S6 EP 39: Talking isn’t enough: Anxiety, Self-Worth & the Therapy GapS6 EP 39: Talking isn’t enough: Anxiety, Self-Worth & the Therapy Gap
RAW CHATTER!
Host Vicky Midwood and therapist Jemima Blazdell talk about living with intense anxiety, relying on alcohol to cope, and feeling stuck after years of talking therapy. They share how EFT tapping, other mind–body tools and a focus on self-worth can help move from awareness into real emotional change.
50:33•2 Jun 2026
Talking Isn’t Enough: Anxiety, Alcohol & Finding Tools That Actually Help
Episode Overview
- Talking therapy can be vital for being heard, but awareness alone may leave anxiety, panic and alcohol use unchanged.
- Alcohol can feel like an effective short-term fix for social anxiety, yet often increases anxiety and dependence over time.
- EFT tapping offers a practical, portable way to calm the body, shift beliefs and create change without needing scripts or special settings.
- Different modalities work for different people and phases of life, so it’s okay to leave unhelpful therapists and try other approaches.
- Deep change often means healing early experiences and rebuilding self-value, not just understanding what went wrong in the past.
“I had a deeper understanding of myself… but I was still anxious, still having panic attacks, still self-medicating with alcohol. There was no change.”
Curious about how others handle anxiety when talking just doesn’t seem to shift it? RAW CHATTER! brings together host Vicky Midwood and guest therapist and coach Jemima Blazdell for a very honest chat about what happens when years of therapy give you awareness, but leave your nervous system still stuck on high alert. Jemima shares how anxiety showed up in her body as “doom tummy”, a constant ball of dread that shaped her life, work and relationships.
She talks openly about using alcohol to get through social situations – “when I’ve had a couple of glasses of wine, I’m fine” – and how that short-term relief fed a long-term cycle of more anxiety, more drinking, and more exhaustion. The conversation digs into the therapy gap: why traditional talking therapy can be life-saving for having a space to speak, yet still leave someone waking up with panic, self-medicating with alcohol, or feeling trapped by old patterns.
Jemima describes seeing around 13 counsellors over 12 years and realising, “I was telling my story over and over and over again… but I was still anxious.” From there, things shift into practical tools. Jemima explains how EFT tapping became her “gateway therapy”, the first method that helped her feel in control and calm her body herself, rather than relying on wine at the end of the day.
She and Vicky chat about EFT, NLP, hypnotherapy, journalling and nervous-system based tools that people can actually use in the moment – even in a loo cubicle at a social event. At its heart, the episode keeps coming back to self-worth and self-value: knowing you deserve help, that it’s okay to change practitioners, and that different tools suit different people at different times.
If you’ve ever thought, “I know why I am like this, but I still don’t feel better,” this one might get you asking what extra support and skills you’re ready to give yourself next.
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