Therapy for Anxiety
What does anxiety feel like?
You may feel afraid, terrified, panicked, overwhelmed, frozen, “going crazy with fear,” afraid to go outside, afraid to go to work, afraid to talk to authority figures or to groups of people, confused and disoriented, helpless, “not knowing what to do with yourself,” antsy, “wrong.”
What does anxiety mean?
What your anxiety means is particular to you, and the meaning of it may change from one situation to another. Here are some good possibilities:
Is having anxiety normal?
Yes. However, just like any other powerful experience, anxiety can feel scary and overwhelming, especially if we are not used to being welcoming to the sensations that come with it; if we don't know what to do with it. This doesn’t mean that in order to have a good life we need to have “no anxiety” – that is not possible for us mortals; rather, it means that we need to grow stronger in relation to our anxiety – we need to become a leader for it.
Why can can anxiety be problematic?
A lot of us never learned how to make sense of our body’s signals. Many of us are, frankly, quite afraid of our bodies and their sensations. In this case we are not capable of using our anxiety productively; instead, we expand a lot of energy trying to control it, run away from it, or get rid of it. All of which are quite exhausting and, in the end, impossible to sustain.
Is anxiety a disease?
It may be a controversial opinion (at least in the mainstream psychiatric circles), but I really don’t think it is a disease. As cliché as this may sound, anxiety is just a part of the human experience that we need to accept, respect, and learn to work with.
Will my anxiety go away?
Yes. It’s impossible for any feeling to go on forever. So – our anxiety does go away. But then, when it needs to, it comes back.
How I can help.
I will help you feel stronger and more grounded in the presence of your anxiety, so that you can use the energy within it to fuel a successful life. The exact steps of this process differ from person to person, but in general you can expect the following:
You may feel afraid, terrified, panicked, overwhelmed, frozen, “going crazy with fear,” afraid to go outside, afraid to go to work, afraid to talk to authority figures or to groups of people, confused and disoriented, helpless, “not knowing what to do with yourself,” antsy, “wrong.”
What does anxiety mean?
What your anxiety means is particular to you, and the meaning of it may change from one situation to another. Here are some good possibilities:
- Your anxiety may be giving you information about important parts of your life that need your attention. Perhaps you are dissatisfied with your career, or your social circle, or the direction of your life in general. You anxiety is looking out for your needs and telling you: “Pay attention! You need to change something!”
- Your anxiety may be an expression of fear that still lives in you from previous scary or traumatic life situations.
- Your anxiety may be your repressed or stuck energy wanting to be seen, respected, and expressed.
- Your anxiety may be related to certain fundamental realities of human life. Our life is rich and multi-faceted, and there are some basic aspects to it which are inherently anxiety-provoking. We are are all mortal (and aware that we are mortal), we all need to make countless choices every day, we all struggle with loneliness at times, and we all may lose connection to the meaningfulness of our lives. All of these realities can feel disturbing or scary, but they are all part of the great mystery of life and at times need to be attended to.
Is having anxiety normal?
Yes. However, just like any other powerful experience, anxiety can feel scary and overwhelming, especially if we are not used to being welcoming to the sensations that come with it; if we don't know what to do with it. This doesn’t mean that in order to have a good life we need to have “no anxiety” – that is not possible for us mortals; rather, it means that we need to grow stronger in relation to our anxiety – we need to become a leader for it.
Why can can anxiety be problematic?
A lot of us never learned how to make sense of our body’s signals. Many of us are, frankly, quite afraid of our bodies and their sensations. In this case we are not capable of using our anxiety productively; instead, we expand a lot of energy trying to control it, run away from it, or get rid of it. All of which are quite exhausting and, in the end, impossible to sustain.
Is anxiety a disease?
It may be a controversial opinion (at least in the mainstream psychiatric circles), but I really don’t think it is a disease. As cliché as this may sound, anxiety is just a part of the human experience that we need to accept, respect, and learn to work with.
Will my anxiety go away?
Yes. It’s impossible for any feeling to go on forever. So – our anxiety does go away. But then, when it needs to, it comes back.
How I can help.
I will help you feel stronger and more grounded in the presence of your anxiety, so that you can use the energy within it to fuel a successful life. The exact steps of this process differ from person to person, but in general you can expect the following:
- Stop running away from your anxiety. Turn towards it and look at it. Let that experience settle in. This is with my support and at your own pace.
- Build a better relationship with your anxiety. Look at it with curiosity and courage. See what it looks like. Hear its story. Listen to it, let it tell you what it needs from you.
- Start giving your anxiety what it wants and see how it responds.
- Watch yourself being able to tolerate the anxiety in your body better, then embrace it and feel the positive life-affirming energy that comes from it.