How we react to anxiety could be just as important as the anxiety itself

Key Points:

• New research published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology highlights that psychological inflexibility—rigid, avoidant responses to anxious feelings—plays a critical role in the development of clinical anxiety, independent of anxiety severity itself.
• The study involved two diverse samples totaling over 1,100 participants and found that higher psychological inflexibility significantly increased the likelihood of having one or more anxiety or obsessive-compulsive disorder diagnoses.
• Researchers suggest that anxiety disorders share a common mechanism rooted in avoidance behaviors, and that learning to accept and adapt to anxiety could be a key strategy for mitigating mental health struggles.
• Demographic factors such as identifying as White or female were independently associated with higher odds of reporting an anxiety diagnosis, though these findings may reflect social and cultural influences on mental health care access and diagnosis.
• The study’s cross-sectional design limits causal conclusions, but future research could explore therapeutic approaches like Acceptance and Commitment Therapy that focus on enhancing psychological flexibility to improve treatment outcomes for anxiety disorders.