Show Notes
Ever wish anxiety didn’t run the show? In this episode, we unpack Veronica Walsh’s fun science-backed CBT tools to take control.
Learn how to work with your inner “anxiety narrator” rather than fight it, using visualisation, compassionate self-talk, and playful perspective shifts. In this long-form version of the CBT Self-Acceptance explainer, you’ll discover how to:
Separate yourself from anxious thoughts and beliefs Use humour and playful perspectives to disarm anxious self-talk — from Bridget Jones to Hugh Grant rom-coms, Conan O’Brien, and even monkeys and wolves Understand the science of anxiety Create an emotional pause by naming and managing feelings Build self-acceptance, compassion, and understanding as core self-regulation skills
These brain-friendly strategies are easy to understand, remember, and apply — helping you manage anxiety while letting “the real you” take the lead. Dive in!
Explore more guides, audio, and video at iVeronicaWalsh.wordpress.com and CBTandFeelingGood.com.
Further reading: Self-Acceptance and Embracing Who You Are
Further reading: [Self-Acceptance and Embracing Who You Are](https://iveronicawalsh.wordpress.com/2025/03/31/self-acceptance-and-embracing-who-you-are-cbt-visualisation-and-self-talk/) A CBT Visual - download the PDF - https://iveronicawalsh.wordpress.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/deck_visualizing_self_talk_for_acceptance.pdf
More from An Intro to CBT
Ever reach for a glass of wine after a long day, thinking it will help you unwind — only to feel more sluggish, low, or anxious the next morning? You’re not imagining it. Alcohol may feel relaxing at the time, but for many of us, it creates an “artificial depression” in the brain and nervous system afterward — and we often don’t connect the dots.
Why does your brain malfunction for public Speaking? Because it’s ‘scary’? Nope. Because you have a ‘disorder’? Nope. Because of your ‘primal nervous system’? Yes!
Stuck in the same negative thinking loops? Do you find yourself overthinking, catastrophising, or ruminating on the same worries day after day? If so, you’re not alone - these are common human thinking habits, not permanent character flaws. Bad thinking habits are learned. And they can be unlearned — with CBT.
Overthinking and self-sabotaging again? We’ve all been there. One upsetting event can spiral into big drama. You are not alone - and it’s not a personal flaw, or a fixed personality thing.