Addicted to Anxiety? Why Reassurance, Checking and Control Keep You Stuck

What if anxiety isn’t just something that happens to you — but something you unknowingly keep feeding? In this episode, I’m joined by psychotherapist and bestselling author Owen O’Kane to talk about his book Addicted to Anxiety and why anxiety can become so hard to break free from. We explore the habits that feel helpful in the moment — Googling symptoms, checking, avoiding, seeking reassurance — and why they often make anxiety worse over time. We also discuss why anxious thoughts aren’t facts, how anxiety shows up in the body, and why learning to tolerate uncertainty is often the turning point. In this episode we cover: Why many people don’t realise how much anxiety is driving their behaviour How reassurance, checking and avoidance reinforce anxiety Why thoughts are not the problem — but what we do next is The link between anxiety and physical symptoms Why the body needs to be addressed, not just the mind How walking and simple regulation strategies can help Why anxiety is often learned — and can be unlearned What it actually looks like to recover If you’ve ever found yourself stuck in overthinking, symptom-Googling or needing constant reassurance, this episode will give you a very different way to understand anxiety — and a way forward.