This episode dives into nine habits that quietly fuel anxiety, habits that often seem normal but can leave us feeling drained and overwhelmed. We explore how things like people-pleasing, ignoring our body's signals, and overthinking can create a cycle of stress that feels inescapable. The key takeaway is that these habits were once survival strategies, but they may no longer serve us and can even contribute to feelings of anxiety. We offer practical, straightforward shifts to help you recognise and address these patterns with kindness and compassion. By naming these habits and understanding their impact, we can begin to rewire our nervous systems to feel safer and more at ease in our daily lives.

So, let’s get into it and start this journey towards a calmer, more confident self!

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Hello and welcome to the Peace with Anxiety podcast. This is your host, Irene Evangelou. I am a hypnotherapist and a counselor.

And this podcast is all about helping you heal high function anxiety, overcome overthinking.

And people pleasing, and become your most.

Happiest, confident, calmer self.

Hi and welcome back to Peace with Anxiety. If you ever felt anxious for no reason or like you're doing everything right and still can't relax, this episode is for you.

I want to walk you through nine habits that quietly feed anxiety. The kind of habits that feel normal and and helpful until you notice how exhausted they leave you. And I'm not here to shame anyone.

I'm here to explain, to normalize, and to offer tiny practical shifts you can actually use today. So before we begin, I want you to know this. These habits exist for a reason.

They were survival strategies at some point and your nervous system learned them to keep you safe. So that makes them clever, resilient, strong, not broken. But it also means that they can stick around long after they stop being useful.

So today, let's name them, notice how they show up in real life and give you one simple thing to try for each. So let's begin. First up is chasing everyone's approval.

You might find yourself constantly scanning the room, smoothing tension or fixing other people's moods while your own feelings get ignored. Now that teaches your nervous system that safety depends on other people being calm.

And when your safety depends on external states, your body stays keyed up. Now, a tiny practice that helps is a quick inward check in. So ask yourself, what is happening in my body right now?

And then respond to that before you respond to anyone else. The second habit is ignoring your body's signals.

You push through the headache, the tight jaw, the shallow breathing, and say you're fine even when your body is screaming otherwise. Now that silence lets stress build up until it shows up as panic or exhaustion. So try micro checking right now.

Simply unclench your jaw, drop your shoulders, inhale slowly for three seconds and notice one thing that feels different. Alright. The third is overthinking everything your mind mind. Rehearse conversations, run endless what ifs and prepare for disasters that never happen.

And this future focused habit keeps you out of the present and locks your nervous system into a constant threat loop. So when you catch your brain spiraling, ask one grounding question. What is one thing that's actually true right now?

And if you can, answer that out loud. The fourth habit is perfectionism in simple things.

Maybe you rewrite an email a hundred times rearrange your space at midnight or fix tiny details until you're exhausted. Now, perfectionism trains your brain to believe that safety equals perfection, which is an impossible contract for this one.

A helpful mantra, if you will, is simple and it's working. Just repeat after me, done is safer than perfect. And say it a couple of times or maybe three times.

Every time you catch yourself polishing something that's already good enough, say this simple mantra, done is safer than perfect. Good number five is saying yes.

Too often you say yes before you even check in with yourself, before you check your schedule, before you feel your energy, because it feels easier than disappointing someone else. And that pattern chips away at your time, at your boundaries and your ability to rest, which feeds the anxiety even more.

So a quick tiny practice is a pause phrase that is let me get back to you and actually take the minute you need to decide. Good. Now habit number six is a big suppressing emotions.

You might tell people you're fine and tuck away your irritation and sadness away because expressing them feels risky. But emotions that are ignored, they're not just vanish. They pile up and create pressure that eventually blows out as anxiety.

So try naming one thing you're feeling right now. For example, I'm feeling tired. I'm annoyed. And notice how naming what you feel softens it. Number seven is multitasking.

Constantly you juggle five tabs, three conversations, a to do list. Believe in doing more equals being more, so you're being more productive.

But chronic multitasking prevents your nervous system from experiencing a real break, which means it never learns that rest is safe. So choose one tiny task. Give it your full attention for three minutes and notice how that single focus moment lungs and your body.

Number eight is neglecting self care. You tell yourself you don't have time to pause, even for two minutes. And you schedule everything except your own needs.

And when self care is optional, your nervous system gets fewer signals that the world is safe and anxiety stays late. So start with a simple, quick 60 second stand up, stretch. Take three full breaths and tell your body you'll check in again soon. All right.

And finally, number nine is avoiding support because you have been the competent one for so long, the strong one. Asking for help can feel like failing. So you do it alone.

But isolation amplifies pressure, makes stress harder to manage, which keeps the anxiety high. I'll say that again. Isolation amplifies pressure. It makes stress harder to manage, which keeps your anxiety high.

So let yourself try 1% more support even 0.5% a text a short goal delegating one task this week and see how that small shift changes your load. And if you're ready to go deeper, I want to invite you to work with me in my Reset and Reclaim four week hypotherapy program.

That program is for women who are ready to heal the emotional wounds that drive anxiety. People pleasing and feeling not enough. And this is where the deep subconscious rewiring meets gentle guided support.

So you can actually finally feel calm, confident and connected to yourself. And finally start living from a place of real ease and calm rather than constant pressure stress.

So if you're ready to do the work with me, DM me on Instagram Reset and I'll send you all the details. Now put together these nine habits. Wire your nervous system to expect danger even when life is objectively okay.

That's why you can feel anxious in a calm room. Your body is running old rules that don't match your present reality. And the good news is that your nervous system is plastic.

It can be taught new rules with consistent small steps. And if you're wondering where to start, you don't have to overhaul everything at once.

Pick the habit that wakes you up at night, or the one that honestly makes your day harder and begin there. And before you go, I want you to do one thing. Name the one habit from the day that feels loudest for you. Say it softly or write it down.

That awareness is the first real move towards change. And remember, anxiety isn't a character flow. It's a message from your nervous system that learn to keep you safe.

And when you listen with kindness and compassion and choose small, steady shifts, you give your nervous system new information. The safety is possible. Thank you for spending this time with me. I love the work we do together here and I'm so proud of you for showing up.

If this episode landed, share it. Message me what you noticed or try one of the tiny practices. Tell me what changed.

And like I said, if you feel called to go deeper, DM me on Instagram or head to my original reclaimed page to learn how this hypnotherapy program can support your healing. I'll see you next time. Take a breath, be gentle with yourself. And remember, you don't have to do it all alone.

Thank you for listening to the Peace With Anxiety podcast.

If you found any value in today, I would really appreciate if you would leave me review and share this episode on your Instagram story tagging me at Irene the Anxietytherapist. Also, make sure you subscribe to this podcast so you don't miss an episode. All the links are found below in the show notes.

Thank you for listening and I look forward to seeing you the next episode.