📌 Worry and Anxiety Are Habits?
Yes! And they are bad habits.
Not only are worry and anxiety habits — they are powerful ones. So powerful they can stop you in your tracks, immobilize your self-esteem, and block your success, even when you fully deserve it.
Recent research confirms what many of us have sensed all along: worry and anxiety aren’t just fleeting emotions — they’re patterns your brain learns and repeats. In fact, “worry and anxiety can establish themselves through feedback loops as actual habits,” according to neuroscientist Judson Brewer. These loops form when anxious feelings trigger negative thoughts, and those thoughts in turn amplify the anxiety — until it becomes a self-reinforcing cycle.
The good news? Because habits can be broken, anxiety can be too.
👉 Read the study here.
🧘♀️ Step Back and Examine Your Daily Habits
To understand how these loops form in your life, take a moment to observe your thoughts. Ask yourself:
How many times a day do you feel anxious about money?
Do you worry about job security or the future of your career?
How often do you wake up at 3 a.m., replaying the past or fearing the future?
Do you fret over relationships, likability, or what others might be saying about you?
These patterns reveal where anxiety has become a mental habit — not a reflection of reality.
📍Fear Can Be Manufactured
At its core, anxiety is rooted in fear. And while fear can be a useful survival instinct, it can also be manufactured.
Fear may begin with a single stressful event, then expand into a way of life — even when there’s no immediate danger. Occasional fear is normal; chronic fear is not.
Dr. Brewer explains: “Fear plus uncertainty leads to anxiety, and that anxiety makes the thinking and planning part of the brain go offline… If we change our relationship with our emotions, we can stop feeding them.”
👉 Listen to the full conversation on HBR.
When we resist fear, we often make it stronger. The key is to acknowledge it — then redirect our focus to the present moment.
😌 How to Break Down the Bad Habits of Worry and Anxiety
Step 1: Identify Your Triggers
Common anxiety agitators include:
Poor sleep habits or eating too heavily before bed
Playing the “victim” role after stressful events
Mentally replaying future scenarios that haven’t happened (and may never)
Adopting a negative mindset instead of seeking mindfulness or professional help
Step 2: Create a Healthier Routine
Avoid sugar and heavy meals in the evening
Read poetry, affirmations, or uplifting material before sleep
Turn off all devices at least 2 hours before bed — the news can wait!
Keep a list of affirmations by your bedside to calm your thoughts
Stay grounded in the now
Step 3: Practice Mindfulness with Affirmations
Repeat these truths aloud or silently:
“The past is only a memory. The future has not happened. There is only NOW.”
“I am as important to the world as my boss.”
“I am smart, resourceful, and a good person.”
“I don’t worry because I know there is always an answer if I look for it in the NOW.”
🤝 Realizing That Anxiety and Worry Are Habits — Not Who You Are
When you see worry and anxiety for what they are — habits, not destiny — you can start to change them.
Most of what we fear never comes to pass. These “imaginary little worrywarts,” as I like to call them, lose power the moment you stop feeding them with attention.
Alongside mindfulness and affirmations, professional support like hypnotherapy or counseling can accelerate your transformation.
Breaking the habit of worry doesn’t mean living without challenges — it means meeting them with calm, centered awareness.
And that is the pathway to a more peaceful, fulfilling, and prosperous life.
💛 In prosperity and kindness,
Charmayne
