Mastering Anxiety: Take Control of Your Thoughts | @caroline-cavanagh | Anxiety Specialist

26 May 2025 · 1 min

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1:08

In this brief dialogue, the speakers explore anxiety as a continuum defined by perceived control. Speaker A explains that lacking control heightens anxiety, while full control reduces it, using the metaphor of a line where moving toward control lowers anxiety. They emphasize that making decisions restores a sense of control, which in turn eases anxiety. Speaker B agrees, noting intentionality is easier when one feels in control. The conversation then shifts to how organizations can help employees regain control—whether over physical tasks or mental processes—by fostering environments that empower decision‑making and thought management. A reference to the Dalai Lama illustrates that even highly respected figures view thought mastery as an ongoing practice, underscoring that most people remain low on the control line, leading to anxiety when thoughts dominate them.

And that's a really important element of anxiety. You know, it's like a line of continuum. If you've got no control, you're really anxious. If you've got full control, you're not anxious. I've got no idea what you're going to say next, so that always makes me just a little bit anxious. But it's, you know, I trust you, that's different. So when, when you're back in control, you are moving back down that line where you're reducing anxiety.
Yeah.
Yeah, so anything, make a decision because you're then in control of that decision.
It's easier to be intentional when you're up that end of the scale, isn't it, than it is down there. Yeah, I get that.
And again, that's something that, you know, organisations can help their employees is be in a better place of control. Because when you're in more control of whatever, whether it's something physical, whether it's something mental, when you're in control of your thoughts, wow, that's a great place to be. Dalai Lama, probably the only one that's ticked that box, and he'd say he's still a work in progress. Most of us are way down that line. But when you control your thoughts, then you are in a much better place. When your thoughts control you, you're anxious.