Episode 136: How To Know If Your Anxiety Is More Spiritual or Emotional

Welcome to Episode 136 of the Being Human Podcast: How To Know If Your Anxiety Is More Spiritual or Emotional

This week, Dr. Greg dives into an exploration of the interplay between our spiritual and emotional lives while breaking open how St. Ignatius of Loyola's rules of discernment can help us to distinguish between spiritual and non-spiritual anxiety!

Highlights from the episode:

• Anxiety as a complex experience that requires a holistic approach;

• Distinguishing between symptoms of an anxiety disorder, anxiety about everyday life, and the anxiety of losing Jesus;

• Using the discernment of spirits as proposed by St. Ignatius of Loyola as a guide to knowing how to address anxiety;

• Spiritual vs. non-spiritual desolation and consolation and the importance of distinguishing between the two;

• How non-spiritual factors can affect our spiritual life;

• Ruminations, incessant or intrusive thinking, and loss of sleep as symptoms of anxiety disorder;

• Distinguishing between the need for therapy versus a need to learn how to trust God more;

• Catholic mindfulness as a helpful way to reduce anxiety.

Resources mentioned or relevant:

• The Mindful Catholic by Dr. Greg Bottaro;

• More on the Catholic Mindfulness Virtual Retreat;

• Read You're No Angel, But Neither Am I (blog article);

• Listen to Episode #128: Can I Just Pray It Away? (A Mentorship Message);

• Listen to Episode #18: Should You Just "Pray More"?;

• Become a member of the Integrated Life Community to access all of Dr. Greg's courses, including his Catholic Mindfulness 2: Discernment of Spirits course!

• Need help? Schedule a free consultation call with someone on our team to discuss how we can support you;

• Learn about IDDM (Mentorship), our new model of accompaniment;

• Sign up for Being Human, our weekly newsletter, to stay up to date on the exciting developments at CatholicPsych;

• Visit our website to read the CatholicPsych blog, shop in the CatholicPsych bookshop, or discover other resources we have available;

• Download The Integrated App for access to free audio exercises, courses, prayer resources, and more;

• Join the waitlist to be notified about our next Open House to learn more about the new CPMAP certification!

Contact us! Have a topic or a question you would like Dr. Greg to address on the podcast? Want to give some feedback about this episode? Email us at [email protected] - we would love to hear from you!

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