Anxiety is not the enemy

Anxiety is a smoke alarm. Its job is to go off early and loudly, because a smoke alarm that waits until it is certain is useless. Yours is working — it is just set too sensitive, and it is going off at burnt toast.

That matters, because most people spend years trying to switch the alarm off. You cannot, and you should not want to. What you can change is how sensitive it is, and what you do when it sounds.

Name your alarm

1. Write down the three situations that set yours off most often.
2. Beside each, what you actually do when it goes off.
3. Circle anything you avoid entirely. Those are the important ones.