72 Don’t Let A nxiety Run Your Life
Let’s say you’re taking a class that meets for a lecture
every day. In terms of your own anxiety, think about how
you might react to someone releasing a mouse in the lecture
hall one Monday. Now imagine that someone releases a
mouse in the lecture hall on Tuesday as well. And Wednesday.
How might your reaction change after someone releases a
mouse every day for a week? And then a month? Even if you
detest mice, we guarantee that after a full week, let alone a
month, your anxiety in the presence of that mouse (and
other mice) will diminish, due to the effect of repeated expo-
sure to the mouse.
Practice Consider how your anxious reactions might change
from time to time and what modifies them. For example, you might
be more or less anxious about something depending on your envi-
ronment (such as whether you are at home or out in public), the
time of day, whom you are with (family, friends, strangers, and so
on), how you are feeling (tired? happy? sick? content?), or even how
often the experience has occurred and for how long.
What Is A n x ious Avoidance?
Despite normal variations in how individuals experience
anxiety, some symptoms, especially in terms of behavior, are
widely shared. Behavioral symptoms of anxiety refer to how
you act in an effort to cope or remove yourself from a per-
ceived threat and unpleasant experience of anxiety. One of
the most common behavioral tendencies is anxious avoid-
ance, a normal inclination to protect yourself by exerting
some level of control over supposed threatening aspects of
your environment. If you have ever refused to cross a tall
bridge, get a shot at the doctor’s office, or give a speech in