myAIPMAnxiety Is a Habit
The Anxious Achiever | Season 5, Episode 10 | Harvard Business Review
Anxiety is our brain helping us to survive, but it wasn’t set up for endless scrolling on social media. A habit is formed in a three-step process, a trigger and then a behaviour, followed by the rewards. So for instance, something triggers your anxiety, the behaviour you use to action your anxiety is worrying, and that action feels like it is creating solutions, making plans or predicting and so your brain says – good work, you are nutting this problem out. But is that true? Does worrying help you solve problems, or does it burn you out and make you feel more anxious? Triggers don’t drive habits – anxiety is not the problem. Habits are formed by your brain rewarding your action. It is the second step in the three step process that needs to be adjusted. It is the worrying that is the negative behaviour, but our brain rewards us for it. The tips offered to manage anxiety and break it as a habit, is first, recognise the difference between anxiety and worrying. Keep your anxiety in the present rather than worrying about the future.