Episode 130: Tackling Anxiety with Robyn Graham

Jul 20

Did you know that we have around 60,000 thoughts every day and 80% of those thoughts are negative?! It’s no wonder that a majority of us struggle with anxiety at some point in our lives, which is exactly why we have Robyn Graham as the guest of today’s episode of Euphoric The Podcast.

Robyn is a business coach, personal branding strategist, and author who helps female entrepreneurs build solid foundations for long-term business success. Robyn talks with Karolina about her own anxiety journey and what led to the creation of her new book, You, Me, and Anxiety: Take Action Over Anxiety To Enjoy Being You. Discover the difference between anxiety and worry, the importance of identifying triggers, and some practical tactics for navigating your own anxiety.

If anxiety were a ferris wheel

What really is the difference between anxiety and worry?

Robyn has a great example for describing anxiety as a ferris wheel. Imagine your negative or anxious thoughts take a seat on the ferris wheel and it begins to go around. Not only do our negative and anxious thoughts keep cycling and spinning around and around and around, but our positive thoughts never have the chance to even get on. These negative thoughts basically take over our brain resulting in both physical and emotional symptoms like stomach aches, headaches, irritability, and panic attacks.

Doesn’t it make total sense then that a person might use alcohol as a means of coping with anxiety? No one wants to feel anxious, and because of the way alcohol inhibits our brain from functioning, it tends to numb our mind, stopping all of the negative thoughts.

But what happens when you aren’t drinking?

Thankfully we have so many tools, resources, and the ability to change our thoughts, ultimately changing our feelings and our actions for the better!

The importance of addressing anxiety first

Every single human has the potential to experience anxiety.

The earliest recollection Robyn has of anxiety was at the age of five or six. As an anxious introvert, she struggled to go to school, had frequent stomach aches, and felt frozen in fear. Anxiety wasn’t really understood or talked about then, and so it continued to impact her all the way up into college. She even left her doctoral program due to her fear of public speaking.

Robyn did end up getting therapy, returning to the program and finishing, but her true healing came years later when her son began experiencing anxiety. Robyn and her spouse did everything they could to help him navigate his anxiety. It was in fact seeing a therapist for her son and doing the exercises assigned that she actually developed the tools and skills to navigate her own anxiety and experience healing.

This experience even led to her book, You, Me, and Anxiety: Take Action Over Anxiety To Enjoy Being You.

Shifting our mindsets or creating a plan to take action toward our goals are all important, BUT as Robyn explains, “if you are struggling with anxiety, it's almost impossible to navigate mindset.”

So what can you do? Remember this:

Thoughts trigger emotions and feelings
Negative thoughts trigger negative feelings and emotions
Negative feelings and motions can lead to ruminating
Ruminating keeps us in a place of inaction

By understanding the importance of working with anxiety first, you can learn skills and tools for coping with anxiety, resulting in positive momentum toward your goals.

Identifying triggers and The Five C’s

Anytime anxiety perks up in your life, there is a trigger. This could be something small or something big, conscious or subconscious. The first step in helping to navigate your anxiety is identifying what those triggers are. Once you know what triggers you, you can create strategies for navigating anxiety causing situations.

Robyn also shares a powerful journaling strategy she calls the Five C’s. This is based on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) and is a great tool for navigating through anxiety.

The Five C’s:

Catch the thoughts: notice when they come in and become aware of what you’re thinking
Challenge the thoughts: ask if they are rational. Is there actual truth to it?
Change the thoughts: reframe the negative thought
Take Control over your actions
Feel a stronger sense of Confidence

About 80% of the thoughts we have are negative. Isn’t that crazy? So of course it takes time to transform our mind to think differently! We know that anxiety can be both environmental or genetic. And if you are genetically predisposed, you may need therapy, medication, or other support. The important thing to know is that no one can navigate this alone. We all need a support system around us and this applies to your alcohol-free journey too.

“We know that our thoughts create our results. And what happens is our thoughts trigger our emotions, our feelings, and when we have negative feelings, negative emotions, going through our mind, we're gonna stay in a place of inaction.” - Robyn Graham

LINKS/RESOURCES MENTIONED

Learn more about Robyn and access great resources through her website! You can also purchase her book, You, Me, and Anxiety: Take Action Over Anxiety To Enjoy Being You.

Be sure to follow Robyn on her Instagram too!

If you're a new alcohol-free or sober coach, learn how to market yourself effectively, build systems to attract potential leads, grow on social media, and break past mindset blocks with Karolina’s Business Coaching.

Karolina’s book is available in hardcover, Kindle, and as an audiobook. Be sure to get your copy of Euphoric: Ditch Alcohol and Gain a Happier, More Confident You today and leave your review.

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