31/07/2026
Anxiety and stress can narrow our attention.
When we feel anxious or stressed, our attention often narrows as our mind zooms in on whatever feels threatening, and our anxious thoughts can sometimes start looping in circles, going over and over the anxious thoughts. Sometimes our attention can narrow down so much that we begin to feel overwhelmed with anxiety.
When we gently broaden our focus again, it can help break that negative thought loop and bring us back towards a calmer place.
In a solution focused approach we gently broaden out attention, not by asking you to ignore the anxious thoughts, but by asking you to notice the occasional exceptions to anxiety, can you remember an instance when you didn’t feel this anxious? When was that? What was happening then? What were you pleased to notice…?
It’s similar to the way we sometimes describe ourselves by a perceived weakness ‘I’m hopeless at….’ So I wonder if you could describe a time when you felt that you managed something well..a time when you were impressed by yourself?
Try it for yourself, describe yourself by a strength that you have.
If you’d like to try our solution focused approach, why not get in touch with one of us?
Have a lovely day
