02/25/2026
I understand the appeal.
When anxiety spikes, talking to AI can feel immediate, non-judgmental, and soothing. For many people, it offers short-term relief...especially when support feels hard to access.
But relief isn’t the final goal.
One of the biggest things anxiety takes away is distress tolerance, the ability to sit with uncomfortable thoughts and feelings without urgently needing them to disappear.
When anxiety is always met with instant reassurance, the brain doesn’t learn safety. It learns avoidance.
I see this pattern often in New York City: people managing anxiety by outsourcing regulation, to phones, apps, or AI, instead of building the capacity to tolerate uncertainty, discomfort, and emotional intensity.
Technology can be a tool.
But it shouldn’t replace real support, real relationships, or the work of learning how to stay present with difficult feelings.
Short-term comfort matters.
Long-term resilience matters more.
- Shayna Feuer, DNP | New York City | https://www.integrative-psych.org/child-adolescent-psychiatry
Integrative Psych
If you’re living in New York City and finding that anxiety keeps pushing you to seek constant reassurance, it may be time to build support that helps you feel steadier over time.