The 9 Anxiety Types & How to Treat Them with Dr. Nicole Cain
Dr. Nicole Cain on Why Panic Is an Alarm and How to Calm It

Dr. Nicole Cain knows what it feels like to live in the grip of anxiety. As both a naturopathic doctor and clinical psychologist, she has spent years helping people who feel trapped in cycles of panic, fear, and emotional overwhelm. Her new book, Panic Proof: The New Holistic Solution to End Your Anxiety Forever, takes a fresh approach: instead of treating anxiety as something to be suppressed, she shows us how to understand it as the body’s way of signaling deeper needs.

In our conversation, Nicole shares how her own journey through a personal crisis reshaped the way she thinks about mental health. We explore her framework of nine unique anxiety types, the powerful connection between the gut and the brain, and why your body often sends messages long before your conscious mind catches up. Along the way, she offers a simple three-minute practice to help you calm your nervous system, regain clarity, and begin healing from the inside out.

This episode isn’t about erasing anxiety — it’s about learning to listen to it, work with it, and ultimately become panic proof.

The Nervous System and Why Logic Isn’t Enough

We like to believe we can think our way out of anxiety. But the nervous system often has other plans. Dr. Cain explains that our brains evolved for survival, not happiness. When your salience network (primarily the anterior insula and anterior cingulate) flags something as “possibly important,” it routes that signal to fast threat systems. The amygdala and HPA axis mobilize the body, heart rate rises, breathing shortens, muscles brace, before the slower, reflective networks (prefrontal cortex) can fully weigh in. In that state, your “logic center” is partially offline. It’s like trying to run a board meeting during a fire drill.

That’s why simply telling yourself “I’m fine” doesn’t calm the storm. To feel safe, you need bottom-up practices that convince the body it is no longer in danger.

What’s actually happening in a spike

• Low road, then high road: A rapid, subcortical threat pathway acts first; the thoughtful, cortical pathway catches up later.
• State gates story: Physiological arousal narrows attention and pushes catastrophic predictions. In other words, your state shapes your story.
• Polyvagal framing: When the nervous system shifts out of “ventral vagal” (safe/social) into sympathetic fight/flight—or further into shutdown—cognition becomes rigid and literal. Conversation helps only after the state softens.

Nine Anxiety Types: One Size Doesn’t Fit All

One of the most practical contributions of Dr. Cain’s book Panic Proof is her framework of nine anxiety types. Instead of lumping every struggle into “generalized anxiety,” she maps distinct patterns: thought anxiety, chest anxiety, gut anxiety, nervous system anxiety, endocrine anxiety, immune system anxiety, depression-anxiety, anger-anxiety, and trauma-anxiety.

Why does this matter? Because different patterns respond to different tools. Talk therapy won’t stop reflux. Antidepressants won’t correct a thyroid imbalance. Precision matters. When you know your type, you can target interventions that actually work.

The Gut–Brain Connection and the Rise of Psychobiotics

A surprising amount of anxiety begins in the gut. Our modern diets and overuse of antibiotics often create dysbiosis—imbalances that inflame the body and cloud the brain. Dr. Cain highlights the emerging science of psychobiotics: probiotic strains that directly influence mood and stress responses by producing neurotransmitters like GABA.

The simple takeaway: your gut health is mental health. And the easiest place to start is fiber—feeding the good bacteria that keep your system resilient.

Trauma, Timekeeping, and the “Stuck Past”

One of the most powerful parts of the conversation is Dr. Cain’s metaphor of the Timekeeper. After trauma, the brain can get stuck timestamping past danger as if it’s happening in the present. That’s why a smell, sound, or image can trigger panic even when you know you’re safe.

Healing requires helping the nervous system reset its clock. Dr. Cain describes a three-minute hack for bringing those old memories into the present so they lose their grip, and she emphasizes the importance of trauma-informed modalities like EMDR.

Building a Panic-Proof Plan

So, how do you apply all of this? Dr. Cain outlines a practical blueprint that begins with awareness and builds toward integration:

1. Notice the whispers. Catch the first signs your system is leaving the “green zone.”
2. Stabilize your baseline. Sleep, nutrition, and simple vagal-toning practices calm the background noise.
3. Match tools to type. Gut anxiety? Support digestion. Thought anxiety? Use grounding practices that bring logic back online.
4. Reset the Timekeeper. Trauma-informed work clears old danger loops.
5. Integrate gradually. Pair exposures with calming skills so progress compounds without overwhelm.

The goal isn’t to erase anxiety completely. It’s to reclaim agency—to know you can meet symptoms with clarity instead of fear.

Quick Wins to Try Today

• Protect a nightly wind-down by cutting caffeine after noon and screens before bed.
• Practice six slow breaths per minute for five minutes.
• Step outside for morning light before looking at a screen.
• Add one serving of fiber-rich foods to your day.
• Name what you’re feeling: “Anxiety is here. My body is protecting me.”

Why this conversation matters

Anxiety steals time—hours lost to panic attacks, days lost to avoidance. Dr. Nicole Cain’s approach gives that time back by treating the body, the brain, and the story together. When your nervous system feels safe, your mind can focus, your values can lead, and your life can open again.

RESOURCES FROM THE SHOW WITH DR. NICOLE CAIN

Please note that some of the links on this page (books, movies, music, etc.) lead to affiliate programs for which The Passion Struck podcast receives compensation. It’s just one of the ways we keep the lights on around here. Thank you so much for being so supportive!

1. Dr. Nicole Cain’s Website
2. Nicole Cain’s Instagram
3. Nicole Cain’s Facebook
4. BUY Dr. Nicole Cain’s Book, ‘Panic Proof’
5. Which Of The 9 Types Of Anxiety Do You Experience? Take Dr. Cain’s Quiz and find out!
6. *Free companion tools on The Ignited Life (Substack): theignitedlife.net
7. *Passion Struck Network: creator-first shows built around mattering, not metrics—passionstrucknetwork.com
8. *Apparel with a message: StartMattering.com — “You Matter. Live Like It.”
9. Learn more about me: https://johnrmiles.com.

About Today’s Guest, Dr. Nicole Cain

Dr. Nicole Cain is a licensed naturopathic doctor and clinical psychologist specializing in integrative approaches to anxiety, trauma, and emotional health. With a unique background that bridges natural medicine and clinical psychology, she blends modern science with holistic modalities to help people heal at the root—addressing the mind, body, and spirit as one interconnected system.

Dr. Cain is the author of Panic Proof: The New Holistic Solution to End Your Anxiety Forever and a recognized expert in psychobiotics, botanical medicine, and evidence-based psychotherapy. Through her clinical work, podcast appearances, and educational resources, she empowers individuals to overcome panic, anxiety, and emotional overwhelm so they can step into a life of greater resilience, peace, and purpose.

Next Steps

To learn more about Dr. Nicole Cain, visit drnicolecain.com, connect with her on Instagram, or pick up her book Panic Proof: Managing Your Mental Health—So They Don’t Manage You.

You can listen to this episode on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, Google Podcasts, or YouTube. Don’t forget to explore our Passion Struck Starter Packs on Spotify for curated playlists that will help you dive deeper into topics like anxiety relief, resilience, and mental health mastery.

If this conversation with Dr. Nicole Cain resonated with you, please share it with a friend, leave a review, or post a screenshot on Instagram and tag me @john_r_miles. Your support helps bring these life-changing conversations to more people who need them.

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