Most people think anxiety is caused by the symptoms themselves – the racing heart, the brain fog, the tight chest... That actually feels obvious: if the symptoms stop, the anxiety ends.

That’s what I used to think. So I did what anyone would do – I focused on the sensations. Tried to figure them out, fix them, and make them go away.

But they didn’t. In fact, the more I focused, the worse they got. Because the real fuel behind anxiety is your focus – and the meaning you attach to what you feel. (That’s something I realized a bit later.)

In this episode, I’ll walk you through a quick 2-minute experiment. First, you’ll see how focusing on a symptom makes it grow. Then, you’ll see how shifting the meaning around it makes the panic start to fade.

Once you see the cycle clearly, something in you softens. The sensations may still be there, but the fear around them disappears – and that’s when your body finally gets the chance to burn off the adrenaline and heal.

It only takes two minutes. Try it with me.

Key Takeaways:

• Intro (00:00)
• Logical problem-solving doesn’t work for anxiety (00:40)
• Focus amplifies perceived danger (01:52)
• Thought experiment: hyper-focusing worsens the symptom (02:50)
• Your brain fills gaps with fear-based meaning (03:53)
• Thought experiment: reframing the symptom as harmless (05:51)
• Symptoms are your body burning off adrenaline (08:12)

Additional Resources:

➡️ To accelerate your recovery journey, book a call to see if the mentorship with Shaan's team will help your specific situation

➡️ Get access to the Desensitization Blueprint

➡️ FREE E-BOOK

---

Follow me on social media:

🔹 Instagram

🔹 Facebook

🔹 LinkedIn