The Cameo Show
The Cameo Show is a podcast about sharing our life experiences and learning from each other. Through solo stories and inspiring conversations with a wide variety of guests, we explore the secrets and strategies for feeling confident, empowered and equipped to live the life we want to lead. Tune in to learn how to find joy and fulfillment in your life and to gain valuable insights from the amazing stories and lessons of our guests.
The Cameo Show
Anxiety Club with Wendy Lobel
What if anxiety didn’t have to be a private battle? In this episode, we sit down with Emmy Award–winning director-producer Wendy Lobel, whose 30-year career includes work with PBS, A&E, VH1, MSNBC, and Nickelodeon. Her feature debut, Anxiety Club—blends humor, evidence-based therapy, and the power of storytelling to make mental health feel more human.
In Anxiety Club, comedians like Tiffany Jenkins, Joe List, and Eva Victor pull back the curtain on panic, OCD, and social dread—revealing how avoidance keeps fear in charge and how small, repeatable steps can build real ease. Through sharp humor and on-camera exposure therapy, the film transforms “run from it” into “move toward it,” reminding us that the antidote to anxiety isn’t control… it’s courage.
Wendy shares why comedians became the perfect storytellers, how the mantra “Maybe it will, maybe it won’t” helps people tolerate uncertainty, and what the CBT triangle (thoughts, feelings, behaviors) teaches us about changing the patterns that keep us stuck. We also explore everyday tools; like meditation, box breathing, exercise, and medication—that create balance in real life.
If you’ve ever wondered “Is this level of anxiety normal?” or “How do I support someone I love when I can’t see what they’re feeling?”—this conversation offers clarity, empathy, and next steps you can start today.
We also highlight the film’s festival journey, community screenings, and where to stream Anxiety Club at home.
🎬 Watch the film: jolt.film
Find more about Anxiety Club on the website or IG.
🎧 Listen now, and share this episode with someone who needs it. If it helps you feel seen, subscribe, leave a review, and tell us—what small exposure or calming practice will you try this week?
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Hello and welcome to the Cameo Show. I'm your host, Cameo, and today we are joined by my husband and co-host, Mr. Greg Braun. Hi, Greg.
SPEAKER_00:How's it going?
SPEAKER_03:We are also joined by Wendy Lobel, and she is the director and producer of the new film Anxiety Club. And we'll get to more on that in just a second. But you all know that Greg likes to start us with a dad joke. So Greg, lay it on us.
SPEAKER_00:Yes. Welcome, Wendy. Um, you you have a uh a movie out, a uh, you know, so you're you're on the HD screen, so I want to just want to share this one with you. What did Yoda say when he saw himself in 4K?
SPEAKER_01:What?
SPEAKER_00:Are you a Star Wars fan?
SPEAKER_01:No, not so much.
SPEAKER_00:He said, HD I am.
SPEAKER_03:H D I am. And we get the voice. Thank you, Greg. Never a dull moment. Wendy, welcome. Thank you so much for being with us. We are honored to have you and so excited to talk about your new film, a documentary about anxiety. It's heartfelt, it's funny, it brought a tear or two to my eyes. It made me feel very seen, and I'm sure the audiences all over are receiving it in the same way. You bring in comedians to talk about their real raw experience with anxiety. What a better way to present a topic that is much needed and with much needed levity. So thank you again so much for being here. I have to start by saying we had the honor of meeting Wendy at a film screening in Sarasota, Florida, which is where we're based. And um so we didn't really know what to expect, to be quite honest. I'm a Tiffany Jenkins fan. Tiffany's in the film, and I had seen it through her. And so we went to the film screening, and I was just like, okay, I this lands so hard with me right now. And then we got to talk to you afterwards. So thank you for being um willing to talk to us and to our listeners about the film. It came out, gosh, just a couple of weeks ago officially.
SPEAKER_01:Yep. It's on yeah, thank you. Thank you so much. First of all, thank you so much for that introduction. I appreciate it. And I appreciate uh that you know, meeting you guys at the film festival and then that you followed up with me and that we're doing this. So thank you so much.
SPEAKER_03:Absolutely. So tell us, Wendy, how did this all begin? Where did the idea to create a documentary and film about anxiety start for you?
SPEAKER_01:The seed for it started uh around 2013 when I did I was working on a kid's news program called Nick News with Linda Ellerby, and it was on Nickelodeon, and I had worked on it for many years. And I had done an episode about teens with anxiety. And I have anxiety, and I had anxiety at the time. I've had it for most of my adult life, maybe before, without knowing what it was. And I was just really moved by the stories of these kids. Saw a lot of suffering, but I also saw that they were a lot of them were doing really doing better having been having gone through something called exposure therapy, which as you know is in Anxiety Club as well. Um, and it was the first I had heard of exposure therapy, which is part of cognitive behavioral therapy. Anyway, so I saw that the therapy was really profoundly helping some of these kids. And that was like when that was the seed, that was when the seed was planted. And then a few years passed and uh started working, you know, started thinking about doing a larger film, a feature film about anxiety. And I always knew that it was going to be about the experience of anxiety and how to get from anxious to calm or calmer. And I knew that I wanted to follow one person, one character through exposure therapy because I believed in it. And it's also something that I knew would work for film, and as opposed to sitting in on a session where people, you know, the therapist and the patient are just talking. This was more, it just lent itself better for film. The exposure exercises are uh you know pretty intense and and and you know interesting to see. So uh so that's when it started. And then at some point it it evolved into comedians. Originally it was going to be regular people with anxiety. And through the casting and research process, looking into all kinds of people, and eventually uh started looking into some comedians. My husband is really into comedy and he was like, oh, this person or this person. And so I started looking into comedians who really focus a lot of their material on anxiety, on their anxiety, you know, stand-up or like in Tiffany's case, sketch videos. And it was just really compelling and just seemed like a better way to talk about a serious subject like anxiety.
SPEAKER_03:Yes, I couldn't agree more. I found that it was very for such a heavy topic, for something that's so relatable and kind of scary to talk about, quite honestly, because you're not sure. Am I the only one that feels this way? Maybe I'm something's wrong with me. To bring comedians in and have them lighten it up is something that helps everyone feel more comfortable with a heavy topic specifically. So I was curious about that. I love that you landed on comedians and they all did such a great job, not just making it funny, but being really honest and really um what's the word I'm looking for?
SPEAKER_01:Vulnerable.
SPEAKER_03:Vulnerable is exactly the word I was looking for because it takes a lot to share those personal, private moments of your deepest, darkest fears and concerns that again, many people keep to themselves. So it brings it to a light that helps people feel brave enough to confront it. Exposure therapy was not something that I had heard of until we saw the film. So can you talk a little bit more about that?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, sure. I mean, it's uh you have to be brave to do it and you have to work hard, but it is it's behavioral therapy, and it is something that you know, you basically start where you're at, meaning that you're not talking about your childhood and things that happened a long time ago. You're starting where you are, and it's and it's really um, you know, you're looking at you're you're doing exercises, you're going towards the fear. I mean, when we have anxiety, so often we avoid things. We avoid the things that we feel are too scary or that we're not going to be able to handle. And so this kind of therapy um allows one to go towards the fear in a methodical and a safe way. And you do exercises, you start doing things that are uh that challenge you in the places where you were maybe once avoiding. And the idea is that you eventually get to the point where you realize, like, okay, this seems so scary, but it's not as scary as I thought. You know, you're doing things over and over again. You know, each week there are different exercises and you're doing it over and over again until it becomes like boring or doesn't, or you know, you don't have the same emotional reaction to it. You don't have the same fears, same fears associated with it. And it's one of the evidence-based treatments for anxiety and OCD. And uh, you know, it's really shown to help a lot of people. It's not for everyone, and you have to, you have to really do it in order in order to make a change in your life. But for those who do, I I think it can be very effective. Yeah.
SPEAKER_03:Well, our experience with therapy has been talk therapy or EMDR therapy. So this idea of starting where you are is very interesting to me. And I I'm not sure that I even understood it that way until you just put it that way. So thank you for explaining that. And not not to, I want everyone to watch this film. Every single person on the planet should watch this film. And it's on jolt jolt.film. Side note, go to jolt.film. You can stream it right from home. You don't have to leave the house to go watch it, which is lovely. Uh, especially when we're talking about anxiety, you know, the just the idea there's no anxiety to go anywhere, if that is something that is, you know, a roadblock. But um, in the film, Tiffany specifically has to do, you you talk about scary things. As moms, I think we constantly worry about our kids at different phases in different ways. Now I'm probably perimenopausal and my kids are older, but now I worry about them like what feels like anxiety that just slams into me like a wall. But um, Tiffany had to do this exposure therapy exercise where she had to write down, and forgive me if I don't get it exactly right, but my kids are going to die or something.
SPEAKER_01:What did she maybe my kids will die today?
SPEAKER_03:Maybe my kids will die today. That I feel like that's even worse because we all know we're all going to die, but the whole maybe my kids will will die today was something that I mean, I I it's hard to say. It she had to write it over and over and over again as one of her practices. And um, I I don't know that I could bring myself to write that down. And but to your point, after she did it a million times, it became something that just became robotic almost. Right, yeah.
SPEAKER_01:I mean, when people hear some of these these things, when people hear you have to write, maybe my kids will die today, it sounds crazy. I mean, it really does. And again, it's not for everyone. I mean, it is, it doesn't, it you have to really believe in it and see the benefits of it and and take a leap of faith. Uh, and you know, it was the first, I think it was the first exposure that she was asked to do that she was assigned, and it was like, whoa, you know, that's that's uh that we're gonna start. That's a big one. Very intense. We're diving right in. Yeah. Right, right. And um, yeah, and it was just I I mean, Tiffany was amazing because she was so determined to really do this, give it her all to do this for her kids. I mean, yes, she was being filmed and she was part of this film, but she knew. I mean, we told her from the beginning, listen, if at any point this isn't for you, you don't want to do it, you want to back out. It's your choice. So she her motivation was that she wanted to she wants to be different with her kids. She didn't want to be as fearful, she didn't want to prevent them from doing fun things that all kids were doing. Uh and and and so I mean, you'll have to watch the people will have to watch the film to see what happened, but uh it was it was a very interesting process.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah. And she has been very transparent and vulnerable in her books and her entire story. So that was amazing to watch on the film. But what I also thought was very interesting was that each comedian had their own thing that they struggled with. So Tiffany's was with her kids, but they all attached it to their own why. Like what's the driving force behind why I want to make this change? And the way that they each share it, there that's why there's something in this for everyone, why someone, why everyone should watch it, because you don't have to be a mom to be able to relate to these feelings that people are experiencing.
SPEAKER_01:Right, exactly. I mean, they all have different kinds of anxiety. In some cases, they have the same, or in some cases they have a few different types of anxiety, you know, like with Joe List. I mean, he says he's got it all. He's got um, you know, panic disorder and he has OCD and generalized anxiety and social anxiety. I mean, he, you know, he goes through the list of everything that he feels he has. Um and so yeah, I think that anybody who has, you know, listen, everybody has anxiety to a certain extent, but it's like when it interferes with your daily life, like that's when it becomes a problem, or it can become a problem, and that's when I think people are should be encouraged to seek help. Um so I think that anybody who feels more than a regular normal dose of anxiety in their daily life will be able to relate to to at least one of the characters, if not more. It's true. They all they all have it in in one way or another, and but it's different. But I think that with anxiety and OCD, maybe OCD a little different, but with anxiety, it's like it looks different. Everybody experiences it differently, but yet there are some things that I think we all feel when we uh struggle with anxiety, you know, the avoidance, sometimes the people pleasing, looking for reassurance, you know, those kinds of things are uh, you know, kind of universal, maybe not everyone, but there's a lot of commonalities within the population of people with anxiety.
SPEAKER_03:I agree. And I would also say that I I think everyone wonders is this a normal level of anxiety that I'm experiencing? Is this too far? Does everyone feel this way? And so each of the characters, each of the comedians that share their story, presenting kind of what they experience, and then with a chuckle, again landed for me in in such a way that I was like, okay, I know that I have some tools that I can use, but now I've been given this kind of uh example that there are other things that, should it go too far, that I can work through. And in addition to exposure therapy, there were other ways that were presented in the film to manage anxiety. And one of which we we spoke after the film when we met in person about meditation, which we are huge meditators. I know Greg was so excited to pull out his Spotify app and show you that he listens to Tara Brock every day at three o'clock. So we we loved that Tara Brock was in the film and that a a couple, if not all of them, of the comedians uh shared that they use meditation as a tool to manage their anxiety, amongst other things. Is there anything that stands out to you with any of the comedians in particular that was something that they, you know, leaned on in a way that was different?
SPEAKER_01:Uh, you know, I don't know if there's anything that was different. I mean, I would say certainly Joe. I mean, the Tara Brock thing was interesting because when we were filming with Joe early on, this was probably back in 2018, 2019. I mean, it was a while ago. And we wanted to film him meditating because he was meditating at the time. And he sits down and he starts listening to Tara Brock. He had her books. I mean, he was a real fan of Tara Brock and felt that she had really helped him a lot. And I had heard of her, but I didn't know much about her, and then just figured, like, let me reach out and see if she would be interested in being a part of this. And she was, which was amazing. Um, so I think that for Joe, like meditation definitely has helped him a lot. Uh, you know, in terms of like things that weren't in the film, I'm just trying to think. Uh, you know, definitely Aparna said that she would often do a meditation before she would go on stage to do a set. I think maybe she also did some deep breathing. Certainly, Tiffany does uh is a fan of uh something called box breathing. Like, you know that one, right? Oh no, please share. But yes, I love the box breathe. It helps center me. It's like the you know, breathing in for four breaths, holding for four, breathing out for four breaths, and holding for four. I never, you know, I always heard it as box breathing, but then I heard Tiffany, actually, she described it in this LA Times article that came out today, that she literally envisions, she pictures a box, a square, and does that, looks at that when she's uh thinks of that when she's doing her breathing. Um, so I mean, some of them talked about exercise. I mean, really, I mean, it's really kind of the things that we hear about commonly when we're talking about how to deal with anxiety and medication. I mean, it's it's really, you know, there are so many tools and not everything works for everyone. I've certainly tried, you know, all of them and differ and and they've all, you know, they've all helped at different times. Certain things work better for me than others, but I think it's great that there's a whole lot of tools that people can can pick from in a way and try out.
unknown:Yeah.
SPEAKER_00:That's that's what I think I took from that. I didn't really know what what I was going to. I just knew we were going to a movie premiere and where something cool.
SPEAKER_03:He gets looped into a lot of things.
SPEAKER_00:But I heard all about Tiffany's book and and her journey and stuff, so we were like, all right, let's go check this out. And I was blown away. I mean, I was literally just blown away. It seems very accessible. I'm a meditator, I believe in it, and then you know, just to see how that's worked into it along with the other things, it makes it very um relatable, and I think a lot of people, the general population, will will be able to absorb this and and feel freed and and feel like I'm not crazy, I'm not the only one, you know. And I think that that it's just and by having were there four different lives, four different comedians?
SPEAKER_01:Well, there were seven, but some of them we followed more closely than others, but seven comedians in there.
SPEAKER_00:Okay. So yeah, I mean you you you that right there makes a great mix. Uh, you know, you might relate, a viewer might relate to one more than the other, and so it just kind of it really worked for me. I thought it was a great, great movie.
SPEAKER_01:So thanks, Greg. That's so nice. I'm I'm so glad. I mean, we really are getting so much positive feedback. And I mean, the thing that's most meaningful to me and the team that that made this film with me, you know, is is like when it touches someone who has anxiety and they might be struggling with it day, you know, day after day and feeling alone. And then they see this and they say that they often say we often hear people say that they they felt seen or they f feel less alone. But also what I love is when somebody who doesn't have anxiety watches it and then says, Okay, I understand my my person better. Because it's hard. I mean, anxiety is so is so internal, unless you're having a panic attack. I mean, it's it's um, you know, people don't necessarily know when something is suffering or struggling with anxiety. So yeah, it's amazing.
SPEAKER_03:It's definitely very isolating, or it can be and um also very hard to support someone if you aren't able to understand what ride they're on, you know, because from the outside it's like everything is great. Well, but you don't understand what's happening with my brain. I'm fascinated by the human brain. And you know, there's a lot of empathy and compassion after you watch this film, recognizing that the people that are around you that you may think don't experience these things actually are, and then it makes you take a step back and wonder, well, what about the people closest to me?
SPEAKER_00:Yeah, you know, not just Especially, sorry, especially the funny people, especially the comedians, you know, because you think they're the ones that are way out in front of this, but it's it's that's what was really kind of like is is polarizing the word, I'm not sure, but it's it's like wow, you would you wouldn't think depression and or or you know anxiety and would go with the comedian, but it's like even they have it, you know. It's like the people that get on stage, like when I think of what a comedian does, they go in front of a room full of people and like tell jokes and make them laugh, like anxiety, you know, it's like how do you do that? I know, and someone like that that can do that and has that skill also has anxiety about going out in public and just going to the grocery store. It's like, you know.
SPEAKER_01:Well, it's different for all of them. I mean, in some cases, some of the comedians feel a lot of anxiety before they go on stage or when they're when they go on stage, when they're on stage. Others have no they feel most in control and most safe in a way when they're on stage and having the least amount of anxiety when they're on stage. And then they go off and maybe they have to talk to fans or what have you. And that's when they when the anxiety might kick in. So it is people are always surprised about that. Um, but you know, their anxiety is like anybody else's. I mean, it's it's about the universal experience of anxiety, and it's just using comedians to talk about it. It's not, we really didn't even talk much about, you know, so-called stage fright. It was really just the same anxiety that anybody else might experience. They just happen to be comedians and they talk about it in their daily life more than the rest of us, or they analyze themselves or introspective. They have a different perspective and they're funny. And so it just it really helped to hear, you know, to talk about the subject uh using comedians. But yeah, it's the same thing that anybody else experiences.
SPEAKER_03:So I think you did such a brilliant job bridging the gap between something that is so universally experienced, but usually not talked about, and deeply human, and then finding the balance of making that funny without dismissing the severity of the subject or trying to lighten it in a way that uh minimizes the the feeling. And so well done to you and your team. And um, I'm sure that was difficult. How did you how did you know when to cut what and what to share and what to not? I mean, I always wonder that about a director or producer, the editing process.
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, the ed I mean, listen, I work with an amazing team. My editor, Caroline Ehrenberg, is very experienced. She's um she's a producer on the film, and she's the editor, and we've known each other for decades, and um, she's a good friend. And so a lot of conversations that we had, and then she spent a lot of time in the edit room, and she would work on, you know, finding the gems in each of the comedian's stories and putting together sequences, and then uh, you know, it was just a long process, a lot of back and forth, and um other people on the team also weighed in, and then we would have uh, you know, we would have screenings and for, you know, with other filmmakers, experienced filmmakers, and they would like give us comments. And so it was a long process of really finding finding the story, finding the balance. But you know, a lot of that came through the edit, came from, you know, Caroline being in the edit room and and uh that process of of balancing, finding that balance because it really, yeah, it did need to have both. And there was there's a lot of more comedy in the first half and the second half. I mean, listen, it's funny all along because the comedians are just inherently funny. I mean, like even I mean, Tiffany in the therapy. I mean, she's just so endearing, she's just just such a love. You know, she's self-deprecating, and you know, she's going through a lot in that in those therapy sessions, but yet she's still always funny. Not always. I mean, there's a lot of emotion there too, but um, but it's interesting that you know, sometimes people are like, I feel funny laughing at the stories of you know, Tiffany's stories or other stories of of the anxiety, the anxious experience, and as opposed to the stand-up or the sketch videos, which is of course you're gonna laugh at that, but you know, just the comedians themselves in their daily lives are um very interesting and and often funny. So I don't know if I I forgot what the what the question was, but I think I find the balance and yeah, finding the balance.
SPEAKER_03:I it was perfectly answered. Yeah, I mean, I and and I'm so sorry, I don't remember the therapist's name, the doctor.
SPEAKER_01:Oh, Natalie. Yeah, Natalie Noel.
SPEAKER_03:She was wonderful. And specifically regarding Tiffany and her sessions, I just think that she also, I mean, obviously that's what she does in her profession, you know. So but specifically in the film, the editors or however this came together did a great job showing where she would call Tiffany out and say, like, hey, you're kind of hiding behind your comedy here. Like you can't self-deprecate to a fault where you then are avoiding what you're trying to face. And I I thought that was nice, nicely done too, because I I love self-deprecating humor. I tend to do it, but it is definitely sometimes an escape tactic from facing you know what's really there and so relatable as well. I'm glad that you brought up the LA Times article because I would love to hear more about some of the festivals that the film has been a part of, any awards, nominations, articles like LA Times, because this is huge. So please gloat for a minute about this. So you deserve it. It's amazing.
SPEAKER_01:Thank you. That's so nice. Yeah, I mean, the LA Times article, I mean, that is definitely the biggest thing so far that uh the biggest press hit that we've gotten. But we've been in, let's see, I think we've been we've screened at about 18 festivals. Uh, and they've been, I mean, most of them have been in the US, but we went to one that was in Barcelona and it was the Brain Film Fest. It was all films about the brain.
SPEAKER_02:Oh, wow.
SPEAKER_01:Which was so cool. That was really fun. And, you know, got to go there and and screen there, and it was, you know, in Catalan, Catalan subtitles, and we had 300 people there, and it was really fascinating to see it play in a whole different environment like that. Right. Um, but we've won a few awards at uh at some of the festivals. Uh, I think we've we've won three awards so far. Uh we have at least a dozen more festivals coming up. Uh, we apply to a lot of festivals, we've gotten rejected from a bunch and we've gotten into a whole lot. So it's been really, you know, and I think it kind of builds when people hear about it, and then uh, you know, we get more invitations and and more yeses from our submissions. So that's been really wonderful. And um, yeah, we've gotten a lot of um, yeah, a lot of press. I mean, we're working with publicists, so that's been really great. Falco Inc., they've been amazing. And uh, you know, I've done some other podcasts, Larry Wilmore, um, you know, a bunch of other ones, and some of the comedians have been, you know, they've gotten to to do some press as well for it. So that's that's been really exciting. Uh we're also doing a lot of community screenings uh with mental health organizations, colleges, universities that are starting to build where we'll screen the film and then do a QA either in person or virtually. Oh, that's wonderful. Yeah, I mean, we just really wanted to be seen by as many people as possible, and in particular to be seen by the people who need it most and who will hopefully be helped by it.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah. Well, that was gonna be my next question. And I know that it's easy to make an assumption, but what is your hope uh that people take away from this the most after working with everyone and being involved in this process for so many years? I mean, well, actually, let me stop and ask a first question. What's your biggest takeaway and being involved in this in a different way?
SPEAKER_01:My biggest takeaway in terms of anxiety?
SPEAKER_03:In terms of, yeah, what you learned about anxiety, because it became less just your personal experience and now a very large experience with many people involved.
SPEAKER_01:So yes, uh, really good question. I have to say that I learned a lot from Natalie, the therapist. Uh, one thing that I do often is maybe, maybe not. She is something she had Tiffany do. You know, maybe this bad thing that you think is going to happen will happen. Maybe it won't. And it takes it, it I think the purpose of it is that, you know, we're so focused on trying when you have anxiety, you know, we get very focused on trying to feel less uncertainty. So try, you know, try to try to have certainty, try to have control. And, you know, just like in life, we we don't, we can't always have control. So it's it's really going towards the uncertainty. Maybe this will happen, maybe it won't. For some reason, I don't know why, but for some reason, I find that really helpful when I'm struggling with something. It's like almost like it interrupts. It interrupts the like, oh, is the worry. And then it's like, ah, maybe it will, maybe it won't. And somehow it reminds me, and then I think that's the intention. It reminds one that um it's not always in your control, you know, give it up. Let it go, let it be. So that's one thing that has been really helpful. Another is When she said when she was doing this triangle of how cognitive behavioral therapy works and just how our minds work and its um thoughts, feelings, behaviors. So you get a thought and then you get anxious or fearful, and then you do something like avoid or people please or look for assurance, reassurance, that kind of thing. And she said that you're not going to stop having anxious thoughts. It's a matter of what you do with them, how you respond to them. And if you respond with you know maladaptive behaviors like avoidance or looking for reassurance or that kind of thing, or if you, you know, if you if you respond in a different way, in a healthier way. And that might mean different things for people. But um, you know, for me, sometimes it's interrupting the thought. If I'm having, if I'm ruminating about something, it's like, okay, Wendy, you know, you're just you're just not just anxiety, and you know, and then it, and then you you cut it short, you cut short that loop, and then you might come back to it, but and you just keep doing it until you kind of train yourself not to. But also, you know, like right now I'm on medication, and it's funny because I've even though I just made this film and talked to a lot of people who are uh struggling with anxiety, and many of them who who take medication, I've I felt a little uncomfortable talking about it myself. But um, you know, I've I've been on something and I continue to go to therapy doing both together. And I think at some point I won't be on medication. Um, but I've been on something the last year or so, and it's very helpful. And I'm continuing to work on it so that when I'm ready to go off of it, which hopefully will be soon, uh I think I think I I will, you know, be better equipped to to respond to things better.
SPEAKER_03:I love that you brought that up because I think that's also stigmatized. Yes. And the fact that it is completely normal to need a little assistance in many areas of our lives, not just about having anxiety or other, you know, I call them brain things, because we all I like I have a tendency to just constantly find the negative, self-sabotage, like the and and I have to interrupt. Greg's like, yes, she does.
SPEAKER_00:She'll she'll do something incredible and amazing that 10 years ago Cameo would be like, no way. And I'm like, honey, you just did that. And she's like, yeah, but it's not the I'm like keeps me humble, is what I tell myself.
SPEAKER_03:But I know that's unhealthy. And so I have to find ways to interrupt the thought. But the idea that using medication to help me level off a little bit is a bad thing, is just completely uh being ignorant to the fact that that's just sometimes the way that the brain synapses work. That's just sometimes you need you need to bridge the gap. But I love that you said you're working on it as a partner, like it they go together so that if and when you're ready to go off of the medication, it's not such a steep ball. I I love that. I think that goes hand in hand with many medications and you know, is a huge should be a huge topic of of conversation itself. So I digress, but um the the whole thought interruption and the I for I forgot about the maybe it will, maybe it won't. Yeah, gotta, I'm gonna write that down. I have post-it notes everywhere because that's what a useful and helpful tool to say. Okay, it's not that deep, you know?
SPEAKER_01:Yeah, yeah, it's so powerful. I don't know why it's so powerful, but it is. It's like a little magic trick sometimes. I yeah, and I think it's a twofold thing. I think one is that it's a reminder that hey, we don't, we can't control everything because once we realize that we can't control everything, then it's like you can kind of take a deep breath and say, oh, all right, I'm just gonna like let this be. But the other thing is I think it's a way of interrupting, interrupting a worried thought and uh and getting away from it. And then you can come back a little stronger, I guess.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah. I just want to mention again that the film is available on jolt.film. Um, I have linked it. I will link it in the show notes. I am shouting from the the rooftop, the mountaintop that everyone needs to watch this film. Um, aside from more festivals and more promotion, uh, what what's what's next? Anything anything that has come up that we haven't talked about as a result of the film?
SPEAKER_01:Let's see, I feel like I'm probably forgetting something. Um, you know, we're we're we're building on the community event. I mean, that's gonna be something that will continue probably for could be for a couple of years. Uh, you know, I think, I think eventually want to get into the high school audience, but you know, we'll have to take some things out of the film. Edit it a little bit differently. But I think, you know, really trying to get it to those audiences that need it, high school, college, anxious. Um, you know, we're we're forming some partnerships, uh, partnership with Comedy Gives Back, which is an amazing organization, and they help comedians who are struggling with everything from mental health to substance abuse, financial crisis, that kind of thing. Um, the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, they are um becoming a partner. So, you know, we're looking to partner with organizations that uh, you know, that that are in the same, you know have similar goals, the same mission and give back so that they can support. Yeah, and and can help the organizations and and then people can find out, you know, more about us through them as well. So yeah, we'll see. I mean, lots of exciting things ahead, but we're taking it uh one step at a time.
SPEAKER_03:Well, congratulations, and I'm so honored to have been able to meet you. I know, Greg, you feel the same way, not to speak for you, but just I'm a fan.
SPEAKER_00:I'm a fan. This is great.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah, and so nice. Thank you guys. I love that you've shared your personal story a little bit with us too. You know, I think that's such a huge part of it, versus just I'm the director and the producer, and this is my film. Also, here's my experience. And and again, I just feel like these conversations at the forefront make are the are what really make a difference. You know, they make a lot of change for people. So thank you for the work that you're doing. I know I'm sure you're tired some days and it can be exhausting, but also so exciting. So, congratulations. And how where can people find more?
SPEAKER_01:Anxiety Club Movie. Uh, that is our website, that is on Instagram, on Facebook. Anxiety Club Movie is where to go. And um, yeah, there's a lot of information there, and we'll we'll continue to add to that um as as we go along. But and all of our screenings are on the website, upcoming screenings and community events. Um, great. So yeah.
SPEAKER_03:Yeah. Yeah. Well, I will link that in the show notes as well. And I know this is going to help so many of our listeners. This is a large topic of conversation, uh, not necessarily anxiety or diagnosed anxiety, but just generally speaking, handling life, you know, yeah, at its different levels and moments.
SPEAKER_01:So yeah, it's a lot. It's a lot. It's a lot. Being a human.
SPEAKER_03:That's right. The human experience. It's beautiful, but there are days when it's when it's rough. So thank you again so much, Wendy. Everyone, check out Anxiety Club. And we have new episodes every Wednesday. So if this resonated with you, please share it with a friend who can check out Anxiety Club as well and all of the work that Wendy and her team are doing. It really is wonderful, guys. You're gonna love it. We hope you'll join us again soon. Until next time.
