You not only avoid the objects and situations that trigger your anxiety, but also learn to avoid the anxiety itself. Avoiding your anxious response and the many situations and activities in which it arises paints you into a corner. Avoidance boxes you in and limits your life. In fact, your anxiety isn’t the problem; your desire to avoid feeling anxious at all costs is the problem. Avoiding your anxious response makes it difficult for you to live a full and meaningful life.

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