is, because you're stillanxious, the rest of the day
it's okay.
They all add up.
Every little step helps get youcloser to where you want to be,
which is a life based on whatyou care about and not a life
based on trying to avoid yourown bodily sensations, thoughts
(19:07):
and emotions.
So you can do it Be nice toyourself, be patient, be kind,
experiment, see what happens,open yourself up.
You got to be brave, but I knowyou can do it.
Thanks for listening.
I will see you in two weeks inepisode 301.
Thanks a bunch.
Hey there, welcome to the anxious truth, where this
week, on episode 300 of thepodcast, we're going to talk
about micro exposures.
Micro exposures are small waysto practice dropping your
resistance when you face whatyou fear.
As part of anxiety treatmentand recovery, fear without
(00:25):
fighting can be a huge part ofyour overall recovery plan,
especially if you're in theearly stages and trying to find
ways to sort of get okay withthe idea that you have to stop
fighting and move throughanxiety and fear.
If you're new to the AnxiousTruth, I'm Drew Linsalata,
creator of this podcast and, Iguess, this YouTube channel.
I'm a therapist practicingunder supervision, pre-licensed
in the state of New York,specializing in the treatment of
anxiety and anxiety disorders.
(00:46):
I've been doing this podcastsince 2014, and I'm also a
three-time author on the topicof anxiety and anxiety recovery,
social media dude, a mentalhealth advocate, I guess, a
psychoeducator and,unfortunately, a former sufferer
of anxiety disorders,depression and OCD quite a long
time in my life.
The Anxious Truth is thepodcast where we talk about
(01:06):
evidence-based concepts andpractices that can help you
understand and overcome issueslike panic disorder, agoraphobia
, health anxiety or OCD.
I do hope that you find thework I do helpful in some way,
but always remember that I amone person talking to many
people at the same time, whichmeans that the content I'm
producing is not therapy or asubstitute for therapy.
(01:27):
Always consult qualifiedin-person help if you are
struggling and need more thanyou can get on the internet and
for more anxiety and recoveryresources beyond just this
podcast episode or YouTube video, feel free to visit my website
at theanxioustruthcom.
There are all kinds of goodiesthere, so check it out.
So micro exposures Lately I'vebeen using the term experiment
(01:48):
more than exposure, because Ithink it's a bit more accurate
and it more clearly describesnot only how to face what we
fear, but why we choose to dothat to get better.
If you ask an agoraphobic person, for example, what exposure
means to them, they will likelytell you that to learn to get
back out of the house, they haveto start going out of the house
, even though that's reallyscary to them or might trigger a
(02:10):
panic attack.
For instance, they will pointat things like driving or maybe
walking far from home, goingshopping or attending social
events as examples of exposurethat they might do as part of
recovery.
Now, this would, in fact, be anaccurate description of
exposure, but it doesn't alwayshave to be that big, it
certainly doesn't have to startthat big.
We can start this process withsmall micro exposures that are
(02:34):
designed to help you recognizewhat allowing the experience of
anxiety looks and feels like.
When we incorporate microexposures into recovery, we're
learning to sort of stand upbefore we learn to run, which is
never a bad idea, and this isespecially helpful for anyone
that is finding it sort of verydifficult to start with bigger
exposures.
Even on the small side andwhile we might be using the word
(02:56):
micro in this episode, don't befooled Micro exposures can be a
really important part of theprocess for you, to get you
moving, and even throughout yourentire recovery journey and I
always hate when I say the wordjourney, but here I am using it
anyway.
And here's an added bonusMicro-exposures can often form
the basis of really excellentmental health and stress
(03:17):
management habits that you cantake with you long after you
have overcome your chronic ordisordered anxiety.
These little experiments, ifyou will, can teach us habits
that we can rely on, sort of forthe rest of their lives.
They can be really useful wellbeyond this process.
Of course, I do have to remindyou that even before I would
introduce micro exposures to atherapy client, for instance, we
(03:40):
would do some prep work.
Actually, we would probably doa lot of prep work.
We're always starting with anassessment of the client's
unique circumstances and howthey see their anxiety issues
and themselves.
What you believe about anxiety,how to best address it, and
even what you believe aboutyourself and your past
experiences really does matterhere.
So we always start with a solidbase of psychoeducation, which
(04:03):
is teaching the mechanics ofanxiety disorders and recovery
and an exploration of who andwhere you are, so we can decide
together where you can beststart with exposures, even micro
exposures.
Now for more psychoeducation onthe mechanics of anxiety
disorders and recovery,especially if you're new to the
podcast or the channel, youmight refer to the first 15
(04:23):
episodes of this podcast.
Even though they are, in fact,over 10 years old now.
They do need updating they'restill pretty good.
Or you might check out the bookthat I wrote, which is also
called the Anxious Truth.
You can find that on my website, theanxioustruthcom, or on
Amazon or anywhere else you getbooks.
Just search for the AnxiousTruth.
You might find it helpful.
Now, if we do exposure, to learnhow to fully experience anxiety
(04:46):
, fear or uncertainty,discomfort or even panic,
without fighting those things.
It can be really helpful for usto ask ourselves how we brace
against those experiences allday long, not just when driving
or shopping or being social ormaybe going to work or school.
I mean, how are we fighting,resisting and trying to control
(05:08):
our anxiety from the moment wewake up to the time we fall
asleep?
When you question them, mostpeople struggling with anxiety
in a chronic or disordered statecan quickly identify a long
list of little micro avoidancesand safety behaviors that they
use all day long, trying tominimize the chances of feeling
things that they are just simplyafraid to feel.
(05:29):
So I would urge you to take aminute or two, pause the podcast
episode or the video if youneed to Think about what
strategies you use all day longto try to lower the odds that
you might feel anxious or gettriggered.
Were the odds that you mightfeel anxious or get triggered,
what are you doing to try tocontrol, prevent or fight
against these internalexperiences that you hate and
fear so damn much?
(05:50):
Are there rigid rules andrituals that you insist you must
live by in order to be okay?
If you do this and you findthat your list is really long
and that surprises you or evenshocks you or upsets you, that's
okay.
If you have a whole bunch oflittle rules and rituals and
avoidances and routines that youfollow all day long, that's
fine.
It's not just you.
(06:11):
I would say that most of thepeople listening to this episode
or watching this video onYouTube also have a long list of
avoidances and safety behaviorsthat they engage in all day
long.
So don't beat yourself up.
Now, when you're ready, resumewatching and listening and we'll
explain things in a bit moredetail.
If you look at your list ofmicro avoidances or safety
(06:33):
rituals, you will likely findthings you do to control how you
feel and things you refuse todo because of how you might feel
if you do them.
That second one is obvious foranyone that avoids big chunks of
life because it triggersanxiety or even panic.
But it's not just refusing todrive or socialize that we care
about here.
We also care about the ideathat you cannot sit still or be
(06:56):
idle or quiet for even a minuteor two, because then your
thoughts or anxieties will catchyou and make you feel a certain
way.
So I kind of want to focus ourdiscussion of micro-exposure on
that first part, the part whereyou can experiment, even in your
safe spaces, with little burstswhere you stop, get quiet and
allow things to happen insideyou.
(07:18):
That means sensations in yourbody, thoughts in your mind or
emotions.
These are micro in nature,because it's perfectly fine to
start with 30 seconds at a time,say right in your living room
or your bedroom or your kitchen,it doesn't matter, you don't
have to meditate for two hoursor drive 10 miles from home to
do this.
And the micro-ness I think Ijust made that word up of these
(07:40):
little experiments means thatyou can repeat them often,
sprinkling them throughout yourday.
Does the thought of stoppingand being still for 60 seconds
make you uncomfortable?
Well, it does.
You're not alone in that.
When I was at my worst, that wasa huge challenge for me.
Feeling sensations and hearingscary thoughts was something I
(08:00):
tried really hard to not do allday long, and most anxious
people wind up in states ofchronic or disordered anxiety
for this very reason.
The anxious feelings andthoughts themselves become
threats to be avoided, resistedor managed all day long, from
the time you wake up to the timeyou fall asleep.
But consider this in thecomfort and quiet of our home or
(08:26):
safe places.
How do you expect that you willbe able to do that when you
decide to go to a familyfunction or go to the dentist or
drive to work or school?
I'm actually learning, as I workwith more and more therapy
clients now, that the very firstlight bulb air quote moments in
active recovery come when wework through little 60-second or
(08:46):
three to five-minute stillnessor mindfulness exercises in
session.
These are the littleexperiments that provide the
initial glimpses of howaccepting sort of looks and
feels.
Now, if you've ever wanted, tosay, watch a movie that might
trigger your OCD theme or go outto dinner with your friends or
drive yourself to a yoga classwhich you could not even imagine
(09:07):
, how to accept anxiety to dothat and you just want to keep
asking but how do I accept?
Starting with a little 60second experiment on your sofa
is a really good way to approachthis and begin to see with how
it looks.
So, before we get into that, aquick word about meditation and
mindfulness, though.
Well, really two wordsresistance and expectations yes,
(09:30):
two words.
Many people in the communitythat surround this podcast and
YouTube channel look sidewayswhen I suggest things like
60-second mindfulness ormeditation experiments because
they feel that they just can'tdo it because it makes them
anxious.
And my answer to that iscorrect.
This episode is aboutmicro-exposures.
Exposures are things we do tointentionally feel uncomfortable
(09:51):
, because there are lessonsthere.
I don't suggest mindfulness ormeditation so that you can learn
to not be anxious or afraid.
I suggest them because thereare really ways to learn how to
get better at being anxious orafraid and they can be done in
small bursts anywhere, anytime,so they're super convenient and
they can be really useful inthat respect.
(10:11):
And additionally, when I talkabout mindfulness or meditation,
no matter how often I say thatthese are not calming exercises
or anxiety shields, it'sexpected and common for anxious
people to try to do them to calmdown anyway.
Then I hear that these thingssort of don't work because
expectations were a bit skewedgoing into the exercise to begin
(10:32):
with.
So as you listen to the rest ofthis episode or video, sort of,
please keep those things in mind.
I mean, you can choose to hitthe stop button right now and
bail on this episode, and Iwould absolutely respect that
choice, but if what you arehearing has you thinking about
how you might use microexposures in your recovery work.
Please keep the ideas ofresistance and expectation in
(10:53):
mind as you go forward.
You cannot use these conceptsto advance in recovery while
also insisting that you have tosteer clear of difficult inner
experiences.
Those two goals are actually indirect opposition to each other
and you would have a hard timereconciling those two things.
So please keep that in mind.
Now, remember when I said thatmicro exposures can form the
(11:16):
foundation of lifelong wellnesshabits.
Well, you may find that if youcontinue to practice things like
sitting quietly to accept yourreality without resistance for a
few minutes at a time, you willultimately begin to find the
activity maybe to be calming orrelaxing in some way.
That would be great right.
But if you are terrified ofyour own heart or your own
(11:38):
thoughts, accessing calmness orpeace or serenity through
mindfulness or meditationpractice is not your immediate
goal, because at first,mindfulness and meditation
practices will in fact be littlemicro exposures for you.
Now I'm sort of thinking thatmaybe in two weeks, in episode
301 of the Anxious Truth, weshould probably do like a five
(11:58):
minute mindfulness meditationpractice together, so that you
can really see what that issupposed to look like and if
you'd like to do that in thenext episode of the podcast?
If you're watching on YouTube,leave a comment.
Or if you're listening to thisas a podcast episode, use your
podcast app to click a link atthe top of the podcast
description and that will allowyou to send in a comment via
text.
And, by the way, I'm not goingto see your number, we don't use
(12:20):
it to spam you.
It's just a way for you toleave a comment on a podcast
episode.
So if you want to do that, letme know and and we will do that
in the next episode.
Now, if sitting quietly andmindfully to allow your internal
experiences without resistanceis one form of micro exposure,
well, are there others there?
Sure are.
There is likely an unlimitednumber of micro exposures that
(12:41):
you could do to help yourselflearn recovery lessons, but in
general, most of the other microexposures are going to fall
under one big umbrella, and thatwould be sort of removing
safety rituals or routines.
Not all of them, but themajority of them are going to
fall under that umbrella, whichis removing avoidance.
So, for instance, if you insistthat you must use your
(13:01):
magnesium powder every morningto stay calm that day, and I get
it because I was that guy.
Micro exposure might beskipping that tomorrow more.
If you're terrified that goingto bed and getting even a minute
less than eight hours ofperfect sleep means that you're
going to get crushed by anxietytomorrow, then a microexposure
might be pushing bedtime backfor 30 minutes so that you only
(13:23):
get seven and a half hours ofsleep.
Seeing what happens If you miss, say, morning coffee or tea but
avoid it because caffeine andanxiety we all hear about that.
About trying a small shot ofcoffee when you wake up, that
would be a micro exposure.
Here's an odd one.
If you have any of my books onyour bookshelf but you stopped
(13:43):
reading when you got to theparts where you start to face
with your fear, reading maybejust a few more pages into the
scary parts of the book might bea micro exposure that you can
try.
And if you can't talk to yourfriends right now I mean talk
with your voice, because beingtrapped in a conversation might
make you panic Maybe you couldtext a close friend or someone
(14:04):
who will be patient with you tosee if they can actually have a
voice, live chat for just fiveminutes as a micro exposure.
Hey, can we talk for fiveminutes.
I only got five minutes, butI'd like to hear your voice.
That's a micro exposure.
See how this works.
That's a microexposure.
See how this works.
Microexposures can be done byremoving microavoidances, those
tiny little safety and resistantdevices or rituals.
(14:26):
To see what happens when you dothat, but at a small scale
Because, remember, we're usingthe word micro.
I'm not suggesting that youwake up tomorrow morning and
guzzle a pint of espresso as anexposure.
There's a reason why Isuggested maybe one or two ounce
shot of coffee as a start, forexample.
Or maybe delay your anxietysupplements like your magnesium
(14:48):
or whatever you think you needto take to be calm for an hour
tomorrow before you take them.
You don't want to skip themaltogether or push bedtime even
15 minutes later instead of 30minutes.
These count.
You can actually learn lessonsfrom them.
If you understand and acceptthat when you do these micro
exposures, you will likely feela certain way to some degree.
(15:08):
And remember, you're choosingto do that as practice.
But regardless of what form ofmicro exposureosure you want to
explore, always remember thatthe key in any exposure of any
magnitude macro or micro is theresponse prevention, erp
exposure.
And response prevention is notjust for OCD.
(15:30):
All exposure is ERP.
I need to repeat that Allexposure is ERP exposure and
response prevention.
If you choose to play with microexposures, like maybe I'm
describing in this episode, thepoint of the exposure is to
refrain from saving yourselffrom the feelings you
intentionally choose to trigger.
(15:51):
So, for instance, if you chooseto sit on the sofa quietly for
three minutes, go beuncomfortable for three minutes
and then you're done, you did it.
If holding off on yourmagnesium powder for 30 minutes
makes you nervous, then go benervous for 30 minutes and then
you're done, you did it.
This is really the mostimportant part, because when the
experience ends naturally asscheduled or planned, even
(16:15):
though you didn't bail out orfix your feelings, you can learn
from that.
That is where the lesson is.
So remember, whether it's macroor micro exposure, it's the
response prevention part that wecare about more than anything
else.
Now, tolerating uncomfortablefeelings is a really big ask for
everyone.
This is what makes microexposure so useful.
(16:36):
To start, shorter duration withlower perceived risk, if you
will, but even so, if you findthis at all challenging, be kind
to yourself.
It is supposed to bechallenging to at least some
degree.
So if you've been struggling tocome to grips with the concept
of facing your fear as part ofrecovery, well, maybe
(16:57):
microexposures will offer you away to sort of dip your toe in
the water to see what it feelslike.
I cannot stress enough that,alongside good psychoeducation
and the cognitive part ofcognitive behavioral therapy,
even little experiments orexposures can have a significant
impact on the way you viewanxiety recovery and your belief
in your ability to engage inthe recovery process.
(17:20):
So give it a shot.
If you're so inclined, try somemicro exposures.
Take away some of your microavoidances and safety behaviors.
Sit quietly for 60 seconds andsee what happens when you let
things come up.
Who knows what you might learnif you do that, and even though
those are small things to do,they can count.
So that is episode 300 of theAnxious Truth in the books,
(17:42):
wrapping up.
You know it's over becausemusic.
Anyway, I will end the episodeas I always do and I will ask
you a favor If you are watchingthis as a YouTube video and
you're not subscribed to myYouTube channel, hit the
subscribe button and maybe evenhit the notification button so
that you know when I upload newpodcast episodes or new video
content.
If you're listening to thepodcast as a podcast on Apple
(18:04):
Podcasts or Spotify or someplatform that lets you rate or
review the podcast.
If you really like it, maybeleave a five-star review and if
you really really like it, maybetake a minute or two and leave
a review paragraph or two.
Say what you like about thepodcast, because it helps other
people find the podcast and thenmore people get help.
That's why I do this to beginwith.
So another quick reminderbefore we wrap up, and that is
(18:25):
today.
We're talking about microexposure, small things, and that
matters because at the end ofevery one of these episodes
especially when I started 10years ago and lately in the last
month or so I've been back tothis I'm just going to remind
you that even the small thingsin recovery matter.
Sometimes it's just about makingtiny little shifts so that you
can open yourself up to adifferent point of view.
Test it, see what happens, dipyour toe in the water.
(18:47):
If you take a tiny little steptoday by trying a micro exposure
, no matter how small that isand how insignificant you think
it is, because you're stillanxious, the rest of the day
it's okay.
They all add up.
Every little step helps get youcloser to where you want to be,
which is a life based on whatyou care about and not a life
based on trying to avoid yourown bodily sensations, thoughts
(19:07):
and emotions.
So you can do it Be nice toyourself, be patient, be kind,
experiment, see what happens,open yourself up.
You got to be brave, but I knowyou can do it.
Thanks for listening.
I will see you in two weeks inepisode 301.
Thanks a bunch.
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