The Truth About How Anxiety Works - Dr Tracy Dennis-Tiwary - #469

**Chris Williamson** (0:00)
Hello, everybody. Welcome back to the show. My guest today is Dr. Tracy Dennis-Tiwary. She's a professor of psychology and neuroscience and anxiety researcher, author, and founder of Wise Therapeutics. Anxiety is one of the most common mental health disorders in 2022 Huge numbers of both adults and children are suffering, but just how natural is this? Is it normal for humans to be ambiently anxious for months on end, or is modern society causing this to occur? Expect to learn why anxiety developed as a human emotion and how it helped us survive, why anxiety is a signal for your next move, the size of technology's influence on our mood, how to reframe anxiety so it becomes a competitive advantage, why your anxiety and creativity are intrinsically linked, and much more. The insights that Tracy gives today are really valuable. I know that anxiety is a huge problem that a lot of people suffer with. And it's just important to have someone who understands the research and is knee deep in the psychological literature, who can tell you that you have control over how this impacts your life, and you can reframe it to perhaps even be an advantage for you. I really like it. I like the fact that it is empowering people to take control of their own lives, to regain a little bit of sense of ownership over the way that their mind works. She's great. You're really gonna enjoy this one. In other news, this episode is brought to you by Aura. Do you know what the fastest growing crime in America is? For years, this crimes rate has been surging and affecting millions of Americans. It's identity theft and there is a new victim every 14 seconds. Yet despite this, those who have had their identity stolen are often shocked that it's even occurred. Imagine trying to log in to your email account one day only to see that your password has been changed hours ago and then you start getting notifications of activity from your bank, credit cards, crypto accounts and more. That's when the feelings of panic, fear and paranoia set in. That's why Aura is sponsoring this episode. Aura is an identity theft protection, fraud monitoring and password management, anti-virus software all combined into one easy to use app. Aura monitors the dark web for your emails, passwords and social security numbers and sends alerts fast right to your phone and email. When it comes to fraud, every second matters. Connect your credit and bank accounts and get notified of any changes up to four times faster than Aura's competitors. You get anti-virus software that will block malware and viruses before they infect your devices and you can protect you and your family from America's fastest growing crime by trying Aura for free for two weeks to see if you or any of your family's personal information has been compromised. You can start your free trial today by going to aura.com/modern. That's aura.com/modern.
Protect yourself from having your identity stolen and all of your credit cards hacked at aura.com/modern. In other other news, this episode is brought to you by the Six Minute Diary. Over one and a half million people use this worldwide as their daily gratitude journal. It is the easiest, simplest and most convenient way to start doing a gratitude practice. The fundamental foundation of happiness is built upon gratitude. So if you're not doing formal gratitude, you're limiting how happy you can be. It's recommended by psychologists and therapists all over the world using the proven principles of positive psychology to help you live your life more consciously. It helps you to focus on progress and the good things in life in easy portions of three minutes in the morning and three minutes in the evening. It also helps you to discover what really makes you happy and to bring more of that into your daily existence. It really is self-care and mindfulness made easy. Leading research has been turned into a very simple process that you follow on a daily basis. I've gone through 10 of them over the last few years. It's available in 20 different languages. There's over 20,000 verified five-star reviews on Amazon. And it's less than $20 or 20 pounds and it lasts for six months. So if you're getting someone a gift or yourself, treat whoever it is to the gift of a much more robust and happy mental state for the next six months for less than 20 quid. Head to bit.ly slash diary wisdom and the code MW15 will get you a 15% discount at checkout. That's for the UK. And if you're in the US, you can just search on Amazon and use the code 15minutes, all one word. So one five minutes, all one word at checkout. UK people, bit.ly slash diary wisdom and MW15. And US people search on Amazon for the six minute diary and use the code 15minutes. And in final news, this podcast is sponsored by BetterHelp. We all need help at some point in our lives, whether it's because of stress at home or work or loneliness, it can be invaluable to know that there's someone professionally trained who can help us get through whatever we're facing. In today's episode with Tracy, she says that everybody needs to go to therapy and everybody would benefit from it. And as far as I can see, that looks true. Over 2 million people have taken charge of their mental health with BetterHelp's online service. It removes all of the hassle and awkwardness that can be involved in finding a therapist and gives you some essential simplified steps. Instead, there are a broad range of experts available categorized by their speciality or combination of specialities like addiction, social anxiety or relationships. There are hundreds of testimonials and reviews every single day being added on BetterHelp's website, which can help you to choose the right counselor for you. It's not a crisis line or self-help. It is professional counseling done securely over the internet. The service is available worldwide. You can log in to your account at any time and send a message to your counselor. You get timely and thoughtful responses. Plus, you can schedule weekly video or phone sessions so you don't even have to leave the house. It is the easiest, quickest, most convenient and cheapest way to start doing therapy. Plus, you can get a 10% discount off your first month by going to betterhelp.com/modernwisdom. Join over 2 million people who have taken charge of their mental health with the help of an experienced professional and take their free quiz to see what they can do for you. betterhelp.com/modernwisdom. But now, please give it up. The Tracy Dennis Tiwary.