When a person suffers from recurrent, pervasive anxiety, it often continues through invisible patterns that quietly sustain it. These are known as maintenance cycles, repeating loops in which thoughts, emotions, and physical sensations influence one another and keep the experience of anxiety alive and growing.

Anxiety is not a single process that happens only in the mind. It involves the whole system: how we think, what we feel, and how the body reacts to these thoughts and feelings. A shift in one area can lead to changes in the others. Over time, these interactions can form a cycle that repeats itself automatically, making anxiety seem ever-present, unpredictable, and uncontrollable [...]

Most of us turn to Google when we want quick answers. A sore throat, a strange sensation, or a burst of worry can send us straight to the search bar. For people living with anxiety, this urge to “Google it” can become a daily cycle. While it feels like a way of finding certainty, it often fuels more fear in the long run.Health anxiety, OCD, and generalised anxiety disorder often involve a powerful need for reassurance. Searching online provides a fast hit of temporary relief: “If I can just find the right answer, I’ll feel better.” But that relief rarely lasts. Instead, one search leads to another, and the more you read, the more frightening possibilities you encounter. Google cannot tell you whether you are truly safe, it can only offer endless scenarios. [...]