When we think about dealing with anxiety, many of us will (understandably) think of stress management techniques to ease our anxiety and feel more calm and relaxed. But are those stress management exercises really as helpful as we think?

According to one of the world's leading experts on anxiety and OCD, our reflexive response to immediately seek relief from uncomfortable emotions can actually add to the problem more than it helps. 

In this episode of Empowering Lives, Dr. Jon Abramowitz - a clinical psychologist and Professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill - joins host Sandy Clarke to share his thoughts on why learning to coexist with our emotions is the key to managing them effectively. 

He also talks about the contexts in which stress management is helpful, and why avoidance of unpleasant emotions can lead to less resilience and increased stress and anxiety. 

This podcast comes to you from the Department of Psychology at HELP University: the university of achievers. For more information on our psychology and other programmes, please visit www.help.edu.my

Thank you for listening to Empowering Lives!