Cognitive avoidance occurs when you use problematic thinking to avoid feeling or to avoid effective thinking. I’m not referring to avoiding thinking altogether. In fact, your mind might be racing when you are engaged in cognitive avoidance. I’m referring to the types of problematic thinking (that is, unproductive worry, mental compulsions, and rumination) that create distance from feelings …
Last week, we focused on how avoidance not only reinforces anxiety, but it also undermines your potential. As you commit to moving towards anxiety, uncertainty, and discomfort, there are several patterns that can undermine your best attempts at avoiding avoidance. Situational avoidance reinforces fear and creates demoralization. Experiential avoidance during situational anxiety creates habitual distance …
We all know at this point that avoidance creates, maintains, and intensifies anxiety. You have an uncomfortable thought, feeling, or sensation. It feels likes a threat of danger. You do something to make it go away. What you do to make thoughts, feelings or sensations go away are compulsions, avoidances, escape strategies, safety behaviors, and reassurance seeking. …
We use the term experiential avoidance rather than simply avoidance to remind ourselves of how we avoid both ourselves and the world around us. Situational avoidance is usually easy to identify. Also, many anxiety sufferers don’t avoid situations. Still, anxiety is always maintained by avoidance. We all avoid thoughts, feelings, sensations, memories, and urges with …