Goals, Grit, and Some Woo Woo Sh*t

Addicted to Anxiety? with Owen O'Kane

Oonagh Duncan Episode 133

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0:00 | 52:29

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What if your anxiety isn’t just something happening to you… but something you’ve gotten really, really good at?

That’s the uncomfortable and surprisingly empowering idea I explore in this conversation with therapist and author Owen O’Kane. His book Addicted to Anxiety stopped me in my tracks, and this episode takes that conversation even deeper. We dig into why anxiety isn’t something to eliminate, but something to understand and work with.

Owen shares how, after decades in clinical practice, he started noticing a pattern: people don’t just experience anxiety, they form a relationship with it. And sometimes, that relationship looks a lot like dependence. Anxiety promises safety. It keeps us alert. It makes us feel like we’re in control. So of course letting it go feels terrifying.

We talk about why trying to “fix” or eliminate anxiety often backfires, and how learning to relate to it differently can completely shift your experience. Instead of treating anxiety like an enemy, Owen invites us to see it as a scared part of ourselves that needs guidance, not rejection.

We also get into perfectionism, overthinking, and why so many of us confuse vigilance with responsibility. And one of my favorite moments was when Owen shared how he still feels anxiety before speaking on stage… and how he works with it instead of fighting it.

This conversation is honest, human, and deeply reassuring. Because the goal isn’t to become someone who never feels anxious. It’s to become someone who knows what to do when you do.

What’s Inside:

  • Why anxiety can feel “addictive” and hard to let go of
  • The difference between working with anxiety vs trying to eliminate it
  • How intolerance of uncertainty fuels anxious thinking
  • Why perfectionism and overthinking are often rooted in anxiety

Here’s what I keep coming back to after this conversation: anxiety isn’t the problem. Our relationship with it is.

When we treat anxiety like an enemy, we fight ourselves. But when we learn to recognize it as a scared part trying to protect us, something softens. We get to respond instead of react.

So here’s your question:
What if your anxiety isn’t something to get rid of… but something to get curious about?

DM me on Instagram. I’d love to hear what this conversation brought up for you.

Mentioned in This Episode:
Owen O’Kane
Owen O’Kane on Instagram
Addicted to Anxiety Book
Oonagh Duncan on Instagram
Fit Feels Good
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