Pathways / Understanding Anxiety
Understanding Anxiety
How anxiety works, why avoidance feeds it, and what actually calms it.
10 steps · roughly 30 minutes to read · Reviewed by Shariq Refai, MD, MBA
Anxiety as an Emotion
Anxiety is the mind bracing for a maybe.
Fight or Flight Response
This is the built in alarm that gets you ready to move.
Anticipatory Anxiety
Dread before an event frequently outweighs the event that follows.
Intolerance of Uncertainty
The unknown often feels worse than reality.
Catastrophizing
Catastrophizing mistakes possibility for probability.
Avoidance
Avoidance makes today easier by making tomorrow heavier.
Worry
Worry is preparation that often continues long after it becomes productive.
Scheduled Worry
Containing worry to a set period so it stops taking over the day.
Interoceptive Exposure
Facing feared body sensations teaches that they're safe, not dangerous.
Extinction Learning
Learning can be updated.