Anxiety 

The Short Version

Anxiety is the mind’s ability to predict danger working in overdrive. This ability helps us prepare for challenges, but when it becomes overactive, it can create a constant state of panic, dread, or unease. People with anxiety often describe living under a sense of impending doom, even when nothing specific is wrong.

The way anxiety manifests varies from person to person. For some, it’s persistent worry, for others, it’s physical tension and restlessness. Some experience panic attacks, while others feel an ongoing sense of mental exhaustion.

Therapy helps make sense of anxiety—why it happens, how it uniquely manifests for you, and what conditions are triggering or maintaining it. Together, we’ll explore ways to reduce external stressors when possible, increase tolerance for uncertainty, and develop a more flexible relationship with anxious thoughts.

The Long Version

What is Anxiety?

Anxiety is not random—it is the future projection system of the brain running too hot. The ability to anticipate danger is an evolutionary gift that has helped humans survive, but when the brain gets stuck scanning for threats, it creates distress rather than protection.

Some anxiety makes sense given a person’s circumstances. If a relationship or work environment is chronically stressful, anxiety is a natural response to ongoing tension. I call this congruent anxiety—anxiety that fits the reality of the situation.

Other times, anxiety arises without an obvious external trigger. This is when we look deeper—at how the nervous system is responding to uncertainty, at long-standing patterns of over-prediction, and at how the body holds stress even when the mind knows there is no immediate danger.

How Anxiety Manifests

Physically:

  • Racing heart or chest tightness

  • Shortness of breath or shallow breathing

  • Muscle tension, restlessness, or fidgeting

  • Stomach discomfort or nausea

  • Insomnia or difficulty staying asleep

Mentally:

  • Persistent worry or overanalyzing situations

  • Difficulty concentrating or feeling mentally scattered

  • Constantly imagining worst-case scenarios

  • Feeling disconnected or unreal (derealization)

Emotionally:

  • Sense of impending doom, even when nothing is wrong

  • Irritability or heightened sensitivity

  • Sudden waves of fear or panic

How I Work with Anxiety

1. Understanding Your Anxiety in Context

Before we try to reduce anxiety, we first have to understand it. Anxiety is not random—it follows patterns. We start by exploring:

  • How your anxiety uniquely manifests (mentally, physically, emotionally)

  • What stressors in your life might be keeping it active

  • The neuroscience behind anxiety, to help reframe it as a pattern, not a personal flaw

2. Reducing Constant Stressors

Some anxiety is a direct response to a situation that is genuinely difficult or unsustainable. If something in your daily life is fueling anxiety, we will explore ways to address it. This might involve:

  • Identifying relationships or environments that are creating chronic stress

  • Exploring boundaries and coping strategies for ongoing stressors

  • Making small, realistic changes that allow for more ease and stability

3. Expanding Tolerance for Internal Discomfort

When anxiety isn’t directly tied to external stress, the work becomes building tolerance for uncertainty and uncomfortable internal states.

  • We will explore how to sit with discomfort without reacting to it as danger

  • Using experiential techniques, we engage with anxious thoughts creatively, rather than just trying to suppress them

  • We practice finding a dynamic equilibrium, rather than fighting for control over every moment

4. Using Experiential & Embodied Techniques

One of the most effective ways to process anxiety is through imaginal exposure and play.

  • Developmental Transformations (DvT) allows us to act out anxious thought processes in a way that digests them through the body, rather than just analyzing them mentally

  • Even outside of DvT, we use the same principles in talk therapy—engaging with anxious thoughts actively rather than being trapped in them

  • Over time, this work increases flexibility and adaptability, making anxiety feel less like a rigid, paralyzing force

Therapeutic Approaches for Anxiety

  • Cognitive Restructuring: Understanding how anxious thoughts exaggerate risk and underestimate resilience

  • Experiential Therapy (DvT): Engaging with anxious narratives through movement and play to integrate them more fully

  • Exposure-Based Techniques: Gradually working with fears in a controlled and supportive way

  • Solution-Focused Therapy: Highlighting strengths and moments of success to build confidence

  • Somatic Awareness & Breathwork: Training the body to shift out of fight-or-flight mode

What Helps Anxiety?

Therapy is a core part of treating anxiety, but certain daily practices can help regulate the nervous system:

  • Intentional Movement: Whether it’s stretching, walking, or any form of physical activity, movement helps process excess energy.

  • Breath Awareness: Shallow breathing increases anxiety. Techniques that focus on slow exhales can help settle the body.

  • Setting Information Boundaries: Constant exposure to stressful content (news, social media, notifications) can amplify anxious loops.

  • Social Connection: Isolation feeds anxiety. Even small interactions—texting a friend, sitting in a café, engaging with a group—help ground the nervous system.

  • Balancing Stimulation & Rest: Many people with anxiety swing between overstimulation and exhaustion. Creating small, intentional moments of rest can prevent burnout.

Final Thoughts

Anxiety convinces people they are powerless, but that isn’t true. Your mind is already doing something remarkable—it’s just working too hard.

The goal of therapy isn’t to eliminate anxiety, but to develop a different relationship with it—one where it informs rather than controls, and where uncertainty feels manageable rather than overwhelming.

If you’re ready to explore ways to work with your anxiety, I invite you to reach out. Let’s take the next step together.