Conquering Anxiety: Cycle of Anxiety
Hi everyone, I hope you are doing well. Last week we talked about what anxiety is and how it can impact one’s life. You can participate in the first post here. This week we will dive into the cycle of Anxiety! We often talk about anxiety but I have not seen the cycle being talked about that often it is an important pattern to understand to improve your anxiety.
Here is the anxiety cycle visualized
The cycle of anxiety, as illustrated in the graphic from The OCD & Anxiety Center
Here is how it looks in action:
- Public speaking: The speaker fears judgment, avoids presentation (temporary relief), but misses the chance to gain experience and the anxiety persists. The next time the same opportunity is presented, the fear is stronger.
- Driving: A person fears driving in busy places and avoids them initially but over time the idea of driving on busy roads feels completely unacceptable. What started as hesitance, becomes a deep-rooted fear.
Please take two minutes to watch this video on the anxiety cycle
📺Click Here to Watch the Video
So are we doomed then?
No, the interesting thing about the anxiety cycle is, that just as you can feed and strengthen your anxiety, you can also do the opposite.
Let's look at the already given above examples where we learned that if we avoid something we are scared of, we strengthen the feelings of anxiety associated with it. So if we wish to weaken the intensity of these feelings, we have to do the opposite! We have to face what we fear (this will be covered more thoroughly in the coming posts, we are just dipping our toes in the idea of facing our fears at the start of the series)
So what do we do when we are faced with anxiety?
You do the thing you are scared of. I know it is easier said than done but this is an effective method.
For example, if you are a new driver who is scared to park in busy areas, you do exactly that! But we don’t go into these situations without our handy grounding tools to help us get through it! These will be covered in the posts to come.
For this post, we are simply learning about the cycle of anxiety and reflecting on how we have strengthened and weakened it in our lives.
Questions for reflection
It is preferred that you complete the series on a member account but to accommodate anyone who wishes to use a listener account, I have divided the questions into Member and Listener categories.
(Members Only) Please do not answer these on a listener account
- Reflect on an area of life where you have struggled with anxiety think about the cycle of anxiety that has existed surrounding that topic and share with us what that cycle looked like for you.
- Think of something you were once anxious about doing but now you either feel reduced anxiety surrounding it or do not feel anxious at all. Do you think you knowingly or unnowlingly broke the cycle?
(Listeners Only)
- Think of something that can be generally anxiety-provoking and give us two examples, where one path leads to more anxiety and another weakens the cycle.
Further Reading
This post is part of the Conquering Anxiety series, you can find all posts of the series here.
@Hope
Going back to a place where some trauma occurred can be anxiety provoking. It can get better if someone whom you consider safe accompany you, or trying to associate more good memories rather that the bad ones significantly being in our minds.
Thank you @Hope for this insightful content 💓
When there is a lot to consider, especially in situations that are filled with uncertainties and responsibilities, it can lead to anxiety. This can recur in cycles, making it difficult to cope up with. I think to break the cycle, it's important to be mindful of our situation, take breaks if necessary, consider seeking support from others, etc.
I am looking forward to more such posts, but I would like to ask, what coping mechanisms can we use if the situation I mentioned occurs?
@WeEarth
It seems I missed your reply! I believe you have already participated in the coping skills post!
yes @Hope I did!
@Hope
Think of something that can be generally anxiety-provoking and give us two examples, where one path leads to more anxiety and another weakens the cycle.
Something that is generally anxiety-provoking is completing an assignment. There can be a desire to be perfect when working on assignments which can bring up anxiety. The path that would lead to more anxiety is constantly procrastinating. You can get temporary relief, but it does not resolve the unfinished assignment. The path that would weaken the cycle is to finish the task. A way of doing this is by setting reasonable goals to complete the assignment and making sure to celebrate each win.
@Hope Contemplating an imminent presentation often causes concern however worrying too much about the possible mistakes raises this anxiety to higher levels, while getting ready thoroughly, being kind to yourself mentally and stressing your best behaviors will help prevent such anxiety issues and enhance peace of mind, trust in self......
Nice post!
A common anxiety is social anxiety. The fear that we won't be accepted in social gatherings or even criticized or bullied. Since we've seen this happen in the past to either us or someone else, we fear it will happen again.
Action 1, which perpetuates the anxiety cycle: not go to social gatherings and stay home feeling safer (and maybe even guilty because you want to actually be in that social gathering). By avoiding one fear you could grow a different negative emotion such as guilt and be critical of yourself.
Action 2, which requires exposure and breaks the anxiety cycle: go to as many social gatherings as possible with protective strategies to not feel overwhelmed or hurt. Otherwise, you will stop the exposure cycle and you risk entering the anxiety cycle again. After all, there are people that will make you feel unwelcomed (maybe unconsciously) and this cannot stop you from enjoying your existing and future social connections.
@Hope
generally anxiety cycle
A. A person losing several jobs and being afraid that no one else will give them a chance
B. A person a has been rejected several times and is afraid that they will never be accepted
@Hope
The path that weakens the cycle
1. That person who has trouble holding onto a job does research about situations and practices before finding a better solution
2. The person who has been rejected works on accepting that they were rejected but also works on liking themselves
@Hope
Having to do a presentation at uni/school. It can always be daunting!
@YourShouder03
The path that would foster more anxiety would be to avoid the event entirely. This avoidance form of anxiety does not allow people to grow within an uncomfortable situation
@YourShouder03
However if one was to bite the bullet and just go for it, trying their best- this would make an individual more comfortable with things that give us a lot of fear. Next time, this type of task would be easier to do
How can one apply this in the case of health anxiety?
@Hope I don't know where else to ask for help. But I don't have hope and none to talk to. And I can't stop crying without understanding. I just don't understand what's wrong with me
@Walkerwall636
I am sorry to hear that you are struggling. It can indeed be challenging to find support.
We have a few resources on 7 Cups.
You can create a member account or log into one if you have one already to seek personal support. There are a few ways you can get it
- Connect to listeners who focus on anxiety as a topic
- Utilize resources such as this series
- Share in sharing circles
Long term listener can be a good way to have a support system
@Hope
Think of something that can be generally anxiety-provoking and give us two examples, where one path leads to more anxiety and another weakens the cycle.
For me it is public speaking. I get so nervous of am I going to do good or will I make a ton of mistakes. The first path the leading more anxiety is to not be prepared with notes, power point presentations to be prepared.
The second path is to practice in front of family or friends and ask for feedback from them on if something needs to be improved and go in to the presentation full of smiles, eye contact to all watching and main focus breathe
