The genius here lies in the *mechanism* Roche identifies: worry doesn't simply coexist with other thoughts—it's hydraulic, actively *displacing* them through repetition. Most of us assume worry is just one unwelcome guest at the table, but he's describing something closer to erosion, where the groove deepens with each anxious pass until it becomes the only channel available. Watch how this plays out when you're fretting about a presentation: within hours, your mind stops generating solutions or remembering past successes, because the worry-channel has already captured the water flow. Understanding this as a carved pathway rather than a mood explains why white-knuckling through reassurance rarely works—you have to dam the stream before the channel gets too deep.