Baseer Maroof, LCSW · Raleigh, NC · Adults 21+
The anxiety cycle
Avoiding works. That’s the problem. Here’s the loop that keeps anxiety alive, and the move that breaks it.
In short
- Anxiety runs in a loop: trigger, threat prediction, body alarm, escape, relief.
- Relief is what makes avoidance stick. It’s a reward, and it arrives fast.
- Every escape leaves the prediction untested, so the fear stays the same size or grows.
- Staying and testing the prediction builds new learning that competes with the fear.
The loop
Same trigger, two different endings.
The anxiety cycle
Switch between the two paths. Tap a step, or press Play.
Model drawn from the inhibitory learning account of exposure (Craske et al. 2014).
Escape vs stay
What happens to the fear over repeated tries.
Escape vs stay, trial by trial
Pick a path, then drag to repeat the same situation.
Illustration, not data. In real exposure, fear doesn’t always drop within a session. It doesn’t need to (Craske 2014).
Hidden avoidance
Avoidance isn’t only staying home.
Safety behaviours
Things you do to “get through” a feared situation: sitting near the door, carrying a water bottle or a pill “just in case,” rehearsing sentences, only going with a certain person. They feel protective. They also stop you from learning you’d have been fine without them. (Craske 2014; McManus 2008)
Reassurance and checking
Googling symptoms, asking “are you sure it’s okay?”, re-reading the email five times. The relief lasts minutes; the need comes back stronger.
Mental avoidance
Distracting yourself the second a feeling shows up, or worrying in circles instead of facing the one concrete thing. Worry can itself be a way of not feeling the fear fully.
Breaking it
1. Name the prediction
What exactly do you think will happen, and how sure are you? “I’ll faint in the store, 70%.” Vague dread can’t be tested; a specific prediction can.
2. Plan a test
Pick a step that’s hard but doable. Leave the safety behaviours out. Build a ladder →
3. Stay long enough to learn
Stay until you’ve learned whether the prediction came true, not just until you feel calm. Then compare: what you predicted vs what happened.
4. Repeat and vary
Do it again, in different places, at different times, alone and with others. Variety is what makes the new learning hold up in real life. (Craske 2014)
Sources
All sources, linked2 references⌄
- Craske MG, Treanor M, Conway CC, Zbozinek T, Vervliet B (2014). Maximizing exposure therapy: an inhibitory learning approach. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 58, 10–23. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC4114726/
- McManus F, Sacadura C, Clark DM (2008). Why social anxiety persists: an experimental investigation of the role of safety behaviours as a maintaining factor. J Behav Ther Exp Psychiatry, 39(2), 147–161. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17433252/
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