You can defuse an anxious thought by “taking the long way around it.” Taking the long way around an anxious thought is when you describe the thought, sensation, or urge with a longer, wordier description. For example, you can defuse the short, scary anxious thought What if I lose my job by taking the long way around it: My mind is once again having that very familiar and “oh, so scary” thought a thought that enters my mind over and over again without variation and without merit that I might lose my job.

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