05/10/2026
Your environment is either making things easier for you or harder for you, and I bet you haven't thought of it once.
The compulsions that feel so automatic may partially be because everything around you is set up to make them easy. The phone is right there, the soap smells really good, your cleaning supplies are in a super convenient space, your laptop is readily available to you at all times, the news app is right there on your home screen, the work email is on your phone so you can literally check it from anywhere, anytime.
This is not avoidance. Avoidance = "I'm doing this so I never have to feel anxious" whereas creating friction in these moments, to make rituals harder, says "I'm doing this so I have one extra second to make a different, more helpful choice"
Avoidance = removing the trigger, friction = removing the perceived automatic nature of rituals and compulsions
You have to slow down the loop.
So what does your space look like right now? Is it working for you or against you?
Every thing in my merch shop was designed to be a cue - something already IN your environment that points you back toward your values when your brain is being a little extra.
Comment or DM me the word MERCH and I'll send you the link.