The Cycle of Avoidance info sheet brings attention to this common anxiety trap, using a diagram to show how avoiding anxiety worsens it over time. Seeing that avoidance is a dead end motivates clients to move toward —rather than away from—what scares them.

Mar 9, 2022 · The cycle of anxiety is a 4-stage process that may cause you to feel anxious, avoid situations, find short-term relief, and experience stronger anxiety thereafter.

You avoid the anxiety trigger to escape the uncomfortable symptoms: • You cancel a vacation due to fear of flying. • You use drugs or alcohol to “loosen up” before socializing. • You procrastinate on an important task. Anxiety . A situation triggers an anxious response that includes thoughts, physical symptoms, and feelings: • Thoughts:

The Vicious cycle of anxiety shows how our thoughts, feelings and the way we behave (safety behaviours and avoidance) can all be connected.

Essentially, anxiety is worrying about a potential threat. This information sheet describes how thoughts and behaviours can lead to an escalating cycle of anxiety, and introduces strategies to reverse this cycle.

The cycle of anxiety is a process where a person avoids their fears, and as a result, those fears grow increasingly powerful. Avoidance becomes increasingly difficult to resist, and the anxiety continues to grow worse.

Mar 20, 2024 · What is the Anxiety Cycle? The term anxiety cycle refers to the four stages people commonly experience. Each stage — an anxious feeling, avoidance tactics, relief, back to worrying again — flows into the next before starting all over again.

Dec 13, 2021 · This is the beginning of the cycle: anxiety has been triggered by a stressful stimulus, which may include thoughts, mental images, memories, bodily sensations, things seen on the news, social media, and certain activities, events, interactions, etc.

Oct 25, 2021 · Sometimes it comes from a specific experience or sometimes it is built up over time. You can think of problematic anxiety as a cycle that reinforces itself: Let’s talk about each of these stages. The first stage in the cycle of anxiety is an anxiety trigger.

Jan 11, 2025 · Discover how to recognize and break the anxiety cycle by understanding the 4 stages, identifying key signs, and exploring practical strategies for coping.