Think Act Be Podcast 258: Surprisingly Effective Ways to Manage Anxiety
Feb 19, 2026
Joel Minden, psychotherapist specializing in anxiety treatment, shares practical clinical strategies and personal examples. He explores why fighting anxiety backfires and how moving toward it, accepting sensations, and amplifying worries can reduce their power. Short daily exposures, public accountability, and deliberate action over debate are highlighted as surprisingly effective approaches.
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Observe Before You Act
- When anxiety arises, try observing it neutrally and make space for the feeling rather than immediately avoiding it.
- Reframe anxiety as an emotional signal that you care about something and then decide how to act from that platform.
Decide To Go All In
- Commit publicly or internally to facing an anxiety-provoking task so you remove the ambivalence and stop looking for an escape.
- Prepare small coping actions to stay effective while accepting that anxiety may be present.
Submarine Museum Commitment
- Seth described facing his mild claustrophobia on a submarine trip by deciding he would not back out for his kids on Father's Day.
- That commitment helped him move through anxiety and complete the experience.