The #1 Hack to Overcoming Anxiety: Addressing Anxiety About Anxiety

What is Anxiety About Anxiety?

Anxiety doesn’t always come from external stress or tough situations. Sometimes, the fear of feeling anxious makes it worse. This fear of anxiety itself is called meta-anxiety. It keeps you trapped in a cycle of worry and stress.

For example, I once worked with someone who felt extreme anxiety before social events. But it wasn’t just the event itself—it was the fear that she would get anxious during the event. The worry made her tense up before she even arrived, and by the time she was there, she was already in a heightened state of anxiety. It became a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Have you ever felt anxious because you were worried about how anxious you might become? Here are a few common examples:

You feel nervous at a social event, not because of the event, but because you’re afraid of getting anxious while you’re there.
You feel worried about going to work, not because of the stress, but because you’re anticipating the anxiety you might feel.
You worry about having a panic attack in public, which only makes you more anxious and more likely to have one.
You lie awake at night, anxious that you won’t fall asleep because you’re so worried about being anxious.
You wake up tired, worrying that your anxiety will be worse the next day because you didn’t sleep well.

This cycle of anxiety can feel endless. But breaking free from it is the first step toward truly overcoming anxiety.

See my article: The Effects of Stress and Anxiety on the Brain: What You Need to Know

How Anxiety About Anxiety Makes Coping Strategies Harder

Even when you try to manage anxiety with relaxation techniques, the fear of being anxious can still get in the way.

You try meditation, but you worry about whether it’s actually calming you down. You do breathing exercises, but you’re anxious about whether they’re “working.” You practice yoga, but instead of focusing on the present, you’re wondering if you’re doing it right.

This fear of anxiety makes it harder for these strategies to help you.

See my article: Stop Overthinking: How to Trust Yourself and Feel More at Peace

The Solution: Breaking the Cycle of Anxiety About Anxiety

Let’s see how we can tackle meta-anxiety, the key! Research in cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) has shown that addressing the fear of anxiety itself can significantly lower your overall anxiety (Tolin et al., 2020). Here are some easy steps you can take to break the cycle:

Acknowledge the Pattern – Recognizing that you’re feeling anxious about being anxious is the first step. Awareness gives you the opportunity to break the cycle.
Change Your Perspective – Instead of fearing anxiety, see it as a temporary feeling. Studies show that viewing anxiety as something manageable can make it less intense (Kaiser et al., 2021). We want to shift from feeling scared of anxiety to feeling neutral about it.
Practice Acceptance – Anxiety may be uncomfortable, but it’s not dangerous. Accepting it as part of being human can reduce the fear around it. Mindfulness practices have been shown to help reduce anxiety (Shapiro et al., 2022).
Stay in the Present – Focus on the present moment instead of worrying about the future. Grounding techniques, like focusing on your senses, can help you stay calm.
Stop Resisting – The more you try to push anxiety away, the stronger it becomes. Instead of fighting it, let yourself feel it without judgment. I promise you, it will pass (see the cycle image below).

By following these steps, you can begin to break free from the anxiety cycle and start feeling more in control of your emotions.

Infographic illustrating the cycle of anxiety about anxiety, showing how fear of anxiety increases distress and steps to break the cycle. — The Cycle of Anxiety About Anxiety

Key Steps to Stop Anxiety About Anxiety

Here’s how you can stop the cycle of anxiety about anxiety:

Recognize the Pattern – The first step is to notice when you’re feeling anxious about being anxious.
Change Your Mindset – View anxiety as a temporary experience, not something to fear.
Accept It – Understand that anxiety is part of being human, and it doesn’t need to be feared.
Stay Present – Focus on the present, not the future. Use grounding techniques to stay calm.
Stop Fighting It – Allow yourself to feel anxiety without judgment, which will help reduce its intensity.

The Takeaway: Break the Cycle and Take Control

If you want to truly overcome anxiety, the first step is breaking free from the cycle of being anxious about anxiety. Once you stop fearing anxiety itself, other strategies—like meditation, breathing exercises, and mindfulness—will work much better.

Once you stop fearing anxiety, you take control of it. And that’s when you start to feel better.

Call to Action:

Are you ready to break free from the cycle of anxiety? Start by practicing these simple steps today.

Anxiety hack — Author, Stephanie Boucher, Registered Psychotherapist

About the Author

Stephanie Boucher is a Registered Psychotherapist specializing in betrayal trauma and childhood wounds and the owner of The Mindful Loft Betrayal Trauma and Relational Recovery Centre in Ontario. With over a decade of experience in the mental health field, she supports clients in navigating relational wounds and rebuilding their sense of self-worth.