Take a pause and imagine walking through a field of tall grass. Let's correlate it to navigating through anxiety and racing thoughts. From that first initial time of walking across that field, it is going to be more challenging. After all, you are pushing grass aside carefully and choosing where you step and also assessing your directionality with focus and intention.
But then you walk this same path again and again, and while this process happens on repeat, you realize, eventually, that something happens. That same challenging grass begins to lie down. The view that was once covered in tall grass has now become much easier to see. And before long, you do not have to spend much time thinking about where you are going. It all comes down to the formation of a newly created path.
That image was used to represent anxiety and how various thoughts and responses can become so familiar that we find ourselves traveling down the same mental path. Each path is akin to a neural "path" in the brain. We will have our default "paths" that get traveled first, and we tend to choose that "path" on autopilot, without thinking.
Here's the neat part: there is actually a reason your brain is capable of developing familiar patterns. Additionally, there is also a reason those patterns can change. You do not have to stay stuck in the same cycle.
How is this possible? It is a process called Neuroplasticity. It entails your brain's ability to change and adapt in response to experience, learning and repeated activity.
The brain is a phenomenal party of your body. Unlike some other areas, it does not become permanently fixed once you reach adulthood. Instead, throughout your life, the brain can continue changing how its network functions and connects. For instance, when we acquire a new skill, practice a skill, develop a habit or respond to situations with repeated activity, we are utilizing that ever-changing brain.
One way to explain this is is with learning to drive. In those early days of learning, you likely thought about everything with a mental checklist: check the mirror, foot is on the brake, put car in drive, check the rearview mirror, slowly start moving, watch your speed, stay in the lane and so forth. It required enormous concentration.
Today, you may drive several miles before realizing you are barely, consciously thinking about any of those individual actions. What changed? The task of driving (which initially felt overwhelming) became secondary through repetition and learning. What we practice repeatedly can become easier for our brains to do.
Let's turn the page to consider the process when anxiety happens. Almost immediately you think something bad is going to happen. Your body reacts by your heart beating faster, you start imagining possibilities, you seek reassurance, possibly you avoid the situation and eventually, the anxiety subsides. But then, you undergo another stressful situation moments later, and that same pattern repeats. That pathway becomes very familiar.
When this happens, your first small step is to simply notice it. Tell yourself, 'I'm starting down that path again'. Now, you pause, going a different direction that habit suggests. [09/28/26 Blog, I suggest investigating what's real?] Is this something happening or something that I am predicting?
Creating change is not about preventing yourself from stepping onto the old path once again. Rather, it is about continuing to practice the new path. This becomes important because sometimes discouragement sets in when an anxious thought return. The individual experiencing the anxiety might feel as though nothing has changed.
The pace at which you travel down these new mental pathways can also take time. Perhaps today's new pathway is to simply stay five minutes longer, instead of your normal pursuit of immediately reacting. Try a even a ten second pause, nothing dramatic, but just a few small steps through that tall metaphorical grass.
Your brain is still learning. It has an established past experiences and practiced pathways. Those pathways do not have to necessarily offer the final word. In fact, it is learning. Allow your brain the opportunity to learn from what you repeatedly experience and practice.
Give yourself grace even when that old path becomes visible. The change is not simple and transformative overnight. Instead, when you recognize yourself heading toward that old familiar trail, pause intentionally and with enough time to ask, "what pathway do I want to practice today?"
Your new pathway can happen. Keep utilizing the tools of neuroplasticity. The brain can change and adapt as it responds to experience, learning and activity on repeat. You've got this!
*This article (and all enclosed blog articles) are for educational purposes and are not a substitute for individualized mental health care. Anxiety can have many causes, and persistent, severe, or worsening symptoms should be discussed with a qualified healthcare or mental-health professional.
