A Strategy for Calm Responses | @caroline-cavanagh | The Anxiety Alchemist

19 Aug 2026 · 1 min

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Caroline Cavanagh offers a four-step approach to criticism and online trolling: respond gently and invite them to reconsider, clarify they own their interpretation, give them a chance to apologize, then stop engaging if they persist. The key is choosing not to react.

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How do I respond? I could attack back. I could defend myself. I could walk away. And I often speak to people about this as a virtual tennis match. My intention was to serve the ball in a nice, gentle way to create a bit of a rally. It came flying back. And I could have then smashed it back as well, but I decided to play it back very gently, from a point of intention to say, please look back at the words. Please understand this is my interpretation. If you choose to take a different meaning, that is your responsibility. And that particular individual, credit to him, did then ask for forgiveness for his misinterpretation. Other people carried on the trolling, but that was on them. And my choice with those individuals was to not respond.