Anxiety · Assessment
Anxiety Maintenance Map
The ecosystem keeping anxiety alive
Anxiety is maintained by a small ecosystem: avoidance, safety behaviors, reassurance, worry, and sleep/lifestyle patterns. Naming the loop is what makes the interventions land.
My personal anxiety map
Triggers — situations or sensations that spike anxiety
Avoidance — what I stop doing
Safety behaviors — what I do to feel safe
Reassurance — who / what I check with
Body / lifestyle — sleep, caffeine, alcohol, exercise, screens
The one link in the loop I'll target first
Anxiety is a system
You don't have to fix everything. Cut one link — usually avoidance — and the whole loop weakens.