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Calm Your Caveman
Welcome to "Calm Your Caveman" – the podcast that gives you the tools for anxiety mastery. I'm Dr. Adriana Jarvis Twitchell, and my doctoral degree in anxiety management strategies qualifies me to guide you on this journey. I've walked the path from chronic anxiety to security, and I'm here to help you do the same. In this podcast, you'll find control through understanding how emotions are generated and learn effective anxiety mastery strategies for every circumstance. By tuning in, you’ll achieve increased productive energy, access to peak performance, and greater self-understanding. No need to be bullied any longer by your anxiety. Join me on "Calm Your Caveman" and start your journey towards a life where you're in control, balanced, and thriving.
Episodes
100 episodes
What Would You Do If You Didn't Have to Do It Perfectly?
Episode 100 marks the end of the weekly run of Calm Your Caveman. In this milestone episode, I reflect on the journey of creating 100 episodes, the mistakes made along the way, and the surprising gift of imperfection.We'll explore exerc...
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You Can't Change a Feeling You Can't Name
Have you ever known that you felt bad, but couldn't explain exactly what you were feeling? This difficulty identifying and describing emotions is known as alexithymia, and research has linked it to higher levels of anxiety, depression, and stre...
Stop Letting Your Emotions Run Your Life
Many people believe they only have two choices when strong emotions show up: suppress them or act on them. But what if there's a third option?In this episode, we explore the science of emotion regulation and how you can change emotions at t...
When Things Don't Work Out Like You Wanted
Life doesn't always unfold the way we hoped it would. Sometimes doors close, plans fall apart, and despite our best efforts, circumstances refuse to change.In this episode, I share two practices that have helped me navigate disappointme...
How to Handle Conflict Without More Anxiety
Conflict with other people can trigger intense anxiety, anger, defensiveness, and emotional overwhelm. But what if understanding emotions could completely change the way we handle difficult people? Drawing on principles from emotion science, th...
How to Cultivate Hope When You Feel Anxious
Anxiety is very good at imagining threatening futures. Hope does the opposite: it helps us imagine that something good could still happen and that we may be able to find ways to meet the demands we’re facing.In this episode, we explore ...
How Forgiveness Reduces Anxiety and Stress
Forgiveness can feel impossible when you’ve been deeply hurt. But research shows that forgiveness is strongly connected to lower anxiety, lower depression, reduced hostility, and greater emotional peace. In this episode, we explore forgiveness ...
Why Big Life Changes Feel So Overwhelming (And What Helps)
Big life transitions — like losing a loved one, changing identity, or stepping into a new phase of life — don’t just bring grief. They often bring anxiety on top of everything else.In this episode, we explore how to reduce that extra layer ...
Drugs and Anxiety
Can you medicate anxiety away?In this episode, we take a balanced, research-informed look at the role of chemical manipulation in anxiety — including prescription medications, alcohol, cannabis, beta blockers, and emerging treatments. This ...
3 Ways to Feel Less Anxious Around People
Avoiding social situations can feel like relief…but over time, it can actually make anxiety worse.Your brain is constantly asking one question in social situations: “Do I have what it takes to handle this?” If the answer feels like “no,” yo...
The Comparison Trap: How to Stop Feeling Behind
Do you feel anxious or “not good enough” when you compare yourself to other people? In this episode, I break down what research shows about how happy people relate to social comparison—and how you can shift from feeling threatened… to actually ...
How to Escape the Anxiety Treadmill
Do you ever solve one problem…only to immediately start worrying about the next? That’s the anxiety treadmill. Your brain moves on so fast from what’s okay that you never really get to feel it. So it feels like you’re always chasing relief— but...
Kindness and Anxiety: More Connected Than You Think
Feeling better might be closer—and simpler—than you think. In this episode, we explore new research on acts of kindness and why doing something for others can reduce anxiety and increase your sense of connection more than:• Planning social ...
The Question That Reduces Anxiety
What do happy people do differently—especially when they feel stressed or anxious?Most of us assume that reducing anxiety means changing our circumstances. But research shows that our thought patterns and daily mental habits have a far g...
Reframe Your Past, Rewire Your Anxiety
Your brain is constantly predicting the future. And what does it use to make those predictions? Your memories. Join me as we explore the fascinating science behind how memory shapes anxiety—and a simple practice you can use to help retrain your...
The 6 Pillars of Anxiety Mastery
If you’re trying to reduce anxiety, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by all the advice out there. After more than 80 episodes of Calm Your Caveman, I wanted to answer a simple question: Where should you start? If I had to pick the most...
The Sleep Schedule Fix That Helps Anxiety
Sleep is one of the most powerful tools for managing anxiety—but it’s not just about how much you sleep. Research shows that when you sleep also matters. In this episode, we explore how sleep timing affects anxiety, sleep quality, and overall h...
How to Make New Habits Without Burning Out
Feel like you know lots of anxiety tools, but can’t seem to turn them into habits? In this episode, I share four ideas that make new habits dramatically easier:Let learning “soak in” instead of forcing itStart smaller than ...
What to Do When Anxiety Takes Over Your Day
Ever had a day where anxiety completely hijacks you—and you know all the tools, but can’t seem to use them? This episode is different. Instead of teaching something new, I walk you through how I used the strategies we’ve already discussed… on m...
Suicide Prevention with Dr. Greg Hudnall
What if one of the most powerful ways to support struggling teens isn’t trying to fix them—but teaching them how to show up for each other? In this episode, Adriana speaks with Dr. Gregory Hudnall, founder of Hope Squad, a peer-to-peer school p...
How to Lower Anxiety When Life Feels Out of Control
When life feels out of control, anxiety spikes. But here’s something you can control — a 3-minute daily practice that research shows can reduce rumination and depression, boost stress resilience, and help your brain shift out of threat mode. It...
Letting Go of Perfectionism
Perfectionism doesn’t just push you — it pressures you. And that pressure fuels anxiety.When your brain believes your worth depends on your performance, mistakes feel like threats — not feedback. This week on the podcast:✨ Why ...
You’re Still Here—and How That Can Calm Anxiety
If anxiety feels like a loop you can’t escape, it’s not because you’re broken—it’s because habits take practice. In this episode, we examine a simple exercise: by reflecting on the “close calls” you’ve survived, you can exit the threat mindset ...
Change Your Stress Response With Nature
Many people with anxiety unknowingly miss one of the most powerful, research-backed tools for lowering baseline anxiety. In this episode, we explore modern neuroscience showing how natural environments restore the brain’s attention system, redu...
How to Break Down Overwhelming Tasks
Big projects can trigger anxiety when they feel too large to handle. In this episode, you’ll learn a simple, practical method to turn overwhelming stress into productive stress. Using a real coaching example, I walk you through how to break dow...