Stand Up and Other Tales of Anxiety with Dr. Russell Kennedy

The Gently Used Human with Dr. Scott Lyons

Have you ever considered the power of laughter in battling anxiety? What if anxiety was not just a state of mind but also a condition deeply rooted in our bodies? Could we unravel the complexities of anxiety and find solace in the present moment? Dr. Russell Kennedy, also known as Anxiety MD, joins Dr. Scott today to share his unique blend of expertise in medicine, neuroscience, and stand-up comedy.

Offering a revolutionary understanding and approach to overcoming anxiety, Dr. Kennedy shares insights from his personal journey, revealing the counterphobic tool of comedy and how this intersects with his medical practice. Together, they challenge the conventional view of anxiety, redefining it as a physical state of alarm that often stems from unresolved trauma.

Dr. Kennedy guides us through techniques to connect with our inner self and find a sense of safety in the present moment, and together, we explore the essential difference between everyday discomfort and lingering trauma and how focusing on the body’s alarm signals can pave the way to healing.

Topics We Break Down

• How applying a new understanding to anxiety can facilitate a deeper treatment of its root causes.
• What it might look like to replace dissociative responses with meaningful attention.
• Reframing anxiety as both a mind-body separation and an adult self-child self separation.
• The complex relationship between cognitive and somatic work.
• How technology facilitates disconnection and results in an inability to metabolize difficult emotions.
• The journey of influencing your internal perception of the external world through expressing emotion.
• Prioritizing self-connection and witnessing the traumatized child as a roadmap to healing anxiety.
• Why the cost of never addressing the pain of your formative years is too high to bear.