.jpg/:/cr=t:0%25,l:0%25,w:100%25,h:100%25/rs=w:1209,cg:true)
Understanding Your Anxiety
While anxiety feels scary and uncomfortable, we need to understand why we experience it in the first place. From an evolutionary perspective, our cavemen and cavewomen ancestors needed anxiety to help them survive. The brain evolved to have a fight-or-flight system in place to help them either fight off, or flee when faced with a threat. As societies changed over time, the type of threats also changed. Today, many of us feel fear and anxiety for various reasons – giving a presentation in public, engaging in unfamiliar social environments, germs, financial stress, examinations etc.
Anxiety is a natural human response that helps keep us safe. But when feelings of worry, fear, or tension become overwhelming or persistent, they may point to an anxiety disorder. Anxiety disorders are among the most common mental health concerns, yet they can feel deeply isolating.
Experiencing Unmanageable anxiety?
Types of Anxiety Disorders
Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
GAD is marked by excessive, persistent worry about everyday events—work, health, relationships, finances—even when there’s little or no reason for concern. People often describe it as feeling “on edge” or stuck in a loop of “what-ifs.”
Panic Disorder
Panic disorder involves sudden and intense episodes of fear, often accompanied by physical symptoms like a racing heart, shortness of breath, dizziness, or chest pain. These panic attacks can feel terrifying and lead people to fear when the next one might occur.
Social Anxiety Disorder
Social anxiety involves an intense fear of being judged, embarrassed, or rejected in social situations. It often leads people to avoid gatherings, public speaking, or any situation where they might feel exposed.
Specific Phobias
A phobia is an extreme fear of a specific object or situation (like flying, heights, animals, or injections). Even thinking about the feared situation can trigger anxiety.
Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD)
OCD involves unwanted, intrusive thoughts (obsessions) and repetitive behaviors or mental acts (compulsions) performed to reduce anxiety. It can be exhausting and time-consuming.
Core Unconscious Beliefs Behind Anxiety
While most people seek therapy to make their anxiety symptoms go away, in therapy I focus on the underlying forces that lead to the anxious experience. Anxiety is typically driven by deeply held beliefs and the human desire to avoid discomfort, some of which include:
- “The world is unsafe, and I must always be on guard.”
- “If I make a mistake, others will reject me.”
- “I can’t handle uncertainty.”
- “If I don’t control everything, something bad will happen.”
- “My thoughts and feelings are dangerous, and I must avoid them.”
These beliefs often keep people stuck in cycles of avoidance, rumination, and worry—narrowing their lives and robbing them of joy and meaning.
How Therapy Can Help
In therapy, you’ll find a compassionate and supportive space to explore your underlying beliefs that cause your anxiety, to help develop a new relationship with your thoughts and emotions. Rather than trying to eliminate anxiety (which often backfires), therapy can help you:
🌿Build acceptance of difficult emotions, allowing them to come and go without controlling your life.
🌿Identify the unhelpful thinking patterns and beliefs that fuel anxiety.
🌿Cultivate mindfulness skills to ground you in the present moment, reducing overthinking and worry.
🌿Clarify what truly matters to you—your values—and take small, meaningful steps toward a life you care about, even in the presence of anxiety.
🌿Learn practical skills to reduce avoidance and gently expand your comfort zone over time.
