Anxiety And The "Almost" Story | Ep 353

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"I almost passed out."

"I almost made a scene."

"I almost ruined everything."

If you have an anxiety disorder or OCD, you probably recognize that sentence. The word almost shows up constantly, and treating it like a fact is one of the things that keeps the cycle going.

In this episode I want to talk about what I call the almost story: the narrative anxiety and OCD write after a difficult moment to give your escape behaviors and compulsions credit for preventing a disaster that was never actually going to happen. The almost story feels completely real. The sensations were intense, the fear was overwhelming, and then you did your ritual or your avoidance and you felt better. So obviously the almost thing almost happened and your action stopped it, right?

That framing is a cognitive distortion, and a costly one. Because when the almost story gets written on the back end of a triggered episode, it fuels anticipatory anxiety on the front end of the next one. The cycle repeats. You never get to see anxiety and discomfort rise and fall on their own because the almost story keeps telling you that giving it that chance would be reckless.

I walk through where the almost story shows up in the cycle, why it's a story rather than a fact, what the proof of that actually is, and what it looks like to start recognizing and challenging it bit by bit.

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Disclaimer: The Anxious Truth  is not therapy or a replacement for therapy. Listening to The Anxious Truth does not create a therapeutic relationship between you and the host or guests of the podcast. Information here is provided for psychoeducational purposes. As always, when you have questions about your own well-being, please consult your mental health and/or medical care providers. If you are having a mental health crisis, always reach out immediately for in-person help.