What if worrying is just your mind’s way of trying to stop you from worrying?In this episode, I pull apart the myth that positive thinking can cure anxiety. The alarm in the body and the worries in the mind feed each other in a loop that never ends. Childhood separation leaves a mark when you aren’t seen, heard, or protected, and that’s where the alarm takes root. Growing up with a father who had schizophrenia, I learned to escape into worry as my coping strategy. The real healing began when I turned toward the younger version of myself and felt what I’d spent years running from.You’ll Learn:The reason changing your thoughts alone can’t heal chronic anxietyWhat happens when childhood separation creates an alarm that gets buried in the bodyThe surprising link between being highly sensitive and carrying lifelong anxietyThe damage of relying on worry as a coping strategy that turns into addictionWhy the alarm–anxiety cycle keeps looping between body and mindWhat it feels like to abandon your younger self and the pain it createsHow the brain’s insular cortex and amygdala drive the fight-or-flight loopWhy worry is the mind’s attempt to stop you from worryingThe path back to connection by feeling the alarm instead of escaping into thoughtHow seeing, hearing, and defending your inner child becomes the foundation for healingTimestamps:[00:00] Introduction[03:31] How unmet needs in childhood turn sensitivity into lifelong alarm[04:04] How the alarm anxiety cycle traps us in worry[09:32] The deeper separation between mind, body and inner child that fuels anxiety[10:28] The neuroscience of how alarm in the body fuels anxiety in the mind[13:50] Reconnecting with the inner child through feeling the body’s alarm[19:13] Healing anxiety by feeling the body’s alarm and reconnecting with the inner childResources Mentioned:Anxiety Rx by Russell Kennedy | Book or AudiobookFind more from Russell:Russell Kennedy | LinkedInRussell Kennedy | Facebook The Anxiety MD | WebsiteThe Anxiety MD | InstagramThe Anxiety MD | YouTube
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135: How Money Triggers Anxiety & What You Need to Chase Instead
What if the real scam isn’t the robocall, but the idea that your worth is measured in dollars?In this episode, the lie that money can replace human connection takes center stage. A medical system built on billing codes pushed me to trade care for speed, and that disconnection fueled my own anxiety. Scams, ads, and constant grabs for attention keep the nervous system on high alert. The “monetization fairy” gets called out for what it is, and simple practices bring us back to intrinsic value and genuine human connection.You’ll Learn:The reason anxiety often shows up when every interaction feels transactionalWhat happens when human connection gets replaced by financial transactionsThe surprising link between COVID separation and today’s obsession with moneyThe damage of a medical system that reduces patients to billable unitsWhy short-term retail “therapy” mimics the cycle of addictionWhat it feels like to burn out when connection gets traded for profitHow scams, robocalls, and ads activate the body’s alarm systemThe truth about why many doctors feel trapped, frustrated, and disconnectedA simple way to call out the “monetization fairy” and reclaim perspectivePractical steps to anchor in genuine connection and remind yourself of intrinsic valueTimestamps:[00:00] Introduction[07:54] Why medicine became transactional and drove me to burnout[09:49] Why doctors are losing trust and connection with patients[13:42] Chasing status and money only makes anxiety worse[17:09] How scams and scarcity keep the nervous system in alarm[20:34] Practical ways to replace monetization with genuine connection[25:49] Your value is not transactionalFind more from Russell:Russell Kennedy | LinkedInRussell Kennedy | Facebook The Anxiety MD | WebsiteThe Anxiety MD | InstagramThe Anxiety MD | YouTube
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134: How Highly Sensitive People Can Heal Anxiety
What if being “too sensitive” isn’t a flaw but the hidden root of your anxiety?In this episode, I unpack what it really means to be a highly sensitive person and why that trait so often shows up alongside chronic anxiety. I walk through Dr. Elaine Aron’s DOES framework and how depth of processing, overstimulation, emotional reactivity, and sensing subtleties can both fuel alarm and unlock creativity. You’ll hear how childhood experiences shape sensitivity into either anxiety or resilience, why re-parenting is essential, and how creativity becomes a pathway to healing. I also share practical ways to stop shaming sensitivity, honour it as a gift, and turn it into strength instead of suffering.You’ll Learn:The reason highly sensitive people are more vulnerable to chronic anxietyWhat happens in the brain when HSPs process information more deeplyThe surprising link between overstimulation and the need to withdraw to recoverThe damage of shaming sensitive children and how it shapes lifelong anxietyWhat it feels like to carry responsibility for other people’s emotions from a young ageWhy creativity and play regulate the nervous system and counter alarmRight-brain practices that restore balanceThe key role of re-parenting and the SHOULD framework in healing old woundsWhy sensitivity isn’t a disorder but a trait with unique strengths and giftsTimestamps:[00:00] Introduction[02:15] Understanding highly sensitive people and the link to chronic anxiety[06:39] How emotional exhaustion and people pleasing shape highly sensitive people[07:32] Harnessing creativity and right-brain healing for highly sensitive people[11:05] Parenting strategies to support and repair highly sensitive children[12:15] Reparenting the inner child with the SHOULD framework for healing sensitivity[15:25] Embracing sensitivity as a source of healing and personal strengthResources Mentioned:The Highly Sensitive Person by Dr. Elaine Aron | Book or AudiobookFind more from Russell:Russell Kennedy | LinkedInRussell Kennedy | Facebook The Anxiety MD | WebsiteThe Anxiety MD | InstagramThe Anxiety MD | YouTube
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133: Why These Popular Hacks Won't Heal Your Anxiety
Ever pushed yourself to eat clean and work out, hoping it would calm your anxiety, only to feel even worse? Here’s why it happens…In this episode, I dig into why gut health, exercise, and diets, while helpful, aren’t the cure for chronic anxiety. They can lower the intensity, but they don’t touch the root. The real work is creating safety in your nervous system and reconnecting with the younger version of you that still carries the alarm. I talk about the trap of chasing quick fixes, how hypervigilance keeps us stuck, and why small daily practices of safety can shift everything. By building that foundation, all the other healthy habits finally have a place to stick.You’ll Learn:The reason gut health alone won’t heal chronic anxietyWhat happens when diet and exercise are used as coping strategies instead of real healingThe surprising link between childhood hypervigilance and constant feelings of danger in adulthoodWhy quick-fix solutions like probiotics or gluten-free diets often fall shortThe damage of forcing yourself into rigid health routines without emotional regulationWhat it feels like to create “islands of safety” in your body for the first timeHow connecting with the younger version of yourself shifts the foundation of healingWhy safety is the real supplement for anxiety, not another pill or trendThe critical role of nervous system regulation before diet and exercise can truly helpTimestamps:[00:00] Introduction[02:59] Why gut health alone won’t heal chronic anxiety[06:49] Building safety as the real foundation for healing anxiety[12:31] Why focusing only on gut health misses the deeper work of anxiety healing[17:10] Healing anxiety by creating safety and reconnecting with the inner child[20:47] Why safety and inner child connection must come before gut health and exercise in healing anxiety[23:49] Healing anxiety by reconnecting your adult and child self through safetyFind more from Russell:Russell Kennedy | LinkedInRussell Kennedy | Facebook The Anxiety MD | WebsiteThe Anxiety MD | InstagramThe Anxiety MD | YouTube
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132: What Burnout Really Is & How to Prevent It
What if burnout isn’t failure, but your body’s protective shutdown?In this episode, I open up about burning out as a doctor and why it went far beyond just being tired. Burnout showed up as a split between my mind pushing forward and the younger part of me saying, “I can’t do this anymore.” The mask of “Dr. Russell Kennedy” gave me income, status, and validation, but it also crushed my sense of self. I get into how burnout differs from stress and depression, and why rest only scratches the surface before it pulls you back under. Healing started when I finally listened to the alarm in my body, reconnected with the child in me, and practiced things like yoga nidra, breath work, and inner child work.You’ll Learn:The real reason burnout can feel more like a spiritual crisis than simple exhaustionHow early childhood experiences of not being heard can set you up for people-pleasing and burnoutThe surprising link between external validation and staying too long in a career that’s hurting youWhat it feels like when your mind drives your body far past its limitsWhy leaving a job can trigger shame and how to work through itThe quiet damage of tying your identity to your professionHow burnout differs from depression in symptoms and recoveryPractical ways to reconnect with the “younger version” of yourself to begin healingWhy burnout can be your body’s last attempt to get your attentionHow practices like yoga nidra, breathwork, and inner child work can help rebuild safety in your bodyTimestamps:[00:00] Introduction[01:17] How chasing external validation led to burnout and identity loss[06:39] The cost of tying identity to caregiving and medicine[10:10] When identity and overwork lead to burnout and breaking points[14:25] The difference between depression and burnout as self-betrayal[16:22] How people pleasing and endless demands drive burnout[17:47] Healing burnout by reconnecting with the younger self and bodyFind more from Russell:Russell Kennedy | LinkedInRussell Kennedy | Facebook The Anxiety MD | WebsiteThe Anxiety MD | InstagramThe Anxiety MD | YouTube
I am an anxious doctor. Or at least I WAS an anxious doctor. After literally decades of suffering from intractable anxiety, and seeing over 50 different types of healers I found my way to heal my anxiety through very unconventional (for a medical doctor at least) means.
In 2013 I was so anxious I considered suicide and a friend suggested I try LSD, and although that scared the crap out of me it showed me the path to healing. You don't have to do LSD to heal, I took it for you! I'm a medical doctor, neuroscientist and intuitive. (I know, common combination!)
I found my way out and it is counterintuitive and very non conventional (but not scary!).
I will show you the way out too, you just have to listen to me, dammit!
Netherlands