Anxiety School

Free · Public · In order

Learn the ideas behind anxiety, one step at a time.

Anxiety School is a free curriculum that explains anxiety-related concepts and psychological skills in a sensible order, with worked examples. Each lesson builds on the one before it.

Your progress

0 of 3 lessons

Begin: What Do We Mean by Anxiety?
Clay model of a staircase of blue and white blocks with a blue pencil leaning against it

The steps so far

Three lessons published. Every one opens with a short summary and closes with its sources, checked October 16, 2026.

  1. Module 1 · OrientationLesson 1✓ OpenedWhat Do We Mean by Anxiety?How anxiety differs from fear, worry and stress, when it may be a disorder, and what self-guided learning can do.7 sources · Start here
  2. Module 2 · Mapping an experienceLesson 2✓ OpenedOne Situation, Several Different InterpretationsHow one event can be read several ways, how each reading shapes feelings and actions, and what CBT and ACT do differently with that.6 sources · After Lesson 1
  3. Module 3 · Understanding thinkingLesson 3✓ OpenedTurning “I Must” Into a Belief You Can ExamineRigid demands like must and should, how REBT, CBT and ACT each approach them, and how to restate a demand as a belief you can examine.7 sources · After Lesson 2
Next stepsModules 4, 5 and 6 are already mentioned in the lessons: examining beliefs, behaviour that keeps an anxious reading from being tested and acceptance.

What each step leaves you with

Taken from the recap at the end of each lesson.

After Lesson 1

  • Anxiety is generally a response to a possible, uncertain or future threat; fear is a faster response to a present one.
  • It shows up in thoughts, emotions, body sensations and actions.
  • Self-guided learning is a starting point, not a substitute for professional care.

After Lesson 2

  • A situation is what happened; an interpretation is the meaning given to it.
  • Interpretations often arrive so fast that they feel like facts.
  • Rethinking a situation has modest, real effects in experiments; forced positive statements can backfire.

After Lesson 3

  • Rigid demands are absolute “musts” and “shoulds” that often sit beneath anxious thoughts.
  • Writing a demand as a belief turns it into something you can examine.
  • A flexible preference keeps what you care about while leaving room for reality.

Inside one lesson

The same parts every time, so you can find your place again.

SummaryObjectiveConceptWorkedexampleResearchCommonmisunderstandingReflection(optional)RecapSources
  1. Summary
  2. Objective
  3. Concept
  4. Worked example
  5. Research
  6. Common misunderstanding
  7. Reflection (optional)
  8. Recap
  9. Sources

Lessons, not treatment

These lessons can explain concepts and give you language for your experience. They can’t assess your situation. If anxiety is lasting for weeks, getting worse, or stopping you from working, studying, sleeping or seeing people, speak to a GP or mental health professional. In a crisis, contact emergency services, or call or text 988 in the US; Samaritans on 116 123 in the UK and Ireland.