What is anxiety?

Many times we come to therapy because we are feeling anxious and we want to get rid of that anxiety.

Here are a few things we need to know about anxiety to better understand it:

• Anxiety is a physiological response; usually uncomfortable physical sensations, such as tension in the chest, throat, tight knot in the stomach, migraine, etc. 

• Anxiety is not a problem, it is a symptom of the problem. We need to learn how to manage our anxiety but above all, understand what is causing that anxiety. What is the problematic area in my life that needs to be addressed first place?

• Anxiety needs to be understood and managed, not fixed or removed. We all need anxiety because it is our warning light  telling us that something in our life is not working and we need to address it and make necessary adjustments.

• Anxiety always comes from somewhere - even if we don’t know what that somewhere is yet. 

• It is a sign of health to feel anxious - it means we are paying attention to what our body is trying to tell us. Our body/nervous system is trying to help us by sending us a signal that we are not leading our life in alignment with our inner truths, who we are, what our values are, etc.