#1050 - Donald Robertson - Practical Tools for a Less Anxious Life

The podcast explores the nature of anxiety, its causes, and effective coping mechanisms. Donald Robertson, an expert in emotions, challenges the simplistic "hydraulic model" of emotions, advocating instead for understanding anxiety as a complex recipe of thoughts, actions, and feelings. A key insight involves exposure therapy, where repeated, prolonged exposure to anxiety triggers can diminish its impact. However, experiential avoidance, such as distraction techniques or suppression, can hinder natural emotional processing and maintain anxiety. The discussion covers worry postponement, cognitive diffusion, and the importance of accepting rather than resisting anxiety symptoms. Robertson also touches on the role of cognitive change versus emotional self-regulation and highlights the often-overlooked issue of anger as a coping mechanism.