Worfolk Anxiety Podcast artwork

Worfolk Anxiety Podcast

24 episodes - English - Latest episode: almost 4 years ago -

The Worfolk Anxiety Podcast is designed to help you to control anxiety, live better and achieve more. Hosted by Chris Worfolk, each episode is designed to give you one skill, piece of knowledge of actionable step on handling anxiety.

Medicine Health & Fitness Science anxiety worry stress mental health
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Episodes

COVID-19: Positive points

April 03, 2020 06:00 - 6 minutes - 12.4 MB

Pandemics are bad, as a rule. But there are silver linings, too. In this episode, I will look at some of the positive things that are coming out of coronavirus so that we can fight that negative bias that anxiety brings to our lives.

COVID-19: Breaking the worry cycle

April 02, 2020 06:00 - 3 minutes - 6.24 MB

If you spend too much time worrying about coronavirus, this is the episode for you. I will discuss the one question you can ask yourself to help you break out of spending hours trawling through COVID-19 news reports.

COVID-19: Why are people panic buying?

April 01, 2020 06:00 - 7 minutes - 14 MB

In many parts of the world, supermarkets have struggled to keep up with demand. Toilet paper is a rare commodity during coronavirus. But is this a sign of people being selfish and showing the worst in humanity? I don't think so. In this episode, I will discuss the reasons for increased food consumption, as well as some psychological needs, and why empty shelves may be a sign that people are being considerate and taking the threat of self-isolation seriously.

COVID-19: Mindset

March 31, 2020 06:00 - 6 minutes - 11.8 MB

Many people with anxiety are angry at themselves for worrying. We have all of these COVID-19 worries, and then we beat ourselves up for spending so much time obsessing over it. In this episode, I will discuss the idea of the nurturing coach (or nurturing parent) and how we can develop a more positive relationship with our anxiety.

COVID-19: How to stay safe

March 30, 2020 06:00 - 8 minutes - 16.3 MB

Taking a quick break from the psychology of COVID-19, we will look at how to stay safe during coronavirus. This episode is designed for anyone who wants to know the common safety techniques without having to trawl through the mainstream media to find them. Remember, though, that the best place for guidance is government advice.

COVID-19: Common worries

March 29, 2020 06:00 - 9 minutes - 16.6 MB

A lot of the anxiety around COVID-19 comes from predictable worries. Will I get ill? How will I cope if my family gets sick? What is happening about my job? Will the healthcare system be able to cope? In this episode, I will discuss some of the common worries and remind everyone that anxiety is a bias towards seeing the negative.

COVID-19: Normalising pandemics

March 28, 2020 06:00 - 5 minutes - 10.9 MB

COVID-19 is the most wide-spread and worrying pandemic we have seen in a while. But it is far from the only epidemic to spring up this century. In this episode, I want to normalise the idea of pandemics. Yes, they are bad. But the world has seen them before and we have survived. We are treading on known ground.

COVID-19: How to read the news less

March 27, 2020 06:00 - 5 minutes - 9.78 MB

Constantly reading the news on COVID-19 can trigger a lot of anxiety. But just telling someone "read the news less" is like saying to someone "just don't worry about it." That's not how anxiety works. In this episode, we will break down why we read the news so much, the meta-beliefs that underpin this behaviour, and a practical way to make a change so that you spend less time-consuming coronavirus news.

COVID-19: Why is it so scary?

March 26, 2020 06:00 - 7 minutes - 13.9 MB

It is a challenging time for anyone with health anxiety. Coronavirus/COVID-19 is running rampant across the world. How do we manage our anxiety and mental health throughout this period? In this episode, I will look at why COVID-19 is causing so much anxiety. And, more importantly, why those worries will reduce over time, even if the virus is here to stay for the foreseeable future.

Fear of public transport

June 27, 2017 11:00 - 17 minutes - 15.8 MB

Many people struggle with using public transport. It might be getting the bus, train or underground: whatever it is, it is common to worry about panic attacks, being trapped and having to interact with strangers. In this episode, Chris discusses some coping strategies that can be useful, techniques for making it easier on yourself and long-term treatments including exposure and therapy.

What is metacognitive therapy?

June 13, 2017 11:00 - 14 minutes - 13.4 MB

Metacognitive therapy (MCT) is a relatively new form of therapy that looks at thinking about thinking. It's super useful. But what exactly does it all mean? In this episode, Chris explains the basics of MCT and how it can be applicable to reducing your anxiety.

How to stop a panic attack

May 30, 2017 11:00 - 13 minutes - 12.3 MB

What do you do in the moment when you are having a panic attack? It's hard to do anything when you feel like you are going to die. In this episode, Chris shares five practical ideas that you can use when you are having a panic attack to help bring it to an end.

Increase your motivation with temptation bundling

May 09, 2017 11:00 - 8 minutes - 7.47 MB

Today was supposed to be a "go out and exercise" day. But it's cold. And raining. And this bed is warm. And I don't want to go out and exercise. Ever had this conversation with yourself? If you are anything like me, you have probably had the debate repeatedly. The barrier: there is no reason for me to go out and exercise. Sure, there is a long-term benefit, but I don't feel that immediately. So, how do we motivate ourselves do the things we don't want to do? One solution is temptation bundlin...

How to distract yourself from anxiety

April 25, 2017 11:00 - 9 minutes - 8.97 MB

When you just need to get through something, distraction can be a powerful tool for taking your thoughts away from your anxiety. However, it is only effective when used correctly. In this episode, we will discuss the differences between effective and ineffective distraction, and look at the different options available.

How to conquer your fear of flying

April 11, 2017 11:00 - 16 minutes - 14.7 MB

If you find flying an awful experience, you are not alone. For many people, it is the bane of their summer holiday. In this episode, we will look at strategies to reduce the anxiety surrounding flying. These include cognitive interventions, exposure therapy, using distraction properly, taking medication and joining a fear of flying course.

How to use small steps to reduce your anxiety

March 28, 2017 11:00 - 16 minutes - 14.7 MB

Our new book "Do More, Worry Less" teaches you how to use small changes to your lifestyle to reduce anxiety. In this episode, we look at why you would use lifestyle to reduce anxiety, what aspects of your life have an effect on your mental health, how to avoid the common pitfalls of lifestyle changes and how the book can help you do this.

The difference between being busy and being productive

March 14, 2017 11:00 - 9 minutes - 8.98 MB

As anxiety sufferers, it is easy to be busy without being productive. In fact, many of us find ourselves so busy that we are unable to be productive. This is not a coincidence. When we find ourselves with anxiety-provoking high resistance tasks to complete, we make ourselves busy. Or we use busyness to distract ourselves from anxiety. In this episode, we will look at some strategies for making ourselves productive, rather than busy.

What to do when CBT doesn't work

February 28, 2017 11:00 - 15 minutes - 14.2 MB

Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) is one of the most effective treatments we have for anxiety. However, it does not work for everyone. If you find yourself in this situation, what do you do then? In this episode, we will explore some of the options. These including counselling, mindfulness, acceptance, lifestyle and medication, as well as ways to get more out of CBT itself.

Introducing our manifesto

January 02, 2017 11:00 - 10 minutes - 9.28 MB

One of the key components of a relationship with a therapist is the relationship that you build with them. This is built from mutual understanding and trust. It is this relationship that allows the whole system to function, and to allow you to improve your mental health. This podcast is not therapy. But we are talking about mental health, and the same rules still apply: if you are on a different wavelength to us, we are going to struggle to connect. But how do you know what we believe? To ma...

What comes first: thoughts or feelings?

December 20, 2016 11:00 - 10 minutes - 9.78 MB

When we think about thoughts and feelings, what comes first? The intuitive way round is that our thoughts come first, and these power our feelings. But is this view correct? And if not, what implications does this have for managing anxiety? In this episode we will look at all of these questions, and apply it to some real-world examples.

How to eat less chocolate while enjoying it more

December 12, 2016 11:36 - 12 minutes - 11.6 MB

What if I told you that you could reduce the amount of chocolate you eat, while actually increasing the pleasure you get from it? It is totally possible and in this episode, I will give you two techniques for doing it. One is a cognitive behavioural style technique and the other is using mindfulness to enjoy we really enjoy every calorie.

Why CBT doesn't work - and what to do about it

November 29, 2016 15:59 - 9 minutes - 9.08 MB

Did you know what the most important part of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) happens outside of the therapy sessions? Many people do not get on with CBT simply because this is not properly explained to them. In this lesson we will look at how we, as service users, can get the most out of our therapy.

How to motivate yourself to go out and exercise

November 22, 2016 16:09 - 14 minutes - 12.8 MB

Ever wake up and think to yourself "uugh, I REALLY do not want to go outside today"? In this episode, I will teach you how to use CBT-style techniques to overcome these feelings.

Seven specific ways to beat the winter blues

November 13, 2016 00:15 - 16 minutes - 15.5 MB

If you are in the northern hemisphere, November is a time of year when the weather gets colder and the nights get longer. How to do we keep our mood up? Here are seven highly-actionable ideas.