OCD & Anxiety Treatment: The Real Problem with Anxiety
Feb 19, 2020
The Difference Between Fear and Anxiety
To tackle OCD and anxiety effectively, it's essential to understand the difference between fear and anxiety. Fear is a natural response to a clear, external threat. Think about encountering a lion in the wild; your fight-or-flight response would kick in, giving you a clear action—either fight the lion or flee the scene.
On the other hand, anxiety involves potential or possible threats that play out in your mind about future or past events. Despite these threats often being ambiguous, they trigger the same fight-or-flight response as fear. However, unlike fear, anxiety provides no clear action to take, leading to various coping mechanisms such as checking, reassurance, and avoidance.
Three Problems With Living With OCD and Anxiety
1. Anxiety is Endless
One of the key points Matt emphasizes is that anxiety can be endless. Your mind can continuously generate new things to worry about, making it difficult to live in the present moment. People consumed by anxiety often spend their current time trying to control future events, missing out on actually living their lives.
2. Anxiety Grows
When you feed your anxiety, it grows. As you engage in safety behaviors to mitigate your anxiety, the initial fear often expands into something more significant. Matt uses the character Chuck from "Better Call Saul" as an example. Chuck's anxiety about electromagnetic fields starts small but eventually grows to the point where he can't leave his house, leading to an agoraphobic lifestyle.
3. Your Life Becomes Smaller
As anxiety grows, your life becomes smaller and more confined. You might find yourself avoiding activities you used to enjoy, isolating from friends and family, and missing out on life's joys. Matt explains that anxiety can make your world very small, trapping you in a cycle that seems impossible to break.
Why Understanding the Real Problem of Anxiety is Crucial
The real problem with anxiety isn't the specific content of what you are anxious about; it's how anxiety makes your life smaller and consumes your present moment. Recognizing this can be the first step toward recovery.
Taking Action To Get Your Life Back
Matt strongly advises taking proactive steps to seek help and offers several resources to assist you on your journey:
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Free Assessments and Resources
: Visit
for free assessments and resources to get started on the right path.
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Private Community and Online Trainings
: Join their private community and take advantage of online training programs specially designed to support you.
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Additional Links
: Check the show notes for more free resources and links to support your recovery journey.
Conclusion
Living with OCD and anxiety can shrink your life and consume your time, but it doesn't have to be this way. By understanding the difference between fear and anxiety and recognizing the real issues, you can begin the journey to take your life back. Remember, help is available, and recovery is possible.
