In this episode of Healing Is My Hobby, Jessica Colarco takes a compassionate look at doom scrolling—not as a lack of discipline or willpower, but as a nervous system response to uncertainty, fear, and information overload.

We’re living in a time of nonstop headlines, constant alerts, and a lingering sense of urgency. When the world feels unpredictable, our brains naturally search for information as a way to regain control. Jessica breaks down what’s really happening in the brain and body during doom scrolling, why novelty and dopamine keep us stuck in the loop, and how understanding this response can soften self-judgment and lead to real change.

You’ll also learn a simple three-step Doom Scroll Reset to help interrupt the cycle—without shame—and how offering safety to your nervous system is far more effective than criticism. Plus, Jessica shares supportive resources, including the Collective Calm Toolkit, to help you regulate emotions in a chaotic world.

Click here to get your free Collective Calm Toolkit

Key Takeaways

1. We're living in a time of constant information, urgency, and uncertainty.
2. Doom scrolling is not a willpower problem; it's a nervous system response.
3. Dopamine hits from novelty can create a loop that's hard to break.
4. Understanding the brain's response to uncertainty can help us interpret our actions with compassion.
5. The three-step doom scroll reset includes pausing, grounding, and replacing behaviors.
6. Compassion leads to faster change than criticism.
7. Our nervous systems seek safety and control in uncertain environments.
8. Offering safety is key to breaking nervous system loops.
9. The Collective Calm toolkit provides resources for emotional regulation.
10. Healing is a personal journey; what works for one may not work for another.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Emotional Fitness

01:37 Understanding Doom Scrolling

04:33 Doom Scroll Reset Techniques

07:21 Practical Applications and Resources

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What happens when the world feels overwhelming—and your nervous system won’t settle?

In this episode of Healing Is My Hobby, Jessica Colarco explores what it really means to stay regulated in a dysregulated world. Through personal reflection and therapist-informed insight, Jessica shares how our nervous systems respond to stress, uncertainty, and perceived threat—even when danger is indirect.

Using a recent personal experience as a touchpoint, this episode gently unpacks the difference between survival mode and intentional regulation, reminding listeners that frustration and gratitude can coexist. You’ll learn why feeling overwhelmed makes sense, how grounding supports the nervous system, and how small, practical tools can help you feel steadier when life feels chaotic.

This episode offers reassurance, perspective, and simple practices to help you care deeply—without carrying everything at once.

Key Takeaways

1. Healing can be playful and woven into daily life.
2. It's normal to feel overwhelmed after unexpected events.
3. Both frustration and gratitude can coexist.
4. Our nervous systems react to perceived threats, even indirectly.
5. Regulation means supporting your body, not ignoring reality.
6. Grounding techniques can help shift our nervous system back to safety.
7. The 5-4-3-2-1 grounding method engages the senses for regulation.
8. Small moments of grounding can accumulate to create stability.
9. Caring deeply does not mean carrying everything at once.
10. Noticing when you're in survival mode is key to regulation.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Healing and Personal Growth

01:57 Navigating Trauma and Growth Mindset

04:51 Understanding Nervous System Responses

09:16 Grounding Techniques for Regulation

10:05 Conclusion and Resources for Support

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Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/healingismyhobby/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@healingismyhobby

Would you like to learn more about Jessica’s clinical practice? Click here.

mental wellness, personal growth, nervous system,...

What if every season of life deserves to feel brighter?

Chasing Brighter began as a guide for women in midlife—but this season, we’re expanding the conversation. Because no matter your age, your season, or your story, you deserve joy, growth, and connection.

In Season Five, Jessica and Kelly invite you into a deeper, more honest space—one that celebrates realness over perfection and growth over pressure. This season is about connection, authenticity, and permission to be exactly who you are.

✨ Real is the new perfect—and we’re just getting started.

February on Chasing Brighter is all about turning inward and gently starting again. While Valentine’s Day often focuses on romantic love, we’re shifting the focus to self-connection.

Winter invites rest, reflection, and slowing down—so we’re leaning into that energy with tools and conversations to help you:

1. Reset your mindset and nervous system
2. Rest without guilt
3. Reconnect with yourself before reconnecting with others

We created a 7-Day Brighter Challenge: A Self-Love Reset to help you gently reconnect with yourself in this season of life.

Join our newsletter to receive your free download and start your reset with us.

👉 Head to chasingbrighter.com for details and to subscribe.

1. More diverse stories and voices
2. Honest conversations about growth, identity, and joy
3. Practical tools for self-care, connection, and lively living
4. Permission to let go of perfect and embrace what’s real

What if your anxiety isn’t a sign that something is wrong with you—but proof that your body learned how to survive?

In this episode of Healing Is My Hobby, Jessica Colarco explores how anxiety often comes from past trauma, not just present-day stress. She breaks down how the nervous system learns to stay on high alert, why collective stress can amplify those responses, and how to gently support your body back into safety.

You’ll learn grounding and mindfulness tools, how to reframe anxiety as a protective strategy, and why healing isn’t about erasing the past—it’s about understanding it with compassion and patience.

If you’ve ever thought, “Why am I so anxious when nothing is wrong?”—this episode is for you.

Key Takeaways

1. Anxiety can be a trauma response, not just stress.
2. The body learns to stay alert from past trauma.
3. Reframing anxiety as a protective strategy is crucial.
4. Gentle check-ins can help manage anxiety.
5. Mindfulness practices can aid in grounding.
6. Collective stress affects our individual nervous systems.
7. Setting media boundaries is essential for mental health.
8. Healing involves understanding, not erasing the past.
9. Your emotional responses are valid and make sense.
10. Change is possible with support and patience.

Chapters

00:00 Understanding Anxiety Beyond Stress

03:28 Tools for Managing Anxiety

04:33 Collective Stress and Its Impact

05:58 Resources for Healing and Support

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Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/healingismyhobby/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@healingismyhobby

Would you like to learn more about Jessica’s clinical practice? Click here.

anxiety, trauma response, nervous system, emotional responses, mindfulness, grounding practices, collective stress, media boundaries, healing, mental health

Can something as simple as tea, slow movement, or tapping shift your nervous system?

In this episode of Healing Is My Hobby, Jessica Colarco steps into the Healing Lab to test gentle, accessible tools for calming anxiety—Tai Chi, herbal tea, and Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) tapping. She shares honest reflections on what felt grounding, what surprised her, and what truly helped regulate her nervous system.

You’ll experience a guided tapping exercise, learn how ritual and movement can support emotional regulation, and hear why curiosity and self-acceptance might be the most powerful healing tools of all.

👉 Click here for your free Gentle Grounding Menu

Key Takeaways

1. Healing is personal and curiosity matters.
2. EFT tapping is a standout tool for emotional regulation and anxiety.
3. Tai Chi has real powerful grounding rituals.
4. Herbal tea is a low-cost, accessible grounding tool.
5. Curiosity is a powerful part of healing.
6. Tapping on specific points can reduce stress.
7. Research supports Tai Chi as a mind-body practice.
8. The ritual of tea can act as a mindfulness practice.
9. Self-acceptance is crucial in emotional healing.
10. Finding the right class and mindset is important for Tai Chi.

Chapters

00:00 Exploring Healing Modalities for Anxiety

03:11 Introduction to Tapping Exercise

07:36 Introduction to Tapping Exercise

13:18 NEWCHAPTER

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Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/healingismyhobby/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@healingismyhobby

Would you like to learn more about Jessica’s clinical practice? Click here.

anxiety, healing, Tai Chi, emotional freedom technique, herbal tea, mindfulness, self-acceptance, emotional regulation, tapping, grounding

What if you didn’t have to answer every anxious “what if” to feel safe?

What if anxiety isn’t trying to predict the future, but pulling you out of the present?

In this Therapy Is My Cardio episode of Healing Is My Hobby, Jessica Colarco invites you to think about emotional fitness the same way you think about physical fitness. Anxiety, especially “what if” thinking, is treated here not as a flaw or failure, but as a habit that can be gently retrained.

This episode focuses on awareness as the first rep. Jessica helps listeners notice when their minds drift into future-oriented worry and guides them back into the safety of the present moment. Through grounding exercises, breathwork, and compassionate reframes, she walks you through how to separate thoughts from actual threat and how to calm your nervous system without needing to “fix” yourself.

You’ll practice a warm-up for mindfulness, learn how to respond differently to anxious thoughts, and move through a soothing cool-down that reinforces a powerful truth: you’ve handled hard things before, and you don’t need to solve the future to be okay right now.

This episode is a reminder that presence is a skill, anxiety is trainable, and this moment—right here—is enough.

👉 Click here for your free Gentle Grounding Menu

Key Takeaways

1. Anxiety loves to ask, 'What if something goes wrong?'
2. Future thinking is not a failure, it's a habit.
3. I have handled hard things before.
4. I can meet this one step at a time.
5. This moment is enough.

Chapters

00:00 Introduction to Therapy as a Workout

01:41 Understanding Anxiety and Future Thinking

02:09 Grounding Techniques to Combat Anxiety

03:29 Reframing Anxious Thoughts

04:15 Cooling Down and Releasing Worries

05:31 Preview of Upcoming Healing Tools

06:11 NEWCHAPTER

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Contact Jessica here.

Let's connect:

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/healingismyhobby/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@healingismyhobby

Would you like to learn more about Jessica’s clinical practice? Click here.

anxiety, emotional fitness, mindfulness, grounding techniques, what if thinking, breathing exercises, self-compassion, healing, mental health, emotional core

Ever wonder why anxiety shows up even when “nothing is wrong”?

Anxiety gets a bad reputation, but what if it’s not the enemy?

In this episode of Healing Is My Hobby, Jessica Colarco invites you to take a softer, more compassionate look at anxiety, not as a flaw or something to “fix,” but as a natural nervous system response trying to keep you safe. Together, we explore the many ways anxiety can show up in your thoughts, body, and daily life, and why understanding it can open the door to more choice, ease, and self-trust.

Jessica breaks down common anxiety disorders, including generalized anxiety, panic disorder, and OCD, shares how to recognize when anxiety may be interfering with your life, and offers practical, accessible tools to support regulation, without pressure or perfection. From CBT strategies and sleep support to self-care that actually calms the nervous system and mindfulness practices that bring you back to the present, this episode is about meeting anxiety with awareness instead of judgment.

If you’ve ever thought, “Why am I like this?”—this conversation gently reframes the question to: “What does my nervous system need right now?”

👉 Click here for your free Nervous System Year in Review printable

Key Takeaways

1. Anxiety is a nervous system response, not a personal flaw.
2. Understanding anxiety can provide more choices in how to respond.
3. Common anxiety disorders include GAD, panic disorder, and OCD.
4. Anxiety can manifest physically and emotionally.
5. Recognizing when anxiety interferes with life is crucial for seeking help.
6. Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) is effective for managing anxiety.
7. Improving sleep quality is essential for emotional regulation.
8. Self-care should focus on regulation, not indulgence.
9. Mindfulness practices can help ground individuals in the present.
10. Healing involves awareness, compassion, and consistent choices.

Chapters

00:00 Understanding Anxiety: A Compassionate Approach

01:40 Exploring Common Anxiety Disorders

06:39 Recognizing Symptoms and Seeking Help

07:58 Tools for Managing Anxiety

08:28 Cognitive Behavioral Techniques

10:15 Improving Sleep for Better Mental Health

11:48 The Importance of Self-Care

13:08 Practicing Mindfulness and Grounding Techniques

15:04 Embracing Healing and Moving Forward

16:17 NEWCHAPTER

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As we step into a new year, the pressure to reset, improve, and “get it right” can quietly wake anxiety up. In this opening January episode of Healing Is My Hobby, licensed clinical social worker Jessica Colarco invites listeners to slow down and begin the year differently.

Instead of diving into productivity or self-fixing energy, this episode offers a compassionate introduction to anxiety—what it is, how it shows up, and how we can build a more supportive relationship with it. January doesn’t have to be a clean slate or an intense overhaul. It can be a recalibration, a continuation, and a chance to choose intention over intensity.

This episode sets the tone for the month of January, where we’ll gently explore anxiety in ways that feel human, accessible, and nervous-system informed—because healing doesn’t have to be heavy to be meaningful.

1. Why January can feel activating rather than refreshing
2. How anxiety thrives on urgency, pressure, and self-doubt
3. What anxiety is (and what it isn’t)
4. The difference between fixing yourself and supporting yourself
5. How to work with your nervous system instead of fighting it
6. Why the goal isn’t eliminating anxiety—but changing your relationship with it
7. A gentle alternative to New Year’s resolutions
8. Simple, compassionate intentions to anchor you this month

Instead of asking, “What do I need to fix about myself this year?”

Try asking:

“What do I want to support in myself this year?”

Choose one soft intention—not a resolution, not a transformation—just a steady anchor. Let that be enough.

Throughout January, Healing Is My Hobby will explore anxiety with curiosity and compassion—looking at how it shows up in our bodies, thoughts, and behaviors, and how we can respond with more choice and kindness.

1. Podcast & Resources: healingismyhobby.com
2. Instagram & YouTube: @healingismyhobby
3. Clinical Practice: jessicacolarcolcsw.com
4. Instagram: @jessicacolarcolcsw

Thank you for being here. May this year feel less about proving something—and more about coming home to yourself.

anxiety, managing anxiety, anxiety support, nervous system, mental wellness, self-compassion, new year anxiety, emotional regulation, gentle healing, mental health podcast