In all affairs it’s a healthy thing now and then to hang a question mark on the things you have long taken for granted.” – Bertrand Russell
You know more about anxiety than 99.9% of the population. Yet, here you are.
The question is why? Why isn’t all your fancy-pants information helping you?
Well it’s not because you’re dumb. I was in your shoes for over 10 years and I consider myself relatively smart.
I was good at filling my head with facts but that’s about it. I had a really hard time moving past this phase.
But you know what? So do a lot of other people. For example, I’d say that most people that I work with struggle with this problem.
The reason this happens isn’t a mystery though. It’s due to something called the backfire effect.
People that work in the mental health field call it confirmation bias, but I’m sticking with backfire effect because it sounds cooler.
Simply put, it means that people tend to favor information that supports their beliefs; especially in the face of contradictory evidence.
In fact, beliefs not only stay the same when challenged, they tend to get even stronger.
For example, say that you started having problems with your balance. Chances are you’d jump on the web and search “balance problems” and come back with a thousand hits.
Next, you’d run into several other related symptoms and before you know it you’d start building a rock solid case in favor of MS or some other disease.
When you experience those same symptoms in the future you’d selectively recall biased information (usually all bad) that supported your twisted views about anxiety.
But hang on, it gets worse.
You then misinterpret all incoming information with “I’m already sick” lenses on, which increases anxiety and reinforces the belief that your specific symptoms are related to a real illness rather than stress.
In short, the backfire effect creates biased searches for information, biased interpretations of that information and creates biased memories.
So when you do come across “good information” you disregard it because it doesn’t line up with your beliefs about anxiety.
Basically, you double down.
The crazy thing is that even if you know that you’re doing this, it won’t stop it from happening. It’s a paradox.
Eventually, I stopped falling victim to this backfire business but it wasn’t easy.
Why this happens
One of the reasons people get stuck on bad information is because they favor “early information” and give it more importance than information gathered later.
So if someone told you that your neighbor was a real weirdo you’d develop an ugly (biased) picture in your head about that person.
A picture that would probably be hard to shake even after you met them.
Biased interpretation offers an explanation for this effect: seeing the initial evidence, people form a working hypothesis that affects how they interpret the rest of the information.” Raymond S. Nickerson
Now, you would still form your own ideas about your neighbor, but he would have to work a little harder to prove that he isn’t weird.
The backfire effect is also strengthened by negative moods like anxiety.
So, the more anxious you are, the harder it is to challenge your tainted beliefs about anxiety.
How do you stop this from happening?
1. Stay Curious. When people encounter information that supports their suspicions, they become certain about things they don’t truly understand.
Staying curious about what’s going on leaves the door to new, probably more helpful information, wide open.
2. Present a counterargument. What would happen if you had to put anxiety on the stand and cross examine it?
I bet nothing but good things. I encourage you to write out a counterargument against your anxiety.
Use all the counter evidence you can find and write a narrative designed to persuade others that your anxiety is harmless.
3. Suspend judgment. Stay neutral and open whenever you investigate whether or not something is harmful to you.
4. Accept the gray areas. One of the biggest reasons why people stay stuck in anxiety is because they are desperately seeking certainty where there is none.
Instead, learn how to tolerate ambiguity. This is a powerful tool.
In this week’s episode of The Anxiety Guru Show I discuss how you can increase your tolerance of the unknown and how to use this skill to decrease anxiety. Check it out and comment below.
Thank you sooo much, Paul! I am just about to go into hospital to start Lustral and am very, very phobic of taking any medications (a fear caused after anaphylaxis to an antibiotic). The anticipation and trying to ‘predict the unknown’ is HUGE for me right now, so this show is a godsend. I have only known about Anxiety Guru now for a few weeks but the difference it is making in my life is remarkable – my psychotherapist can’t believe it and I told her all about you and your wonderful work. You have managed to help me to help MYSELF, and I really can’t thank you enough! Warmest wishes & many, many thanks from Scotland.
Hi Marie, Thank you for letting me know how much the site has helped. I hope you continue to benefit from it while you continue to resolve your anxiety. Hang in there!
Hey Paul,
Another great podcast. Sort of deals with what I’m scheduled to do in a few weeks. I went to my doctor and told them my vertigo wasn’t getting better. He took some simple tests, and at first, I thought he would just send me to the ENT clinic because I have been feeling my sinuses acting up, which have triggered vertigo-like symptoms. After some consultation, he requested I get an MRI of my brain just to rule out anything worse. No worries right?
So I went ahead and scheduled my appointment. I told the nurse about my claustrophobia, so she told me to contact my MP, who would order me a sedative. No worries right? As soon as I hung up the phone, I freaked out. Not about “what if they find something wrong?” (Not so much to be honest). I just thought about freaking out on the table. Just take a wild guess what I did next? Yup, I searched for MRI machines on the internet and wanted to see what they looked like. I looked up claustrophobia and was searching for quick ways to get over it. I just went on blast for about 5 minutes…and then I stopped. I called my co-worker who also has anxiety, and she told me to take it easy, not to research anything (I think she sensed I had done it already), and to take a Lorazepam to take the edge off.
Since then, I’ve been cool. Today has been weird because I felt great for the most part, but for the last hour or so, I’ve been feeling “funny.” Can’t describe it except that I feel as if everything is normal, and my body is not use to feeling “normal.” I’m trying to take a positive spin on it. Of note, I was placed on Zoloft a few weeks back. I’m sure you know how it works, so I’m on week 2 of it, so I’m taking two tablets a day. I forgot to ask my MP if Zoloft is like Citalopram, where at first, it causes high anxiety, but then it starts to kick in for good. DO you know if that’s the case?
Anyway, your story about going to the doctor hit home. I can’t “what if” about my MRI because it could all be for nothing (tests come back normal.) Who knows.
As always, thanks for what you do for us anxiety sufferers. It does take the edge off for a lot of us. Be well.
I am a 70 year old male who has suffered from Panic attacks and skipped heart beats for around 50 years, ( you would think if either were going to kill me it would have already happened) but oh no not in my brain….I have found some things that have helped me like Magnesium however I really enjoy your podcasts,,, for me to actually sit and listen to someone for 30 minutes is a small miracle in itself. It seems like I have the hardest times when I am going to do something that I am going to enjoy, like a self punishment……go figure…anyway you have a calming effect on me and I do appreciate you and what you are doing…. I have mentioned you to a few of my friends and family…. GOD bless you and your family Ron
Thank you Ron. You are too kind!
Hi Paul,
Thank you once again for your podcasts. Today’s podcast covered many issues that I have struggled with – most notably the acceptance of ambiguity and confirmation bias.
For me the main issues I have dealt with are a belief that I have a heart condition (owing probably to confirmation bias and initial ignorance). This belief unfortunately persists despite medical reassurances that my heart is top notch (failure to accept ambiguity).
Everyone always says “Anxiety can’t harm you” and “you will not die from anxiety”. I knew this and anxiety itself did not scare me in the slightest. My problem was that I though it was, in fact, a heart issue and not anxiety, which could kill me. So when people say it can’t hurt you, I always premised it with, “if it is, in fact, anxiety” because if not, it could hurt me.
Hey Todd, the issue of confirmation bias and intolerance of ambiguity is what drives most anxiety. Like you, there are many people that focus on the fear generated by symptoms while completely ignoring the emotional piece. It is hard to work around symptoms to get at what’s really going on and I think that’s exactly while recovery is reached through such a long twisted road. But it sounds like you have gained some very helpful insights which is the first major step towards getting better.
Just wanted to say thanks for another great podcast!
Thanks for listening!
Just popping back for an update as I thought you might find this interesting! So, I made it into hospital to start the Lustral but was seen by anothet psychiatrist other than my usual, and a psychologist who both agreed that drugs were NOT the way to go for me! The psychologist spent a LOT of time with me and both decided that although I have some serious anxiety issues, phobias and past trauma that I need help with, that I have good insight about my condition and my symptoms (a HUGE thank you to you Paul for enlightening me)! So, I was discharged from hospital and see the Psychologist tomorrow to discuss in full a plan for my therapy. I will still have to work on my drug phobia at a later date, but both agreed that starting an SSRI now would NOT be a helpful introduction to facing my fear of meds! Earlier in the year, the same psychiatrist started me at home on Fluoxetine which caused a massive increase in my panic attacks as well as jaw clenching and unbearble heavy sweating, so it had to be stopped immediately. I have now requested that I no longer see my original psychiatrist – what confirmed it for me was when he said ‘I don’t really believe in psychotherapy’!!!! Can you believe that??? Unreal! I’ll keep you posted on (hopefully) progress, and will be following your blog and podcasts religiously!
Yeah.. The stay curious part kind of backfires with me. I tend to look for information that confirms my fears. Exactly what I know I shouldn’t do. There is very little positive information about the stuff I look for.
I know I have trouble tolerating the unknown and when I feel fine, I feel fine. The unknown is not scary to me. But when symptoms resurface, when I think they’re gone, the “what if’s” take over.
“What if this time I don’t return to normal? What if the drug stopped working? What if I lose my job over this because I can’t focus?”
I need to remind myself that it can come back randomly. Especially after being constant for so long.
I have been way better the last months, but today I have a bit of a setback, which made me check out the podcasts I had missed.
Through my mind I’m seeing my fear resurfacing. My fear that the drug is no longer effective or that I’ve become insensitive to it.
But it’s not as bad as it once was. So it IS working. It just isn’t bullet proof. I need to believe that and the faster I do, the faster I’ll be ok again.
But what if I’m not?
There I go again….
😛
Thing is, I feel that “stress” is different form “anxiety”. I’m stressed when I have lots of work, when I need to do something fast or when my cat gets sick. I am “anxious” often after lots of stress or no specific reason at all. It just comes back, the symptoms and the feelings, and it’s related to stress, but it’s not the same thing. Stress, I can live with. Anxiety too, but it doens’t go away once the stressor is removed. It kind of has a life of its own.
Which is what I fear most when it comes back; that it will remain again for several months at and costing me my quality of life. It did happen before so it’s not impossible. I often said I’d galdly amputate my leg if it ment that I would never feel this way again.
Anyways, Great podcast again.
🙂
For Marie;
I can’t speak for doctors. However, it is starting to come clear that medicine combined with psychotherapy is the most effective treatment. I have read some terrible stuff about drugs, especially the one I am taking, and the “biass” drove me to quit it even tough it worked well for me. Now almost 2 years later, I’m back on the drug but the relapse I suffered was severe and I’m still a bit fragile.
I think the psychiatrist probably sees a lot of people helped by drugs and that is probaly what made him tell you he did not believe in psychotherapy. I encourage you to reconsider medication. Do not read the ssri forums! They scared the crap out of me with exagerations and interpretations of half-truths.. But you need to trust your doctor and if the prychiatrist you saw was making you uncomfortable, you should not see him again.
If you are scared of medication, I totaly understand. But it’s one of those “you won’t know until you try” thing.
And for me at least, it really helps.
Hi Paul. I have just found your site and I’m going to have a good read and listen. Someone mentioned to me about confirmation bias. So here I am. I have just had a cancerous lesion removed from my back it hadn’t spread, it’s all gone. So all good. Doctors want me to go to a dermatologist to get myself checked out. I’m now convinced others are cancerous, it’s spread etc etc and I’m going to die.
Oh and all the googling and comparing of images online to my lesions and marks.
Here’s hoping your site helps me, as it has many others.
I’ve been like this year’s, so maybe this may be a breakthrough. As I’m always worst case scenario in everything.
Thank you