Use ChatGPT to Break the Fear-Avoidance Cycle

A Practical Tool for Chronic Pain, Fatigue, and Health Anxiety

If you live with chronic pain, fatigue, dizziness, IBS, long COVID, or an autoimmune condition, you may have noticed something subtle but powerful:

You start avoiding things.

Not because you’re lazy.

Not because you’re weak.
But because you’re afraid.

Afraid movement will flare you.
Afraid activity will wipe you out.
Afraid symptoms mean something dangerous.
Afraid you won’t recover.

This is called the fear-avoidance cycle — and it can quietly make symptoms worse over time.

The good news?

You can begin breaking that cycle today.
And ChatGPT can help you do it safely and thoughtfully.

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What Is the Fear-Avoidance Cycle?

It often looks like this:

Pain or symptom spike
→ Fear (“This is getting worse.”)
→ Avoid movement or activity
→ Deconditioning and nervous system sensitivity
→ More symptoms
→ More fear

Over time, your nervous system becomes more protective.

It’s not broken.
It’s trying to keep you safe.

But sometimes it overreacts.

The key is not forcing yourself through pain.

The key is graded, safe re-exposure — and that’s where ChatGPT becomes a powerful planning tool.

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Step 1: Identify What You’re Avoiding

Open ChatGPT https://chatgpt.com/ and paste:

“Help me identify activities I may be avoiding due to fear of symptom flares. Ask me questions gently and help me explore patterns.”

Be honest.

It might be:

• Walking more than 5 minutes
• Driving long distances
• Exercising
• Social events
• Sleeping without checking symptoms
• Lifting groceries
• Going back to work tasks

Awareness is the first breakthrough.

---

Important Note:
This article is for educational and informational purposes only. The strategies discussed — including graded exposure and nervous system retraining — are not a substitute for medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Before making changes to your activity level, exercise routine, or health plan, consider checking with your healthcare professional to ensure these approaches are appropriate and safe for your specific condition. Your medical history and individual circumstances matter.

---

Step 2: Build a Graded Exposure Plan

Now use this prompt:

“Help me design a graded exposure plan for (insert activity). Break it into 5 small levels from easiest to hardest. Focus on nervous system safety and pacing.”

Example: Walking

Level 1 – Stand outside for 2 minutes
Level 2 – Walk to mailbox
Level 3 – Walk 5 minutes slowly
Level 4 – Walk 10 minutes
Level 5 – Walk 15 minutes comfortably

The key principles:

• Start below fear threshold
• Stop before flare
• Increase gradually
• Repeat consistently

This retrains the nervous system.

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Step 3: Address the Fear Thoughts

Often it’s not the activity — it’s the thought attached to it.

Use this prompt:

“Help me identify the fear thoughts I have about (activity). Help me reframe them realistically without dismissing real medical concerns.”

You might uncover:

“I’ll damage myself.”
“I won’t recover.”
“This means I’m getting worse.”

ChatGPT can help you develop balanced alternatives like:

“My body is sensitive right now, but gradual exposure is safe.”
“A temporary symptom increase doesn’t equal damage.”
“I can stop if needed.”

This reduces threat amplification.

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Step 4: Track Before and After

Ask ChatGPT:

“Help me create a simple tracking sheet to monitor fear level, symptom level, and recovery time after exposure.”

Track:

• Fear before activity (0–10)
• Symptom level during
• Symptom level 24 hours later
• Recovery time

What many people discover:

The feared crash often doesn’t happen.
Or it’s milder than expected.
Or recovery is faster than predicted.

That evidence rewires the cycle.

---

Important Safety Note

This approach is not about ignoring medical warning signs.

If symptoms are new, severe, progressive, or medically concerning, consult your healthcare provider.

This tool is best used for:

• Chronic, stable conditions
• Medically evaluated symptoms
• Known sensitivity patterns
• Activity avoidance driven by fear

Always stay within reasonable safety boundaries.

---

Why This Works

Fear increases nervous system sensitivity.

Avoidance reduces confidence and conditioning.

Gradual, safe exposure:

• Builds resilience
• Reduces nervous system reactivity
• Restores function
• Reduces fear

Over time, the cycle shifts:

Small success
→ Less fear
→ More movement
→ Better conditioning
→ Fewer flares

That’s real progress.

---

If You Feel Stuck

Start small.

Use this prompt:

“What is the smallest safe action I can take this week toward something I’ve been avoiding?”

Even a 1% shift matters.

You are not trying to conquer your illness.

You are teaching your nervous system that you are safe.

And that changes everything.

---

Final Thought

You are not fragile.
You are not failing.
Your system is protective.

With patience, pacing, and structured exposure, you can begin reducing fear’s grip.

And today, you have a tool to help you start.

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Disclaimer - For informational purposes only.  This article is not a substitute for professional medical advice.  Always consult a qualified healthcare provider.  Additional Disclaimers here.

My Amazon Author Page
https://www.amazon.com/author/tomgarz

 

 

Beyond “How Can I Help?”: I Don’t Just Want to Watch the Future of Care—I Want to Help Build It

Tom Garz, Author - Writing to Help Myself and Others

Writing to Help Myself and Others - Firebird Book Award Winner.

February 10, 2026

I’ve been watching the TV series New Amsterdam —especially Max Goodwin and that relentless question: “How can I help?”

A lot of people love Max because he’s inspiring. I relate to him for a different reason: he represents a part of many of us that wants to matter—to help—to make the world a little less harsh for people who are suffering.

I relate to Max… even though I could never be him for various reasons. I’m not a hospital medical director. I’m not running through hallways fixing departments. I’m not going to “hero my way” through broken systems with speeches and authority. I'm a 78 year old retired Engineer/Patent Searcher that has been around illnesses all my life.

But I do feel something real when I watch that show:

I want to be part of something like that—something that helps people in the real world. Not just as a viewer. Not just as a writer. Not just as someone with ideas. I want to be part of the change.

The gap that keeps pulling me back

What the show captures (even with Hollywood shortcuts) is the truth that so many patients live with:

Most of the struggle happens between doctor visits.

People with chronic pain, chronic illness, disability, long-term stress, or limited healthcare access don’t just need a diagnosis—they need a way to live day to day.

• a Patient Listener
• what to track
• what patterns might matter
• how to prepare for short appointments
• how to advocate without getting dismissed
• how to make sense of symptoms at 2 AM (Super Symptom Checker)
• how to stay emotionally steady while the body is doing something scary

This is the “care gap” that I can’t stop thinking about and that I and many others live with in our current healthcare system.

Why the biopsychosocial model feels like the missing operating system

For chronic conditions, biology is only part of the picture.

Pain and symptoms are shaped by the nervous system, stress load, sleep, environment, relationships, meaning, fear, isolation, work pressures, resources, and the body’s learned patterns over time.

That’s why I’m deeply drawn to the biopsychosocial approach—not as theory, but as a practical way to help real people stop feeling lost.

GenAI as a “safe workaround” (not a replacement)

Here’s where my work has been heading:

I’ve written about how tools like ChatGPT can serve as a 24/7 support layer—not as a doctor, and not as a substitute for care, but as something that helps people:

• organize their story
• track symptoms and triggers
• create a one-page brief for appointments
• translate confusing information into plain language
• build health literacy
• reduce panic and “doom scrolling”
• and decide when something is urgent vs watch-and-track

For people with limited access to healthcare, that “between visits” support can be the difference between coping and collapsing.

I'm working on a book about how using the BioPsychoSocial Model patients/people can help themselves manage their own chronic pain/conditions 24/7 and only go to the doctor as needed or wanted. A follow-up book will be something like How to Use ChatGPT to Manage Chronic Pain/Conditions using the BioPsychoSocial Model. Stay tuned for these.

But I don’t want to only write about this

I’ll keep writing practical “how-to” books—because that’s one way I know how to help and scale support.

Here's my book series so far - https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0FXHL6712

But what I really want to say in this article is bigger than my books:

I want to connect with people building the future of care—especially for chronic conditions and underserved communities.

If you’re doing any of the following, I’d love to meet you:

• creating patient-facing AI tools that are safe, humble, and useful
• working in chronic care navigation, care management, or health coaching
• building systems that honor the whole person (not just symptoms)
• exploring narrative medicine, patient storytelling, and “the life context”
• working in safety-net settings where the need is constant and resources are limited
• producing, writing, or consulting for health stories that want to get the future right

My ask (and my offer)

I’m not posting this to “promote.” I’m posting it because I want to find like-minded people.

I want to learn what you’re building. I want to contribute where I can—ideas, patient-advocacy frameworks, biopsychosocial models, practical templates, prompts, structured logs, and the “patient brief” tools that help real clinicians and real patients communicate better.

And if there’s a “New Amsterdam: Tomorrow” future being imagined anywhere—inside healthcare, startups, nonprofits, public health, or media— I’d like to be part of that dream, not just write about it.

So I’ll ask it the Max way: How can I help? And maybe also: Who else is already trying? Let’s connect.

(Note: I’m not a healthcare professional. My work is educational/supportive and focused on helping people organize, reflect, track, and communicate—never replacing medical care.)

#NewAmsterdam #Biopsychosocial #ChronicPain #ChronicIllness #PatientAdvocacy 

#HealthEquity #AIinHealthcare #DigitalHealth #NarrativeMedicine #FutureOfCare

@DavidSchulner @Eric D. Manheimer @NBC @Universal Television