Fact and Opinion | @caroline-cavanagh | The Anxiety Alchemist

12 Jun 2026 · 1 min

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In this segment, Caroline Cavanagh explains how clearly separating facts from opinions can reduce anxiety. She illustrates the process with hypothetical harsh comments—"you're really, really fat" and "you're really, really lazy"—showing that such statements are others' opinions, not objective facts. Caroline encourages listeners to define their own facts (e.g., being happy with one’s appearance or being effective and busy) and to refuse to adopt others' judgments as personal truths, thereby diminishing the fear of external judgment.

Chapters

fact and opinion, because getting these really clear in your mind can really help you reduce anxiety. We fear the judgment of others, so if someone was to say to me, Caroline, you're really, really fat, is that fact or is it an opinion? I decide on that. It may be their opinion, and if they're a size 4 stick insect, I I may look fat, but my fact is I'm happy with how I look. And if someone said to me, Caroline, you're really, really lazy! Fact or opinion? My fact is I'm actually really effective, really busy most of the time. Their opinion is theirs. So you decide, what's your fact? And don't make someone else's opinion your fact— disagree with them.