What is Anxiety?

Anxiety can feel suffocating. For me it feels like tangled telephone wires that you can see clearly from the outside but once up close you get lost and aren't able to sort through what wire belongs where. You can hear the thoughts, some you know aren't based in reality, others feel like facts, and all of them lead to confusion, doubt, fear, uncertainty, and even more spiraling. 

Anxiety can also be a very physical emotion. It may show up in your body with a racing heart, chest tightness, upset stomach, muscle tension, restlessness, headaches, jaw clenching, or feeling constantly on edge. It can over time manifest into a panic attack, isolation, behavioral changes, and physical health symptoms. 

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It is important to explore how anxiety may be your brain trying to protect you, even if those protective parts are not serving you. In therapy we'll slow things down and untangle thought patterns to see what your anxiety may be trying to communicate. A goal with anxiety is "name it to tame it"! By naming your patterns and understanding where they come from, anxiety often starts to feel more manageable.