22/04/2026
The Cycle of Anxiety
Anxiety is a series of anxious thoughts that impacts emotions, causes physical symptoms and effects behaviour.
When we talk about the cycle of Anxiety, we can see that:
1. Fear of Stimulus is referring to an event or a trigger that has taken place. This can be a situation that was negative, disliked, a threat, or misinterpreted as negative.
2. Misinterpretation of Threat:
Thoughts are automatic occurring, this means that we cannot control what we think, but we can manage which thoughts we choose to believe. In the phase of misinterpreting a threat, we believe that the event is dangerous.
3. Anxiety:
In this phase, the individual will display physical symptoms of anxiety such as a racing heart, sweating profusely, a fast heartbeat, an increase in the pace of breathing. Here the individual recognises that something is wrong.
4. Safety Seeking Behaviours:
When we feel anxious, the most common behaviour is to seek reassurance from those we trust. To tell us that things are going to be fine, to advise us to keep going, or to try XYZ as it worked for them. You work hard to avoid the problem and it can lead to ruminating over the event itself and the symptoms.
5. Reinforced Pattern/ Absence of Correctivr Experience:
When we keep seeking safety Behaviours if reassurance, and avoidance you might feel fine for a while. Until another event or trigger occurs and you get stuck in a repeated cycle anxious thoughts, overwhelm, physical symptoms, and more avoidance. This is because you haven't learnt to break down your thoughts cycle, to challenge the evidence behind the bias thoughts, or to understand how to manage the problem.
6. BREAK THE CYCLE
To break the cycle of anxiety, you need to step away from avoidance, and reassurance. Break down the symptoms you feel, write it down if it helps. Understand your behaviours. Only then can you challenge the thoughts using evidence based questioning.
