Anxiety isn’t a willpower problem. It’s a habit loop your brain learned, and the thing that actually breaks it is curiosity.

In this episode of The Habit Healers Podcast, I walk you through the neuroscience of why chronic worry feels impossible to stop, and why the usual advice of “just push through” or “think positive” tends to fail at the exact moment you need it most. Drawing on the research of neuroscientist and psychiatrist Dr. Jud Brewer at Brown University, I explain how anxiety follows the same trigger, behavior, reward cycle that drives stress eating, phone-checking, and other everyday habits. I’ll share why your prefrontal cortex goes offline under stress, what brain imaging reveals about the posterior cingulate cortex and rumination, and how a simple ten-second practice called the Curiosity Pause can begin to rewire the loop. We also talk about why perimenopause and menopause can make worry feel harder to manage, and when it’s time to bring in professional support for anxiety, panic attacks, or depression.

What you’ll learn in this episode:

* How the anxiety habit loop forms in the brain and why willpower can’t override it

* Why trying harder to stop worrying often makes rumination worse

* The four steps of the RAIN technique (Recognize, Allow, Investigate, Note)

* How curiosity acts as a “bigger, better offer” for your brain’s reward system

* Why women in perimenopause and menopause may notice rising anxiety and worry

* When to seek professional help for generalized anxiety disorder or panic

Dr. Marbas’s Substack Article:https://drlauriemarbas.substack.com/p/did-your-brain-accidentally-trainA Big Thank You To Our Sponsors:

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