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# Anxiety Doesn't Listen to Logic
- URL: https://www.naked.health/anxiety-doesnt-listen-to-logic/
- Published: 2026-11-03T12:30:11.000Z
- Updated: 2026-11-03T12:30:11.000Z
- Author: Philip Reeve
- Tags: Anxiety

Telling someone who's feeling anxious "not to worry" is about as helpful as a slap around the face. For the person saying it, it almost certainly doesn't come from a bad place, but it's not helpful either. Telling someone their fears are irrational doesn't address what they're experiencing.

I remember my partner telling me to try not to worry about something, and it got me thinking about what worry actually means. Worry is essentially thinking about something that hasn't happened yet — a potential problem, threat, or unpleasant event in the future. And when you think about it, that's closely linked to what anxiety often is. Your mind is reacting to something that *might* happen, rather than something that's actually happening.

The problem is that those thoughts, and the feelings they create, can be incredibly real in the moment. Simply telling someone not to worry doesn't make them disappear.

Anxiety, especially when elevated, doesn't always respond to rational thinking — so trying to rationalise with someone who is going through an anxious episode often won't work.

I'm actually very in tune with my own anxiety. I know I have it, I recognise the signs and symptoms, and I'm often able to look back on an anxious episode and think quite rationally about what happened. But when I'm in the middle of it, that ability to rationalise seems to disappear completely. It's almost like another person has taken over, stealing my ability to think clearly.

And that's perhaps one of the most frustrating things about anxiety. You can be perfectly aware of what's happening to you, but that doesn't mean you can simply switch it off or reason your way out of it.

That's why I think the focus should be on helping someone reduce their anxiety, or the symptoms they're experiencing — not on trying to rationalise their fears. This is a conversation for later, once they're in a better place.

Once the immediate anxiety has passed, they'll be in a better position to reflect and talk through the situation — and maybe even apply some rational thinking.

Applying a level of empathy and understanding that a person doesn't want to feel this way, and that they aren't purposely being awkward, can be difficult, especially if you haven't been in those shoes.

If you find it hard to understand, perhaps don't actually try to understand. Instead, see how you can be there for that person, even if you don't understand what they're going through. This in itself will be helpful for someone struggling.

**You can't always think your way out of anxiety. Sometimes you need to calm the body before you can work with the mind.**