The FOCUS Formula for Anxiety: Turn Fear into Freedom

So many of my clients come to me because anxiety is running the show. They’re tired of feeling overwhelmed, exhausted, on-edge, frustrated or powerless. What they really want is peace, freedom, and calm.

Anxiety can feel relentless, but the good news is—there is something you can do in the moment to change how you experience it.

The FOCUS formula is a simple, effective technique you can use anytime anxiety strikes to interrupt the cycle and regain a sense of calm and control.

If you remember only one thing from this article, make sure it's this,:

Anxiety is not your enemy, it's your brain’s way of trying to protect you. 

It’s a signal that your nervous system is on high alert, often because it feels like things are out of your control.

One of the most powerful skills I help my clients develop is learning to clearly distinguish what they can control from what they can’t.

This skill is crucial because anxiety often grows when we focus on uncertainty and things beyond our control.

By learning to accept that some things are outside your influence—and shifting your attention to what you can manage, you start to reduce the power anxiety has over you.

Along with this, I teach that anxiety is a natural response everyone experiences.

Rather than fighting those uncomfortable feelings, you can build your ability to tolerate discomfort without being overwhelmed.

When you understand why anxiety arises, what it’s actually trying to do, and how your brain creates it, you gain the power to take back control—not by suppressing anxiety, but by rewiring your nervous system to feel safe again.

This understanding is the foundation for lasting peace, and it’s the very first thing I teach every client struggling with anxiety.

Instead of battling anxiety, you’ll learn to work with it, respect its protective role, and gently guide your mind and body from survival mode into calm, confident presence.

The FOCUS formula is a simple, neuroscience-backed process I have developed that helps you do exactly that, step out of automatic fear reactions, bring mindful awareness to your experience, and build new brain pathways that lead to freedom.

Here’s how it works—and why it’s the most effective way to reclaim your peace of mind.

Why Anxiety Happens: Your Brain Trying to Protect You

Anxiety isn’t some random glitch or weakness. It’s your brain and nervous system responding exactly as they’re designed to, keeping you safe.

Inside your brain, the amygdala acts like an alarm system, scanning for threats. When it senses danger (real or imagined), it signals your body to prepare for fight, flight, or freeze. This triggers your heart to race, muscles to tense, breath to quicken, classic signs of anxiety.

At the same time, your prefrontal cortex—the part of your brain responsible for reasoning and decision-making can sometimes get hijacked by the amygdala’s urgency. That’s why anxiety often feels automatic and overwhelming, making it hard to think clearly.

Your sensory cortex plays a role too. It processes the physical sensations in your body, like that tightness in your chest, the knot in your stomach, or the tension in your shoulders. These physical feelings are your nervous system’s way of alerting you to perceived danger.

Here’s the tricky part: even when the danger isn’t real, your brain reacts as if it is. This is because anxiety is often rooted in past experiences, learned patterns, and subconscious beliefs stored deep in your brain.

So, your anxiety is trying to protect you—even if it feels like it’s taking over your life.

Taking Back Control with the FOCUS Formula

Because anxiety starts with your brain reacting automatically, the best way to regain control is to interrupt that automatic reaction and engage the parts of your brain that can reason, reflect, and choose.

That’s where the FOCUS formula comes in. It’s a simple, step-by-step process that helps you:

• Move from emotional, automatic reactions driven by the amygdala

• Into thoughtful awareness led by your prefrontal cortex

• Activate your brain’s reward and learning systems through curiosity

• Choose healthier thoughts instead of being hijacked by anxiety

• Encourage actions that calm your nervous system and reinforce new, peaceful brain pathways

  
  

F - Feel it (don't fight it)

O - Observe It

C - Get Curious

U - Ask Is it Useful?

S - Step Forward

Here’s what each step looks like:

F — Feel It Without Fighting It

The first step is to feel the anxiety fully without trying to fix or push it away. This feels counterintuitive, but it’s powerful.

Anxiety is a physical and emotional experience. Your sensory cortex is lighting up, telling you there’s tension in your body—maybe a tight throat, a racing heart, or butterflies in your stomach.

Instead of pushing anxiety away, notice what you’re feeling in your body. The tightness, the flutter, the tension—and allow it to be there without trying to fix it.

This step stops you from battling your feelings, which usually makes anxiety worse, and instead starts a process of acceptance and curiosity.

Think of this like gently observing warning lights on your car’s dashboard instead of slamming the brakes or ignoring them.

This step builds your tolerance—like a muscle—helping your nervous system learn that uncomfortable sensations can be endured safely, and they don’t have to trigger panic.

The more you allow these feelings without judgment or fear, the less power anxiety has over you.

O — Observe with Openness

Next, you observe your thoughts and feelings from a little distance. This activates your prefrontal cortex, your brain’s rational, problem-solving center.

Imagine you’re watching a movie about your anxiety, rather than being the main actor caught up in the drama.

You notice the scenes without judging or reacting.

This observing quiets the amygdala’s alarm and creates space between you and your automatic emotional responses.

When you watch your anxiety with openness, it can’t control you as easily. You see it as a process, not a permanent state.

C — Get Curious

Curiosity is like being a detective gathering clues. Often, you’ll find your worries are based on stories your brain tells—not facts. Ask yourself:

“Is this thought or feeling accurate right now? What’s the evidence? What would I say to a friend who felt this way?”

Your brain’s learning centers activate here. Curiosity rewards you with dopamine, helping your brain create new, flexible pathways instead of old anxious loops.

U — Check Usefulness

Your executive functions help you evaluate which thoughts deserve your attention.

Not every worry is helpful. Sometimes, even if a thought is true, it keeps you stuck in fear.

This is like tending your mental garden—deciding which plants to nurture and which weeds to pull out.

By focusing on what’s useful instead of what’s merely true, you free up energy and attention for more peaceful, empowering thoughts. Even if a thought or feeling feels valid, ask:

“Is this useful? Or helpful? Does it move me closer to peace or keep me stuck?”

You have the power to choose which thoughts to focus on, this engages your prefrontal cortex’s executive function.

S — Step Forward with Small Actions

Stepping into action doesn’t always mean physical movement. Sometimes the most useful choice is to let go of a thought, or redirect your attention to something grounding or positive.

It could be:

• Thinking of something you’re grateful for

• Taking a few deep breaths

• Dropping a worry thought

• Simply sitting with the feeling without reacting
  

Even pausing—breathing deeply, resting your mind—is a powerful step.

These choices activate your parasympathetic nervous system—your body’s natural calming response—helping to slow the heart rate, relax muscles, and ease tension.

Each small step rewires your brain toward peace and resilience, teaching your nervous system that calm is safe.

Why This Works: The Neuroscience of Taking Control

The FOCUS formula works because it shifts your brain from automatic emotional reactions driven by the amygdala, into deliberate thoughtful awareness led by the prefrontal cortex.

This shift:

• Interrupts the anxiety loop before fear spirals out of control

• Activates your brain’s reward system, making curiosity and calm more appealing

• Builds new neural connections that override old anxious patterns

• Calms your nervous system, reducing physical symptoms and stress hormones
  

Over time, practicing FOCUS rewires your brain to respond with calm flexibility instead of overwhelming anxiety.

Taking Back Control Is The Pivot Point Of Your Life

If there’s one thing I want you to take away, whether or not you’re ready for therapy, it’s this:

You can take back control of your mind and body.

Anxiety is normal. It’s your nervous system doing its best to keep you safe. But you don’t have to be ruled by it.

By understanding anxiety at the brain level, normalising it, and practicing the FOCUS formula, you strengthen your ability to tolerate discomfort, interrupt old patterns, and create lasting peace.

You don’t have to wait for the perfect moment or for anxiety to disappear. You can begin now, right where you are.

And remember, you don’t have to do it alone.

The FOCUS formula is a practical technique you can start using right now to take control of your anxiety.

Once you’ve built that foundation, we can work together to update the deeper emotional learning that maintains those anxious patterns, helping you create lasting change.

If you’re ready to begin shifting how anxiety shows up in your life, book a free 15 minute Getting Started Call now. It's a chance to talk about your experience and see whether working together feels like a fit—no pressure, just connection.

Click here to book your free call

You can change your relationship with anxiety.

And I’d love to help. Follow me on instagram for more practical tips and tools: https://www.instagram.com/good_thinking_hypnotherapy/