Many people with anxiety get stuck in a victim mindset — a way of seeing life where outside forces determine how things are. In this episode, we explore why that mindset fuels anxiety and how a shift toward feeling powerful can help you move out of threat mode. Learn how small, intentional acts done from an approach mindset can raise your baseline happiness and help you exit anxiety-driven patterns. This episode invites you to rethink power — and to recognize that you are already shaping other people’s stories, whether you realize it or not.

You’ll learn:

• How the victim mindset is linked to the brain’s threat response
• Why anxiety flourishes when we feel passive and immobilized
• The difference between giving from avoidance vs approach
• How kindness, attention, and generosity restore a sense of agency
• Why ordinary people often have extraordinary power over others
• How small acts of intentional influence can change your emotional baseline

Timestamps:

00:30 – The victim mindset and anxiety
01:57 – Victim mindset and the threat response
03:44 – Discovering your power through influencing others
08:01 – Giving from avoidance vs giving from approach motivation
10:53 – The power of a homeless man
12:21 – Feeling powerful even when physically limited
13:29 – How kindness increases your baseline happiness
15:39 – Summary of key points: how to exit victim mode

For full shownotes, including resources mentioned, go to: https://www.calmyourcaveman.com/episodes/when-you-feel-powerless-and-stuck-in-victim-anxiety

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Most of us assume we’d feel happier and more in control if life came with more certainty — predictable outcomes, fewer surprises, and fewer unknowns. But decades of psychology research say the opposite: uncertainty can actually increase joy, meaning, and wellbeing. If the unpredictable triggers anxiety for you, this episode will help you build a healthier, more empowered relationship with the unknown — one that supports resilience, happiness, and personal growth.

We’ll explore:
• Why your brain thinks certainty = safety, but psychology says otherwise
• How uncertainty enhances positive emotions and pleasure
• How to reframe uncertainty from a “threat” into a “resource”

⏱️ Timestamps
00:30 — Why we crave certainty
01:08 — Research: uncertainty increases positive feelings
02:09 — Olympic athletes & the joy of surprise
03:06 — The silver dollar study: when mystery boosts happiness
04:19 — Why certainty can rob us of pleasure
05:18 — Why removing uncertainty removes growth
07:43 — Deepak Chopra on joyful uncertainty
08:10 — How to reframe uncertainty as a resource

For full shownotes, including resources mentioned, go to: https://www.calmyourcaveman.com/episodes/embracing-uncertainty-without-anxiety

🌐 https://www.calmyourcaveman.com/

💌 Share your kindness narrative for a future episode!

• Email your story (written or audio) to calmyourcaveman@gmail.com or
• DM me on Instagram @CalmYourCaveman.

Can you train your brain to handle stress better? Absolutely. In this episode, we
break down the science of self-efficacy — your brain’s belief about your ability to
succeed under stress. This belief is one of the biggest predictors of resilience,
performance, and emotional wellbeing.
You’ll learn how to shift from a threat response (anxiety, overwhelm, shutdown) to a challenge response (focus, energy, confidence), and how simple everyday practices can rewire your stress response over time.

In this episode:

— How to turn obstacles into resources
— How values-based action lowers the pressure of life’s demands
— How attainable + measurable goals rewire your stress response
— Three proven tools to build a brain that believes “I can handle this”

⏱️ Timestamps
00:30 — Why stress depends on interpretation, not circumstances
02:53 — What self-efficacy is
03:56 — Technique #1: Turn demands into resources via curiosity
07:10 — Technique #2: Why values instantly shrink the “demands”
09:58 — Technique #3: Setting attainable, measurable goals
13:57 — Recap: The 3-step formula for building a challenge mindset

For full shownotes, including resources mentioned, go to: https://www.calmyourcaveman.com/episodes/how-to-train-your-brain-to-handle-stress-better

🌐 https://www.calmyourcaveman.com/

💌 Share your kindness narrative for a future episode!

• Email your story (written or audio) to calmyourcaveman@gmail.com or
• DM me on Instagram @CalmYourCaveman.