Anxiety, and the 'worry bully': One of Lynne Malcolm's favourite All in the Mind programsAnxiety, and the 'worry bully': One of Lynne Malcolm's favourite All in the Mind programs
All In The Mind
Anxiety is an essential human emotion—it kicks in to protect us from threats—but sometimes those threats are only perceived. When worries start to become overwhelming, approximately 25 per cent of us experience clinical anxiety. But it is highly treatable. A ten-year-old girl and a 30-year-old man share their anxious thoughts and their strategies to manage them.
29:06•6 Dec 2020
Facing the "Worry Bully": Anxiety, Digital Stress and Practical Mind-Strength Tools
Episode Overview
- Anxiety is common, highly treatable, and not a personal weakness or source of shame.
- Externalising worry as a "worry bully" and using imagery (books on a shelf, paper bags) can reduce its power.
- Breathing techniques such as "breathe in the air, breathe out the fog" help clear mental fog and improve focus.
- Keeping a worry diary shows that most feared outcomes never occur, training the brain to take anxious thoughts less seriously.
- Distress tolerance and values-based choices encourage people to feel emotions, seek help and respond in healthier ways instead of avoiding or numbing.
“Anxiety is not a weakness. It's nothing to feel ashamed of. It is such a prevalent part of our human condition.”
Curious about how others navigate their sobriety journey and wider mental health struggles? This highlight from **All In The Mind** focuses squarely on anxiety – that inner "worry bully" that can push everyday stress into something more overwhelming. You’ll hear from ten-year-old Willow Freer, her mum Miriam Heatherich, and 30-year-old Peter Leipnick, as they talk frankly about racing thoughts, sweaty palms, poor sleep and the way worry can snowball.
Willow’s move from Singapore to Australia triggered fears about friendships, grades and bullying, while Peter describes feeling physically unwell before realising his symptoms were tied to anxious thinking and constant procrastination. Psychologist **Dr Jodie Lowinger**, CEO of The Sydney Anxiety Clinic, breaks down what’s going on in the brain – from the amygdala’s fight-or-flight response to the impact of perceived threat, perfectionism and the digital age.
She talks about how social media "compare and despair", 24/7 phones, and family history can all feed into anxiety, yet still emphasises that it is *highly treatable*. Jodie shares practical tools from her mind-strength therapy: breathing that "breathes in the air, breathes out the fog", externalising worry as the "worry bully", putting the "same old book" of thoughts back on the shelf, and using a worry diary to prove that most feared outcomes never actually happen.
Willow explains how drawing her worry bully on a paper bag and "putting the worries back" helped her focus at school. Peter describes how writing down his worries, reflecting on his values, and talking openly about mental health has changed how he works and lives. For anyone dealing with anxious thinking around alcohol, recovery, or everyday life, this conversation offers relatable stories and concrete strategies.
Could reframing your worries and reaching out for help be the next small step you take?
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