Ep. 106 - Why your past doesn't need to define you with Chloe Brotheridge

Mental HealthHealing
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In this week’s episode, I’m speaking with the incredible Chloe Brotheridge. I’m delighted to welcome Chloe back to the podcast – after appearing in one of our very early episodes right at the very start!

Chloe is a hypnotherapist, a coach and the author of two bestselling books, ‘The Anxiety Solution’ and ‘Brave New Girl’.

We sat down to talk just as we were going into lockdown here in the UK and we had such a great conversation that really re-affirmed for me the power of working on ourselves. Chloe talks about how she went from feeling highly anxious to feeling calm a lot of time. She shares her insights about reframing our mindset and having better relationships with others, ourselves and our emotions.

Chloe also shares about imposter syndrome and confidence, and how we can totally change our experience of ourselves and our lives through some relatively simple tools.

One of the things I love about Chloe is her calming energy which I think just exudes through the whole episode. I hope you enjoy the episode - and as always, the conversation continues over on Instagram so do come and join us there.

You can download a transcript of this week’s episode here.

Key takeaways from this week’s episode:

Anxiety as a Human Emotion:

  • You are never really ‘cured’ of anxiety, as it's an emotion we all feel. (03:45)

  • The best way to deal with it is to change our relationship with anxiety. (04:17)

  • When Chloe feels nervous, she sees it as her going out of her comfort zone instead of a nightmare she needs to avoid. (04:20)

  • We feel anxious for a reason, and our body is intelligent enough to send us a message about it. (05:01)

  • We have to dig deep to understand the root of anxiety. (05:45)

Chloe’s Relationship Advice:

  • Chloe used to sabotage the relationship by deliberately testing her partner and being awful towards him. (06:30)

  • She believes her relationship is the hardest thing in her life at the moment. (07:28)

  • Eckhart Tolle says your partner is not supposed to make you happy. They're supposed to make you conscious. (08:12)

  • Sometimes we are on a different spiritual path from our partners, but our connection with them makes it worth it. (09:24)

Fear vs. Intuition:

  • Fear can shout very loudly, but we don't know if it's actually true. (10:43)

  • On the contrary, intuition whispers and is a small quiet voice we only hear when we intentionally listen. (10:57)

Slowing Down to Listen to Your Intuition:

  • Meditation allows you to calm down, be quiet, and save time. (11:39)

  • Meditation can be in the form of taking a few deep breaths, but overall any time you invest in it is worth it. (12:05)

  • Trauma release exercises (TRE) such as fatiguing your legs to make them involuntarily shake help release tension. (12:33)

  • TRE could also be in the form of dancing or shaking. (13:35)

  • Anxiety is not just mental, for the symptoms manifest themselves physically. The body is the subconscious mind. (14:25)

Confidence & Comfort Zones:

  • Avoiding situations and keeping ourselves small only affirm our mindset that anything outside the comfort zone is more dangerous than it actually is. (16:14)

  • In exposure therapy, people take small steps outside the comfort zone and into the stretch zone. (16:41)

  • Part of it is showing your body that you’re still safe even in the stretch zone. The next step is to keep expanding this zone. (17:37)

  • Seemingly confident people still feel anxious; it's just that they are courageous enough to step outside their comfort zone. (18:50)

  • Always remember that we are not machines. We have varying levels of confidence at a given time, so we must be self-compassionate. (20:02)

Imposter Syndrome:

  • Feeling like a fraud that would be found out at any moment is a universal feeling. (22:38)

  • Imposter syndrome is actually a good sign that we are growing and moving outside our comfort zone. (22:58)

Self-Compassion & Positivity:

  • We can always reframe our mindset to be more self-compassionate. (24:10)

  • Positivity is good, but allowing yourself to feel negative emotions from time to time is liberating and healthy. (26:22)

  • Acknowledge your emotions so that you can be better equipped to cope with and handle them. (28:11)

Tips for Children & Adolescents:

  • Relaxing, being aware of their bodies, and expressing themselves could help children process anxiety better. (30:13)

Plant Medicine & Shamanic Healing:

  • Make sure to research the topic thoroughly, for the field is risky. (31:46)

  • Listen to the full episode to hear Chloe’s healing and psychedelic journey. (32:13)

Resources mentioned in this episode

About Chloe

Chloe Brotheridge is a hypnotherapist, coach and bestselling author. She has written two books, The Anxiety Solution and Brave New Girl. As a healing coach, she believes we should be kinder to ourselves and we can all process our emotions better.

You can connect with Chloe and learn more about her work over on her website.

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