Anxiety is a Habit (and That’s Why You’re Stuck)
And here's what you can do about it.
I was listening to the Whoop Podcast Episode 204 with Dr. Jud Brewer the other day, and he dropped a bomb most people don’t want to hear:
Anxiety is a habit.
Not a disease.
Not a demon.
Not an unshakable curse.
A. Habit.
Now, in today’s world, that sounds heretical. Because anxiety has become an identity for so many. It’s the word people cling to, post about, wear like armor. But if we’re honest? It’s a loop.
Stress vs Anxiety
Stress is a trigger. It’s the body saying, “Danger, pay attention.”
Anxiety is what happens when we feed that signal, chew on it, and rehearse the fear.
Stress is the spark.
Anxiety is striking the match over and over until the whole forest is lit.
It’s not just a noun. No, no. Nowadays it’s a fkn verb.
You can be anxious. You can do anxiety.
The Habit Loop of Anxiety
Dr. Jud calls it habit mapping. Here’s the cycle:
Trigger – You feel stress, uncertainty, or discomfort.
Behavior – You worry, scroll, overthink, doom-loop.
Result – A dopamine hit. (Yep, worry actually rewards you with a rush of false control. That “I’m doing something about it” feeling.)
And like any habit, the brain says: “Cool, let’s do that again.”
The Hard Truth
If you’re stuck in anxiety, you’re *just* hooked.
You’re reinforcing a loop that’s giving you just enough dopamine to keep you trapped.
That doesn’t mean it’s your fault. It means it’s in your hands. Yay, agency.
You can map it, disrupt it, and rewire it. If that sounds good to you, the first step is to stop treating anxiety like an immovable beast and start seeing it for what it is: a trained behavior.
Tools for the Work
This is where wearables like WHOOP are powerful. They give you the receipts. The data that shows: “Hey, your stress spikes when you scroll before bed. Hey, your recovery tanks when you ruminate at night.”
And it’s also where community comes in. Because left alone, most of us just keep running the loop. But with accountability, someone can call your bluff: “Yo, is that habit helping your bigger goal, or hurting it? If it’s hurting, let’s flip it.”
Dr. Jud also gives away a bunch of free resources and tech apps on the podcast links page here. Just scroll to the bottom of the page. —> Free Stuff
Why I’m Building the MusicFit League
Artists - my people - are some of the worst for this.
We live in our heads. We romanticize the anxiety, feed it, even create from it. And… it doesn’t have to be that way.
That’s why I’m building the MusicFit League (MFL). It’s a global community of coaches who help artist-athletes track their habits, cut through anxious loops, and rewire their nervous systems for creativity, not chaos.
We’re training artists to swap addiction for awareness. To shift from anxious to aligned.
Cold Hard Closer
Anxiety ain’t your destiny. It’s just a habit.
And like any habit, it can be broken, reshaped, and remade.
I’m looking for 12 coaches, educators, and allies to join the MFL for our inaugural season in 2026. If you want to help artists break free from the anxious habit and step into their best creative flow, apply here. 👇
PS. Artists, I gotchu you too. We’re building out the container with man-power and the resources first, so when training camp starts (October-November) you get the support you deserve. Shoot me a message and I’ll add you to the waitlist. Early Bird Registration is just around the corner. 👇