Healing Is My Hobby

About Healing Is My Hobby

Discover what heals you—mind, body, and soul. Hosted by licensed therapist Jessica Colarco, Healing Is My Hobby is a cozy space where clinical wisdom meets real-life healing. Each week, we explore mental health topics like anxiety, stress, depression, and burnout—with simple tools and compassionate insight to help you feel better. But this isn’t just talk therapy. Jessica also takes you along on her own healing journey—whether she’s trying a salt cave, diving into a life-changing book, or experimenting with new wellness rituals. This podcast is your invitation to learn, grow, and play with what healing can look like in your own life. Because healing doesn’t have to be heavy. It can be curious. Creative. Even fun.

Publisher

Jessica Colarco

Category

education · health & fitness · society & culture

Language

en

Explicit

No

First episode

10 Sept 2025

Latest episode

5 Oct 2026

Latest episodes

61 episodes in the feed.

1. 

   5 Oct 2026

   When Stress Becomes Anxiety: Is It a Problem or a Prediction?

   When Stress Becomes Anxiety: Is It a Problem or a Prediction? All through September, we talked about your nervous system: stress signals, regulation, and the idea that calm isn't the only healthy state. This month, we're taking that conversation one step further into anxiety. Anxiety doesn't always look like a panic attack. Sometimes it looks like overthinking, irritability, procrastinating, or being incredibly productive. Sometimes it's asking "are you sure you're not mad at me?" for the third time, Googling the same question for the fifth time, or lying awake at 2 a.m. holding a very serious meeting with yourself about a problem that doesn't exist yet. In this episode, Jessica breaks down the difference between stress and anxiety, why anxiety has such a hard time with uncertainty, and one simple question that can help you create a little space between you and the worry. In this episode, we talk about: How stress and anxiety overlap, and how they're different Why stress usually responds to what is happening, while anxiety responds to what might happen Anxiety's difficult relationship with uncertainty, and how it tries to create certainty through overthinking, preparing, Googling, and reassurance-seeking Why planning and worrying are not the same thing The key question: Am I dealing with a problem, or a prediction? Why your body reacts to an anxious story as if it's happening right now Why the goal isn't to stop worrying, but to start recognizing what's happening when anxiety shows up Try this this week: When you notice yourself getting caught in a worry, pause and ask: What is actually happening right now? What am I predicting might happen? Is there an action I need to take, or am I trying to create certainty? You don't have to make the anxiety disappear. Just notice. Coming up next week: Your anxiety is actually trying to protect you, even when it's making your life harder. Understanding why your brain learned to do this can help you stop fighting anxiety and start responding differently. Free resource: Feeling disconnected from yourself, or so used to pushing through that you're not sure what you need anymore? Download Your Personal Care Plan, a free guide to help you slow down, check in, and think intentionally about what actually supports you. Find it in the resource library at heal.jessicacolarcolcsw.com. (https://heal.jessicacolarcolcsw.com/offers/qbB342ng/checkout) Want to go deeper? Explore courses and other offerings at heal.jessicacolarcolcsw.com. Connect: 📩 Join the newsletter at healingismyhobby.com (https://heal.jessicacolarcolcsw.com/signup) 📷 Instagram: @healingismyhobby ▶️ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@healingismyhobby 🩺 Clinical practice: jessicacolarcolcsw.com 📷 Instagram: @jessicacolarcolcsw 🎵 TikTok: @jessicacolarcolcsw tress vs anxiety, what is anxiety, anxiety vs stress difference, when stress becomes anxiety, anxiety and uncertainty, intolerance of uncertainty, overthinking, what if thinking, worry vs planning, anxious predictions, catastrophizing, reassurance seeking, anxiety at night, can't sleep from anxiety, 2am anxiety, nervous system and anxiety, anxiety symptoms, high functioning anxiety, anxiety and procrastination, anxiety therapist, CBT for anxiety, problem vs prediction, anxious thoughts are not facts, managing worry, anxiety podcast, mental health podcast, healing podcast, nervous system regulation, Jessica Colarco LCSW, Healing Is My Hobby

2. 

   28 Sept 2026

   Not Everything That Feels Urgent Is Urgent: Telling the Difference Between Real Urgency and Anxiety

   Not Everything That Feels Urgent Is Urgent: Telling the Difference Between Real Urgency and Anxiety An uncomfortable email arrives and you feel like you have to answer right now. A text goes unanswered and you need to know why. You remember a small task and it has to be done before you can sit down. Urgency can feel like important information, but sometimes it's anxiety in a very convincing disguise. In this final episode of our September series on our relationship with doing, I bring the month together by looking at what sits underneath so many of these patterns: urgency. We explore how thoughts and physical sensations reinforce each other, why our brains get so good at "handling it" to find relief, and how to tell the difference between actual urgency (about the situation) and emotional urgency (about the discomfort the situation creates inside us). This isn't about ignoring what matters or swapping urgency for avoidance. It's about creating enough space between the feeling and the action to realize you have a choice. In this episode, we explore: The difference between actual urgency and emotional urgency, with real-life examples "Open loops" and why unresolved things feel so hard to leave alone How we create activity when we can't create certainty A favorite CBT question: Am I responding to a fact or a prediction? False deadlines, or "discomfort deadlines," and the questions that expose them (According to whom? By when? What happens if I wait?) Urgency vs. avoidance vs. regulation, and what flexible responding looks like Why so much healing is learning we can survive an unfinished moment This week's Healing Experiment: Identify one false deadline. When your brain says "do it now," ask what the actual deadline is. If there isn't one, create a small intentional delay (10 minutes, 30 minutes, or until tomorrow) and notice what thoughts, body sensations, and fears show up. Then ask: Is this urgency giving me useful information, or is it asking me to make discomfort disappear? This week's takeaway: Not everything that feels urgent is urgent. The feeling is real, but it doesn't have to be an instruction. Sometimes the most regulating thing you can do isn't fixing the problem. It's discovering that you can wait. Resources mentioned: Visit my Healing Library at heal.jessicacolarcolcsw.com to find: Your Personal Care Plan (free worksheet): a way to care for yourself that takes your actual capacity into account Nervous System Regulation Plan: a self-guided resource for understanding your nervous system more deeply Why You Can't Stop: my 7-module course for going deeper into the patterns we explored all September Catch up on the September series: Why You Can't Stop • Why Rest Doesn't Always Feel Restful • You Don't Have to Earn Rest • Nervous System Regulation Isn't the Same as Being Calm Connect: 📩 Sign up for the newsletter at healingismyhobby.com 📷 Instagram: @healingismyhobby ▶️ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@healingismyhobby 🩺 Clinical website: jessicacolarcolcsw.com 📷 Instagram: @jessicacolarcolcsw 🎵 TikTok: @jessicacolarcolcsw urgency and anxiety, emotional urgency, false deadlines, discomfort deadline, anxiety disguised as urgency, fact vs prediction, CBT for anxiety, cognitive behavioral therapy, intolerance of uncertainty, tolerating uncertainty, open loops, reassurance seeking, checking behaviors, overthinking, high-functioning anxiety, productivity anxiety, compulsive productivity, people pleasing, nervous system regulation, nervous system activation, can't relax, urgency vs avoidance, anxious texting, waiting for a text back, emotional regulation, mindful pause, therapist podcast, mental health podcast, Healing Is My Hobby, Jessica Colarco LCSW

3. 

   21 Sept 2026

   Regulation Isn't the Same as Being Calm

   Somewhere along the way, calm became the gold standard for mental health. But what if we've been measuring regulation by the wrong thing? In this episode, Jessica explains why nervous system regulation isn't about staying calm. It's about recognizing what's happening inside you, understanding what you need, and responding without treating every uncomfortable feeling like an emergency. You'll learn how to catch your earliest signals, why relief and regulation aren't always the same thing, and how to build a regulation menu that fits you. In this episode Why "how do I calm down?" may be the wrong question Why calm is one healthy nervous system state, not the only one, and why flexibility is the real goal How your nervous system gives you information through body sensations, thoughts, and behaviors Why your early signals (a 3 out of 10) give you more choices than your loudest ones (a 9) How activation shows up differently for different people: busyness, irritability, control, reassurance seeking, and checking What shutdown and depletion can look like, and why a strategy for overstimulation may not help when you're disconnected How coping skills can become another way of demanding the feeling disappear The difference between relief and regulation Why a regulation menu works better than one perfect coping skill Why regulation is an experiment, not a performance Key takeaways You don't have to be calm to be regulated. You can be anxious, irritated, or sad and still make an intentional choice about what happens next. Instead of asking "Did this make me feel better?", try asking "Did this help me respond differently?" The goal isn't to memorize 30 coping strategies. It's to know yourself well enough to have a few realistic options when your system starts giving you information. Tracking your early signals is about learning your patterns, not monitoring yourself all day for signs that something is wrong. This week's healing experiment Catch one early signal. Choose something small, not your biggest symptom or the moment you're already at a 10. Pause and name it: "My system is starting to get activated," or "I'm starting to shut down." Ask yourself, "What might I need right now?" Try one thing. Afterward, don't ask whether the feeling went away. Ask, "Did this give me a little more choice in how I responded?" Resources mentioned My Nervous System Regulation Plan: a fillable, self-guided workbook that helps you identify your regulated baseline, recognize your signs of activation and shutdown, build your own regulation menu, and track what actually helps. Find it in the course and resource library at heal.jessicacolarcolcsw.com. Why You Can't Stop: Jessica's 7-module, self-paced course on the patterns underneath constant doing. Find it at heal.jessicacolarcolcsw.com. Connect 📩 Sign up for the newsletter at healingismyhobby.com (https://www.healingismyhobby.com/) 📷 Instagram: @healingismyhobby ▶️ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@healingismyhobby 🩺 Clinical practice: jessicacolarcolcsw.com 📷 Instagram: @jessicacolarcolcsw nervous system regulation, regulation vs calm, how to calm down, coping skills, regulation menu, nervous system regulation plan, early warning signs of anxiety, signs of nervous system activation, shutdown and depletion, dysregulation, relief vs regulation, anxiety coping skills, grounding techniques, overstimulation, emotional regulation, healing experiment, nervous system flexibility, reassurance seeking, checking behaviors, irritability and anxiety, mind-body awareness, CBT therapist, licensed clinical social worker, Healing Is My Hobby podcast, Jessica Colarco LCSW, Why You Can't Stop course

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