In a viral TikTok video that has over 140,000 views, a general practitioner discusses the prevalent yet often misunderstood link between anxiety and avoidance behaviors.
The video shared by Dr. Martin Brunet (@doc_martin_gp) sheds light on how people inadvertently amplify their anxiety by avoiding situations that trigger fear, creating a damaging cycle that can severely affect daily functioning.
The doctor, who is in Guildford, England, told Newsweek: “Avoidance is a natural and instinctive response to anxiety because anxiety is our body’s natural response to threat and is designed to keep us safe from danger.
Anxiety is also a major problem in the United States. A recent survey by the American Psychiatric Association found that 70 percent of U.S. adults feel anxious or extremely anxious about personal safety. Additionally, 66 percent report that paying bills and managing expenses trigger their anxiety.
On May 3, Brunet emphasized online that avoidance is counterproductive, calling it “the very worst strategy [if] you want to make progress!” regardless of the cause of the anxiety.
He told TikTok users: “What are you avoiding at the moment that you really need to be doing?” and “What are you going to do about it?”
Avoidance, as explained by the doctor, who works with the National Health Service, is an instinctive reaction to anxiety—a natural response designed to protect us from perceived threats. During the clip, he said that “avoidance is the hallmark of anxiety.”
Brunet told Newsweek: “Removing ourselves from any situation that makes us anxious, therefore, feels like removing ourselves from danger and so is instinctive as a stress response.”
But this fundamental response to fear can spiral out of control when the fear is not based on actual danger, leading to an excessive and debilitating pattern of avoidance. In our modern world, many triggers of anxiety are not truly hazardous, yet the response they invoke can be as intense as if they were.
“Our anxiety is constantly being triggered like a false alarm, making us panic and see threat where there is none,” Brunet explained. This results in an escalation of avoidance behaviors, as the anxiety becomes linked to specific situations or activities, intensifying the fear associated with them.
“The problem, then, is that the thing we are avoiding becomes associated with our anxiety,” he said, “and so we are even more likely to feel panicky in the same situation, making the instinct to avoid even stronger. We become stuck in a vicious cycle where the avoidance makes the anxiety more powerful, and so we have an increasing need to avoid.”
Addressing this problem, Brunet emphasizes the importance of breaking the cycle through gradual exposure and an acceptance of anxiety. One therapeutic approach, often known as exposure therapy, is a psychological treatment that reduces anxiety by gradually exposing individuals to their fears in a safe way.
Brunet said: “The most useful strategy for making progress with anxiety and stopping the fear-avoidance-fear cycle is to learn how to accept your anxious feelings, taking them with you as you gradually allow yourself to go outside your comfort zone in small, tiny steps.”
How to Stop Avoidance Anxiety
The following tips have been provided by Brunet, who has received over 6,400 likes on his recent video:
- Remind yourself that anxiety is only feelings and associated physical symptoms and that you can be OK with it.
- Take small steps and gradually you will learn that you can manage those anxious feelings and the fear will be reduced.
- Manage your breathing, especially when experiencing feelings of panic.
“Breathing usually becomes disordered when we panic,” Brunet said. “Box breathing is a really good technique for this.”
Also known as square breathing, this is a relaxation technique that involves breathing in equal four-second intervals to reduce stress and improve focus. You breathe in slowly through your nose for four seconds, hold your breath for four seconds, exhale slowly through your mouth for four seconds and then hold your breath again for four seconds.
This controlled breathing pattern helps calm the nervous system, making it useful for managing anxiety and enhancing mental clarity.
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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