When Anxiety Feels Automatic (Episode 70)

Disordered: Anxiety Help

Even when you understand that changing your reaction to anxious thoughts, feelings, and sensations is the way out ... you may feel that this is impossible because those thoughts, those sensations, and your reactions feel completely automatic and unchangeable.

This is a common concern for almost anyone struggling with anxiety disorder recovery so this week Drew and Josh are talking about how anxiety, anxious thoughts, symptoms, and reactions can feel - and really are - automatic. But even when things happen automatically, there is a choice point in every anxious situation where we are aware of what is happening. That awareness gives us power to choose a different path, even when that path is a difficult one to choose.

It is critical to practice self-compassion in this context because it can be easy to fall into the trap of declaring failure or setback when you can't "control" automatic things. Remember that we're not trying to control automatic things, we're working on building awareness of our automatic thoughts, sensations, and reactions, so that the NEXT actions we take after that can be intentional and directed at recovery rather than retreat.

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