Why the anxiety trigger doesn’t matter

How getting stuck in the content keeps you anxious.

I hear it all the time, “but that thing makes me anxious,” or, “they can’t go there because that particular place triggers anxiety.” When you get stuck in the details of what’s making you anxious you miss the big picture and keep swirling in anxiety.

I call this the content.

Content is when we get stuck in the “stuff.” It’s the topic of what’s making and keeping you anxious. Whether it’s the fear of something bad happening to you, worry about being judged by others, health related anxieties, relationships, etc. staying focused on that topic allows anxiety to stay strong and in power.

When you get stuck in the content you get looped into a cycle of reassurance seeking, rumination, and avoidance. AKA short-term solutions. This anxiety loop leads you down a path where you become increasingly absorbed in anxious thoughts. In turn, amplifying feelings of fear and stress. It prevents you from engaging in long-term solutions to learn how to navigate anxiety head-on for lasting results.

If you attack the content of anxiety guess what? A new topic or situation or theme inevitably pops up. It’s a never-ending cycle.

This pattern keeps you distracted from the real work that can lead to lasting change. This is what anxiety wants. It wants to stay in power. It wants to trick you.

So what can you do?

Shift your focus away from the specific content of anxious thoughts and towards how anxiety operates.

This is what we call the process.

The process is how anxiety operates. Anxiety follows a specific pattern. It does not like uncertainty or discomfort. When it experiences these things, it avoids. Every. Single. Time. The process doesn’t change regardless of the content. Focusing on the process of anxiety shifts your attention from the content of anxious thoughts to how you're experiencing and responding to them. You begin to learn that increasing your tolerance to discomfort and uncertainty is the key to getting your power back.

When you know how anxiety operates you are armed with more power to fight against it. You are no longer playing a game of whack-a-mole trying to reduce a trigger here and avoid a trigger there.

Focusing less on the content and more on the process gets you right to the core of anxiety and allows you engage in strategies that will build lasting strength and confidence. 

Ready to build a healthier relationship with anxiety? Get your copy of my Anxiety Starter Pack today and begin your journey towards confidence, calm, and clarity.