Confronting Avoidance. A Path to Overcoming Anxiety.
Avoidance can make us feel better temporarily but research suggests that it increases anxiety and depression. Living a value driven life means choosing to do things that are important to you, even if they make you uncomfortable.
Let’s dig in to some way’s avoidance relates to anxiety:
Immediate Relief: Avoidance behaviors provide temporary relief from anxiety. For example, if someone feels anxious about social interactions, they might avoid socializing altogether. This avoidance temporarily reduces their anxiety because they don't have to face the feared situation. However, it reinforces the belief that the situation is truly threatening, perpetuating the cycle of anxiety in the long run.
Negative Reinforcement: Avoidance behaviors are negatively reinforced by the reduction of anxiety they provide. When someone avoids a feared situation and experiences a decrease in anxiety, they learn that avoidance is an effective strategy for managing their distress. This reinforcement strengthens the association between anxiety and avoidance, making it more likely that they'll resort to avoidance in the future.
Maintaining Anxiety: While avoidance provides short-term relief, it maintains and exacerbates anxiety in the long term. By avoiding situations that trigger anxiety, individuals miss out on opportunities for learning and growth. Their fears remain unchallenged, and their anxiety persists or worsens over time. Avoidance can also lead to feelings of guilt, shame, and isolation, further fueling the cycle of anxiety.
Interference with Daily Functioning: Avoidance behaviors can interfere with various aspects of daily life, including work, relationships, and leisure activities. When individuals consistently avoid situations that trigger anxiety, they may find it challenging to pursue their goals and engage in activities they enjoy. This avoidance-driven impairment can contribute to feelings of frustration, low self-esteem, and depression.
Cycle of Avoidance and Anxiety: Avoidance and anxiety often form a self-perpetuating cycle. As anxiety increases, individuals are more likely to engage in avoidance behaviors to cope with their distress. However, avoidance reinforces the belief that the feared situation is dangerous, leading to further anxiety and more intense avoidance in the future. This cycle continues unless individuals actively address their avoidance behaviors and underlying anxiety through therapy or other interventions.
Overall, avoidance and anxiety are closely connected, with avoidance serving as a common response to feelings of anxiety. Recognizing the role of avoidance in perpetuating anxiety is an essential step in breaking free from the cycle and learning healthier ways of coping with distress. In coaching we practice tools to become more aware of your feelings and get you more comfortable describing the physical sensations that show up. This allows you more space to DECIDE how you want to behave, rather than going straight in to protection or other negative habits that bring temporary relief but long lasting discomfort.
How will you build up your tolerance for discomfort today?
