026 | Love Yourself as Your Neighbor with Cindy Davis and Renee Thompson

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SS026 Shepherd & The Shrink Love Yourself as Your Neighbor with Cindy Davis and Renee Thompson

Anxiety is more of a problem now than ever. Sometimes it’s due to COVID and employment-related problems, sometimes it’s due to the regular stresses of everyday life, and sometimes it’s just there. It can range from mild to severe and it can come in all kinds of different forms, triggering all kinds of different emotions. Therapy is an important and healthy step towards defeating it, but we often need little daily tricks and reminders to get us through the day.

Today, we’re joined by Cindy Davis and Renee Thompson, the creators of Shrink in the Box, a company that makes personal anti-anxiety kits. We talk about their extraordinary stories--Cindy has struggled with severe anxiety in her own life, and Renee has walked alongside family members with the same struggle--and we discuss what anxiety is in all its forms. We talk about the importance of ritual and discuss the link between overcoming anxiety and living your faith. We note that it’s what you practice that you get good at, so you want to practice positive thinking and other healthy habits. We talk about the importance of loving yourself, and why self-hate just doesn’t make sense. We talk about the inherent value of the human person, regardless of what that person does or doesn’t do. We also discuss the importance of advocating for yourself.


“In order for compassion to be completed, to have integrity, it has to be everywhere. It has to be compassion for self and others.”

- Dr. Marty Fletcher

“You have to advocate for yourself even when you feel like you’re not worth advocating for.” - Cindy Davis

This week on Shepherd & the Shrink:

  • Combating futility

  • What is anxiety

  • The spiritual aspects of anxiety

  • The importance of ritual

  • Stepping away from the world and looking for peace in the most important things

  • Loving yourself

Resources mentioned

Bringing Mental Health and Spirituality Together

Thanks for tuning into this week’s episode of Shepherd & the Shrink Podcast with your hosts Dr. Matt Hook and Dr. Martin Fletcher, the show where theology meets psychology. If you enjoyed this episode, please subscribe and leave a review wherever you get your podcasts.

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Kathy Fletcher