Dr. Jud on NPR: Why Willing Yourself To Be Less Anxious Doesn't Work — And What Actually Helps Instead

Overview

In this interview on NPR’s 1A with host Jenn White, Dr. Jud Brewer addresses a striking statistic: roughly one-third of American adults reported struggling with anxiety or sleeplessness in the preceding week. Rather than offering the standard advice to “just relax,” Dr. Jud explains why that advice is fundamentally flawed — and what the science of habit loops reveals about what actually works.

The core problem with willpower-based approaches to anxiety is neurological. The prefrontal cortex — the brain region responsible for executive control and rational decision-making — is the first area to shut down under stress. So telling someone to “will themselves” to be less anxious is asking them to use the exact brain function that anxiety disables. It’s like telling someone with a broken leg to run it off.

Dr. Jud describes a different path: working with the brain’s own reward-based learning system. When you bring curiosity to what anxiety actually feels like in your body — the tightness, the heat, the restlessness — the brain starts updating its model. It begins to learn that worry and avoidance don’t deliver real rewards, and the anxiety habit loop gradually loosens. This approach has been clinically tested and shown to reduce anxiety significantly in app-based programs.

Key Takeaways

• One-third of adults struggle weekly: Anxiety and sleeplessness are widespread, not rare conditions reserved for a clinical minority.
• Willpower depletes under stress: The prefrontal cortex goes offline when you’re most anxious, making willpower-based strategies the least effective exactly when you need them most.
• Anxiety is a learned habit: It follows the same trigger-behavior-reward loop as any other habit, which means it can be unlearned using the same brain mechanisms.
• Curiosity-based approaches work better: Instead of fighting anxiety with force, getting genuinely curious about its sensations engages the brain’s learning system and weakens the habit over time.

Listen here

Related Resources

• The Anxiety Habit Loop — How anxiety follows the trigger-behavior-reward cycle
• What Is the Habit Loop? — The brain mechanism behind all habits, including anxiety
• Curiosity Is a Superpower — Why curiosity works where willpower fails
• Mindfulness Exercises — Guided practices for working with anxious feelings
• A Simple Way to Break Bad Habits — Dr. Jud’s TED Talk on awareness-based habit change