The Real Work with Maggie Sterling 03 - Symptom Chasing and How To Actually Heal From Anxiety
Sep 4, 2025
The discussion dives into the concept of symptom chasing, revealing how fixating on anxiety symptoms can actually deepen anxiety. Maggie explores the emotional needs that drive compulsive behaviors like overeating and phone usage. She emphasizes the importance of acceptance over frantic fixing, suggesting that allowing anxiety to exist diminishes its power. The conversation encourages living intentionally, even when symptoms persist, and highlights the significance of understanding the underlying reasons for anxiety rather than simply seeking quick fixes.
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Behaviors Serve Emotional Jobs
- Symptomatic behaviors like overeating or overspending serve an emotional job: they provide relief or dopamine when we're uncomfortable.
- Maggie Sterling urges you to ask what need the behavior is meeting instead of just stopping the behavior.
Phone As A Constant Coping Tool
- Phones act as a coping mechanism that literally lives on your body and enable constant numbing.
- Maggie Sterling highlights that the phone removes the need to feel discomfort and steals large amounts of life time.
Phone Use During Health Anxiety
- Maggie Sterling recalls being on her phone essentially all waking hours during severe health anxiety and OCD.
- A coach pointed out it was a numbing compulsion and reducing it became possible with awareness.
