9: When Your Brain Sounds the Alarm: The Science of Approaching Fear in Anxiety and OCD with Dr. Jon Abramowitz
The Stress-Less Life with Dr. YipShow Notes
Ever feel like your brain is sounding an alarm you can't ignore, even when part of you knows you're not in real danger? With OCD and anxiety, it's easy to confuse fear with threat and relief with recovery. In this episode, recorded live at the International OCD Foundation Conference, Dr. Yip sits down with world-renowned OCD expert Dr. Jonathan Abramowitz. They explore why fear feels so urgent and why waiting to "feel ready" keeps you stuck. They also cover how approaching fear, rather than forcing yourself to face it, can help you take your life back from the OCD bully.
Here's what we get into:
Why the field is shifting from "facing" to "approaching" your fears, and why most people with OCD never receive ERP
What's happening in the brain when a false alarm feels so real, and why logic and reassurance can't talk you out of it
How compulsions, avoidance, and reassurance-seeking keep the OCD cycle going
Why waiting for the "just right" feeling keeps you stuck, and how values and thinking like a scientist can help you move forward
Inhibitory learning explained, plus one small shift to start standing up to your OCD bully today
About Dr. Jonathan Abramowitz Dr. Jonathan Abramowitz is a professor and Director of Clinical Training in the Department of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He is an internationally recognized expert in OCD and anxiety disorders, including fears and phobias, health anxiety, and panic. He has more than 350 scientific publications and 20 books, and he is widely respected for translating the science of anxiety and OCD into practical, evidence-based care.
Website: https://www.jabramowitz.com/
Connect with Dr. Yip
Instagram: @drjennyyip
Website: https://dryip.com/the-stress-less-life/
The Stress-Less™ Mama Masterclass: https://dryip.com/the-stress-less-life/masterclass/
Join our community: https://dryip.com/#join-community
You're not alone, mama. You don't have to do it all. The goal isn't to be perfect. It's to be present, living a Stress-Less Life with science, intentional boundaries, and a whole lot of compassion.
If this episode resonated with you, share it with another mama who needs to hear it.
Leave a review to help more moms find the support they deserve.
More from The Stress-Less Life with Dr. Yip
Helping someone you love through OCD can get complicated fast. What starts as reassurance, flexibility, or simply trying to keep the peace can slowly become part of the OCD cycle. It comes from love, but over time it can turn into an anxiety-driven family pattern that keeps everyone stuck.
So many moms feel the weight of expectations, but for LGBTQ+ parents, there's often an added layer of navigating societal assumptions and redefining what partnership truly looks like. In this episode, Dr. Jenny Yip talks with Dr. Lauren Wadsworth about redefining motherhood through a true mom lens — from the emotional rollercoaster of fertility treatments to balancing roles rooted in connection, not perfection.
Ever notice how moms are expected to do it all – the career, the home, the kids – while dads get praised just for showing up? That's the "supermom myth," and it leaves so many moms stuck in guilt, exhaustion, and burnout. This week, Dr. Jenny Yip sits down with Paige Connell to unpack the double standards behind those expectations, and how moms and dads can start shifting them — without blame.
Ever feel like you're carrying the emotional weight of your whole family, fixing everything while ignoring your own needs? When someone you love is struggling with their mental health, it's easy to confuse care with self-sacrifice. In this episode, Dr. Jenny Yip sits down with Jennifer Meyer, CEO and designer of Jennifer Meyer Jewelry, for an honest and deeply personal conversation about what it really takes to support a loved one through OCD — without losing yourself or enabling the illness in the process.
Remember who you were before "mama" became your full-time title? You haven't lost her — she's just been buried under piles of laundry and never-ending to-do lists. In this episode, Dr. Jenny Yip sits down with creative entrepreneur, author, and maker Amy Tangerine to explore what it really means to rediscover your Mom+ identity. Because you are so much more than just mom, and honoring that is not selfish. It's essential.