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.
The cyclical nature of anxiety can make you feel like you’re on a relentless, never-ending roller coaster that dominates every aspect of life. Anxiety disorders like generalized anxiety disorder and social anxiety disorder negatively impact your professional world, your social surroundings, your home life, your relationships, and everything in between. There is hope, though. Learning to recognize the four main stages of the anxiety cycle is the first step in learning to break the pattern so you can successfully manage anxiety symptoms.
"The anxiety cycle is a pattern where you begin to experience anxiety about something and then try to avoid it. This results in temporary relief but later turns into more anxiety."
— Reshawna Chapple, PhD, LCSW
The 4 Stages of the Anxiety Cycle
There are four identified stages of anxiety most people experience, starting with a nagging anxious feeling that’s quickly followed by an attempt to avoid or escape the anxiety-inducing situation. Then, there can be a brief reprieve until the cycle takes you back to feeling anxious again. It’s helpful to break down the stages one at a time to get a clearer picture of what is happening.
Stage 1: Feeling anxious
The first stage involves an initial feeling of anxiety that starts as a response to a perceived (real or not) threat. Physical symptoms like an increased heart rate, sweaty palms, and intense worry or a sense of dread are common during this stage.
Stage 2: Attempting to escape/avoid the situation
During the second stage, you’ll attempt to escape or avoid whatever’s causing your anxious feelings. While escaping these anxiety triggers might provide temporary relief from uncomfortable feelings, unfortunately, avoidance like this typically just reinforces anxiety in the long run.
Stage 3: Feeling temporary relief
The relief from anxious feelings during this phase stems from your previous avoidance behaviors. The truth is, though, that simply avoiding an anxiety-inducing situation means you’re never getting to the root of the issue or solving anything, so your reprieve isn’t likely to last very long.
Stage 4: Feeling anxious again
The final stage in the cycle of anxiety brings you back to feeling anxious again, as you’re forced to confront once again whatever was causing your anxiety in the first place. Over time, your anxiety can worsen, becoming more intense each time you have the realization that the avoidance and temporary relief didn’t really solve anything.
Example of the Cycle of Anxiety in Action
It’s easy to illustrate how pervasive the cycle of anxiety can become. You can find it in everyday situations in life without even looking very hard.
- Stage 1: Feeling anxious — You have a presentation in one week, and you’re starting to feel that familiar sense of nervousness. You have butterflies in your stomach, and racing thoughts begin to take over as your worries about making a mistake, not being prepared, or being judged consume you. The fear of failure is hard to ignore.
- Stage 2: Attempting to escape/avoid the situation — Your anxiety continues to build to the point that maybe you consider calling in sick on the day you’re supposed to give your presentation. You might be willing to go to great lengths to avoid the potential embarrassment you are sure you’re about to face.
- Stage 3: Feeling temporary relief — As you continue to harbor the fantasy that you can prevent the inevitable, you might experience a brief sense of relief. Unfortunately, reality will soon take over, and you’ll start to accept that avoiding your responsibilities isn’t a realistic option.
- Stage 4: Feeling anxious again — Once you accept the fact that you’re not going to skip your presentation, your stress and anxiety return in full force. In fact, it’s probably worse than ever now.
How to Break the Anxiety Cycle
Breaking the anxiety cycle means making the effort to understand each stage completely. You also must be willing to face the very things that make you anxious in the first place. As you learn to let go of the pattern you’ve fallen into, you might find that you’re slowly building confidence in your ability to manage anything that comes your way — even things that once caused you anxiety.
Eventually, with enough practice and determination, you’ll be able to overcome any anxiety stage, regardless of the situation you’re in.
Learn how to identify each of the 4 stages
Familiarizing yourself with the four stages of anxiety is an essential part of the process. Once you can identify which stage you’re in, you can determine which tools are best to address where you’re currently at.
Learn and use coping skills
Find the coping tools that are most effective in helping you manage your anxiety. Try several different techniques and use the ones you feel work best for your symptoms. Coping strategies that are known for their efficacy in dealing with anxiety include:
- Journaling for anxiety
- Mindfulness
- Self-care
- Breathing exercises for anxiety
- Yoga
- Meditation
- Affirmations for anxiety
- Finding a support system
"Another tip in reversing the anxiety cycle is gradually confronting your fears by using coping skills like breathing techniques and taking things one step at a time. Start with situations that are easier for you to handle, then work your way up to more challenging tasks. This will lead to an improved sense of confidence, which will help reduce your anxiety and allow you to move into more challenging situations."
— Reshawna Chapple, PhD, LCSW
Reversing the 4 stages
To break the cycle, you can reverse the phases.
- First, recognize and face the thing that’s giving you anxiety
- Second, try to let yourself experience the anxiety for a short time period; this will likely be followed by a noticeable reduction in symptoms
- Third, use the coping skills you feel work best for you to bring your anxiety under control
- Fourth, acknowledge that you were able to control your feelings and response to the anxiety
Seek professional help
Anxiety can dominate virtually every aspect of your life. It’s not just about feeling stressed or nervous. It’s a continuous cycle that makes everyday situations seem impossible. If you want to break the cycle of anxiety but feel like you can’t do it on your own, consider seeking help through therapy for anxiety. If cost is a concern, you might be wondering if insurance covers therapy for anxiety. Many plans do, and online options like Talkspace can help make treatment more accessible.A therapist or doctor can offer professional guidance and teach you effective techniques to help you learn how to break the anxiety cycle.
Get Professional Support in Breaking the Anxiety Cycle with Talkspace
The journey to disrupt the cycle of anxiety starts with developing an understanding of how each stage works so you can anticipate your feelings — and professional support can be vital in learning healthy ways to manage your anxiety.
Talkspace is an online therapy platform that connects members with licensed mental healthcare professionals who can help you learn how to break the anxiety cycle with online anxiety treatment. Anxiety doesn’t have to rule your life. You can learn how to treat anxiety. Use the steps you’ve learned here today and reach out to Talkspace if you need additional support — you can take back control of your life.
