Making Anxiety Work for You

Available with English captions and subtitles in Spanish.

Anxiety has been trying to tell you something. Stop fighting it, and start using it as a signal for growth, purpose, and real connection.

Why This Training Matters

Anxiety is part of being human. When we resist it, it grows; when we listen, it guides us.

Dr. Rosmarin combines science, spirituality, and clinical insight to show how to embrace anxiety, apply cognitive-behavioral tools, and find balance between acceptance and action.

Viewers gain both psychological understanding and real-world strategies to make anxiety an ally.

What You’ll Learn

  • What differentiates everyday anxiety from an anxiety disorder
  • How the “anxiety spiral” develops—and how to interrupt it
  • What exposure therapy and acceptance teach us about fear
  • Practical strategies for responding to anxiety in the moment
  • Why avoidance amplifies distress—and how to replace it with mindful engagement
  • How to talk about anxiety with children, teens, and peers
  • The role of faith and values in cultivating calm amid uncertainty
  • When to seek professional help or therapy

Who Should Watch

  • Mental health professionals (psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers, nurses, counselors, and therapists)
  • Pediatricians and primary-care providers
  • K-12 and university educators and school staff
  • Public health professionals
  • Parents and caregivers
  • Community and faith leaders
  • Executives, managers, and HR professionals

Event Details

  • Date Recorded: June 20, 2024
  • Length: 60 minutes
  • Presenter: David Rosmarin, PhD, ABPP

Watch this free on-demand session and learn how embracing anxiety can unlock resilience, focus, and peace of mind.

Topics Covered During This Training

  • How did you initially come to this work and how have you personally learned some of the lessons that you are imparting to others?
  • What’s the key distinction between stress and anxiety?
  • When does anxiety become an anxiety disorder?
  • Roughly what portion of today’s U.S. population struggles with anxiety on a regular basis?
  • What’s going on in our bodies when we experience anxiety?
  • You sometimes reference the “anxiety spiral.” What are you getting at with that term?
  • Can you talk about the so-called cognitive model and why it’s so relevant to embracing one’s anxiety?
  • Is it a healthy approach to try to avoid situations that will create anxiety?
  • What do we tend to do when we’re not mindfully approaching anxiety?
  • Why should we embrace anxiety instead of running from it?
  • What should we know about the role of acceptance in the process of embracing anxiety?
  • What are some parallels between exposure therapy and pushing through anxiety?
  • What do we know about the neurobiology of exposure therapy?
  • What are the physiological symptoms of functional freeze? What might that look and feel like?
  • Does talking about our anxiety make us more anxious or less anxious? Or, does it depend?
  • Can you speak to the challenge of letting go and recognizing that humans are often not in control?
  • Many people will tell someone who is anxious to calm down. Can you suggest some more helpful things to say?
  • What are some strategies for embracing anxiety?
  • How might folks with a faith-based framework incorporate that in their acceptance of anxiety and uncertainty?
  • Do you have suggestions for college students dealing with anxiety?
  • How can you help someone through a panic attack?
  • Should a parent try to expose a child to that child’s worries and anxiety?
  • While in a moment of anxiety, how can you embrace it and recognize that this anxiety can be a normal response?
  • How do we know when it’s time to involve a professional in addressing anxiety?
  • Can you talk about anxiety that appears to have no prompting event and comes on strongly out of seemingly nowhere?
  • How does substance use play into anxiety challenges?
  • What do you want clinicians to know about treating anxiety?
  • What might we do differently at a societal level to better shape the discussion around anxiety?
  • Is the trend line of discussing anxiety moving in the right direction?
  • Do you have any tips for helping a child recognize that they need sporadic breaks from social media?
  • What should we know about intrusive thoughts and how they factor into broader anxiety?
  • What is cognitive behavior therapy (CBT) and how can it help someone address their anxiety?
  • What is catastrophizing?
  • What stands out to you as a common thread for conversations you’ve had with the media and public about anxiety?
  • In researching anxiety, what surprised you? What did you learn in doing this work?
  • What would you like to see done in the education system to help young individuals deal with anxiety?
  • What does the progression of learning to embrace anxiety look like?
  • Can you share a success story supporting why you believe this notion of embracing anxiety works?

The information discussed is intended to be educational and should not be used as a substitute for guidance provided by your health care provider. Please consult with your treatment team before making any changes to your care plan.

Resources

You may also find this information useful:

Books

About Dr. Rosmarin

David H. Rosmarin, PhD, ABPP, is the director of the Spirituality and Mental Health Program at McLean Hospital and an associate professor of psychology in the Department of Psychiatry at Harvard Medical School. Much of his work involves studying the relevance of spirituality to mental health and innovating methods for clinicians to address this intersection.

Dr. Rosmarin is the author of “Thriving With Anxiety: 9 Tools To Make Your Anxiety Work for You,” and his work has been featured by numerous media outlets.

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