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Ask HN: How to break anxiety/fear-avoidance cycle?

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Re: Ask HN: How to break anxiety/fear-avoidance cycle?

#161

Post by JohnBooty »

insickness wrote: post #6

The best solution to getting past the anxiety/fear-avoidance cycle is to take small, manageable actions while accepting the feelings that go along with those actions. Start with the smallest steps possible. Maybe that means opening the assignment and saving it to your computer. Then put it down and walk away. Come back in a little while and take another small step, such as reading over the assignment or making an out…

    Start with the smallest steps possible. Maybe 
    that means opening the assignment and saving 
    it to your computer.
This is insanely effective for me.

Avoidance/procrastination is still an ongoing struggle for me, and I suspect it always will be.

But breaking things down into steps is my best weapon. Nothing comes close.

(Second place is probably "getting good sleep" which has positive benefits for well, just about any challenge your mind faces)

I actually extend this concept to life in general. I make lists of daily tasks. This even includes "getting out of bed", "taking vitamins", etc. Sometimes it's useful to give yourself "credit" for doing all of the little things. Gets you rolling. Sounds silly but it is often effective for me.

Re: Ask HN: How to break anxiety/fear-avoidance cycle?

#162

Post by rufugee »

I just participated in the Landmark Forum (https://www.landmarkworldwide.com/) which is designed to do (among other things) just this, over a three day intensive class. It's about redefining the way you look at the past, present, and future and establishing more positive views. As someone who has been studying mindfulness (and, where it's related, Buddhism) for the past few years, it was a very welcome experience, and it's already impacted my life and relationships in a number of positive ways.

Google it for yourself...as with anything "woo", there's both positive and negative comments out there. But for me, it was the right thing at the right time, and it's inspired me to take action in very meaningful ways.

Re: Ask HN: How to break anxiety/fear-avoidance cycle?

#163

Post by srinivgp »

I had this problem. It crippled me. One or more of the following solved it:

- just time plus regression to the mean

- talking with a therapist, for a while

- being hit with a completely different enormous life stress, allowing me to say "fuck it" to all other anxieties

While it was ongoing, my coping mechanisms were:

- ditch social interaction in favor of putting myself near the problem for hours at a time with nothing else to do until I made reluctant incremental progress

I do not recommend that coping mechanism for anything except that which you need to literally survive.

When it was very bad, the following was not helpful:

- breaking into small chunks; fear-avoidance can be about starting, but in my case it was literally about producing any results visible to anyone else

Re: Ask HN: How to break anxiety/fear-avoidance cycle?

#164

Post by PKop »

ethbr0 wrote: post #116
PKop wrote: post #98

Exercise, lifting weights, running, getting more sunlight / vitamin D, going on walks in nature. Physiological changes brought about by the above can help anxiety, break you out of this cycle. Give it a try

At my highest stress moments, I've always found exercise and nature incredibly effective at resetting mental traps. Sometimes before a task (e.g. go for a run and don't think about it at all, then immediately sit down and start after getting home) and sometimes after a task interval (e.g. get to this point, stop, go take a long run and don't think about it at all, or just lightly turn more fun aspects of the problem…

It seems to me to be a common modern misconception for many people that the body is separate from the mind, or somehow unimportant to stimulate, exercise, and keep healthy for it and the mind to be in optimal function, have mental clarity and to be at peace (vs depression and anxiety).

Truly from my experience and discussions with others this is the biggest single change many can make if not already consistently exercising, being active, getting out in nature (especially getting more sunlight to counteract Vitamin D deficiency which affects mood).

Nietzsche had much to say on this topic, the mistaken dualism of mind and body.

Re: Ask HN: How to break anxiety/fear-avoidance cycle?

#165

Post by chasd00 »

when i get like this i just focus on making any progress at all. Just drawing a diagram on a sheet of paper is better than nothing. My HS football coach would circle us up before kickoff and we'd all look at the scoreboard. He'd say "priority 1, get rid of that zero". Any progress, no matter how small, is much better than zero.

Re: Ask HN: How to break anxiety/fear-avoidance cycle?

#166

Post by ultra_nick »

Ask for a referral to a psychiatrist about Anxiety/ ADHD.

A major, but subtle ADHD symptom, is executive dysfunction. It's like when your willpower fails to start your body in the same way that a car may fail to start its engine. People with this can't start a task even if they desperately want and need to start it.

Anxiety can also cause similar issues. Although, usually I see anxious friends meet deadlines.

Re: Ask HN: How to break anxiety/fear-avoidance cycle?

#167

Post by Gnarl »

Go to: the tapping solution dot com Give it a try. I think you'll be surprised at the results.

Before you judge this method, known as "Emotional Freedom Technique", consider that the U.S. Veterans Admin. approves it for treating PTSD. The Army don't waste time on woo. More: https://www.huffpost.com/entry/veterans-administration-appro...

Re: Ask HN: How to break anxiety/fear-avoidance cycle?

#169

Post by ultra_nick »

ant6n wrote: post #156
justsocrateasin wrote: post #126

I would strongly recommend seeing a therapist. This is the exact kind of "thought pattern" that therapists are incredibly good at helping you sort through.

Is it? I’d like to get a second opinion on that.

Yes, but not all therapists are right for everyone.

Keep an eye out for specialization and incompatible red flags.

Re: Ask HN: How to break anxiety/fear-avoidance cycle?

#170

Post by patrickserrano »

insickness wrote: post #6

The best solution to getting past the anxiety/fear-avoidance cycle is to take small, manageable actions while accepting the feelings that go along with those actions. Start with the smallest steps possible. Maybe that means opening the assignment and saving it to your computer. Then put it down and walk away. Come back in a little while and take another small step, such as reading over the assignment or making an out…

+1 for taking small steps. As someone who's dealt with anxiety for years, it's one of the most reliable ways for me to actually make progress when I'm overwhelmed.

I'll typically try making a list of the small steps I need to take, though I recognize that for some people seeing that list might make the anxiety worse. But for me it's a tangible step that allows me to cross off items and visualize the progress as I go which ends up reducing my anxiety about the task at hand. I do it for everything from work related projects to general "cleaning up the house" type work.

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