This engaging CBT explainer episode unpacks Veronica Walsh's introduction to musterbation — Albert Ellis’s term for rigid, rule-based thinking driven by musts and shoulds.

These internal demands often feel necessary, but they quietly fuel anxiety, frustration, and emotional over-reaction when life doesn’t cooperate. You’ll learn how inflexible language stresses the brain, why it undermines self-regulation, and how Cognitive Behavioural Training helps shift demand thinking into flexible preferences.

By practising unconditional acceptance — not giving up, but letting go of rigid rules — you can respond more calmly, communicate more effectively, and reduce self-sabotaging patterns.

A practical listen for anyone whose inner voice has become overly strict, absolute, or emotionally costly.

Feeling anxious doesn’t mean you’re broken — it means you’re human.

In this fun fast and engaging CBT explainer, the work of therapist Veronica Walsh teaches practical tools for working with anxiety rather than fighting it. Using visualisation, humour, compassionate self-talk, and proven CBT strategies, you’ll learn how to interrupt spirals, respond to anxious thoughts with authority, and build calm from the inside out.

This podcast focuses on:

• Separating yourself from anxious thoughts
• Using humour and perspective to disarm worry
• Creating emotional pause through naming and labelling feelings
• Building self-acceptance as a core anxiety skill

This isn’t about eliminating stress. It’s about learning how to live well alongside it — with more ease, clarity, and self-trust.

Learn awareness and understanding of the role a ‘dysregulated nervous system’ has in anxiety. This engaging banter podcast is based on one of my most popular CBT workbooks. Skill up with CBT-on-the-go audios.