Do you feel like you're stuck in a never-ending cycle of anxiety? It can be tough to break the habit, but it's not impossible. In this blog post, we will discuss the cycle of anxiety and how to break free from it. We'll also talk about strategies for finding relief from your symptoms. So, if you're ready to start taking control of your life, read on!
What is anxiety?
Anxiety is a feeling of unease, worry, or fear. It can be mild or severe, and it can manifest in different ways depending on the person. For some people, anxiety manifests as a sense of impending doom or panic attacks. Others may experience physical symptoms such as chest pain, shortness of breath, or dizziness. These symptoms are often very uncomfortable and can lead to distress.
Our natural human response when we feel this discomfort is to get away from it as quickly as possible.
This leads to avoidance.
When the symptoms are too much, it becomes very tempting to avoid the thing that caused the discomfort. This can look like:
Our human nature uses these avoidance strategies to stay safe from dangers. For example, our brains know to not run into a fire or pet a bear because that is dangerous; however, in our culture and society nowadays, the brain seems to have a hard time picking out what is life-threatening (like petting a bear) and applying this to other scenarios (i.e. going to a party).
The next stage in the cycle is short-term relief.
This is the relief that we get from the avoidance. The decision was made to feel less discomfort, and that can initially lead to feelings of relief.
However... the feelings don't last long. Longer-term consequences can come as a result of the avoidance. For instance, if you avoid going to work during presentations, you may experience challenges in your workplace. Here's another example, at first, drinking alcohol may feel really good because you don't feel anxious at a party, but then you may experience long-term consequences of alcohol use.
Long Term Anxiety Growth (see the growth chart in the video for a visual).
The brain learns a story "when I avoid X, I feel better", making it more likely to continue avoiding the stimulus. The brain develops a neural pathway that is like a muscle--it remembers how it's activated, what that feels like, and seeks it out. It also doesn't tend to fixate too much on the long-term consequences, because that's not the pathway's job. It's just to take the brain's input from A to B.
Now that we know the cycle of anxiety, let's talk about how to break free from it.
The first step is recognizing when you're in the cycle.
Are you feeling anxious about something? Are you avoiding it? What is your short-term relief strategy? Is it working in the long-term? If not, it's time to take action.
The next step is to start challenging your beliefs about the situation.
What is causing your anxiety? Is it really as dangerous as your brain is telling you? Is avoidance really the best solution? Once you start to question your beliefs, you can start to see other options and possibilities.
From there, it's important to take baby steps.
Don't try to go from avoiding everything to facing everything all at once. That's a surefire way to set yourself up for failure. Start with something small and manageable, and work your way up.
Lastly, be patient with yourself! It takes time and practice to break free from the cycle of anxiety. But eventually, you will get there. Anxiety doesn't have to control your life. You can take back control!
