Understanding Anxiety and Ways to Support It

The symptoms of anxiety can range from feeling discomfort to being deeply distressing and completely debilitating and can affect all areas of our lives.

At times It may feel like our bodies are the enemy, we can feel under attack, and that we have lost control making us feel vulnerable.

There may be an obvious reason for distress such as a past external trauma or it may be more subtle in terms of internal disharmony meaning we are not being our true selves.

Our bodies and minds are always trying to work with us and for us striving for harmony. The uncomfortable bodily sensations that we may experience is the body’s way of alerting us to something not being quite right, something that needs looked at and addressed. It is natural to avoid thinking about something that is distressing or uncomfortable but the consequences of that can play havoc with our mental and physical health and well-being as we continue to hold onto our trauma, tension or disharmony.

The raw unprocessed parts of our experiences can be safely looked at in therapy with a counsellor who can “hold” us through overwhelming feelings, thoughts and emotions, making our experiences feel less raw and intense and ultimately will make us feel more resilient.

Other things that may help your anxiety:

Heart Breathing

Place your hand on your heart. As you inhale let your heart expand and melt into your hand and as you exhale allow your hand to melt into your heart. This type of breathing can be very soothing if stressed or anxious.

Notice Your Inner Dialogue

Listen in to how you talk to yourself. Quite often when faced with anxiety we tend to judge ourselves harshly which is emotionally harmful. Ask yourself would It be acceptable to talk to someone else in that way? If the answer is no, then why is it then okay for you?

Read To Support Yourself

We recommend reading ‘We were made for these times: Ten lessons on moving through change, loss and disruption’ by Kaira Jewel Lingo- In ten concise chapters, you’ll learn powerful ways to meet life’s challenges with wisdom, resilience and ease, developing presence and compassion, supporting you to release fear, doubt, and resistance that hold you back. Each chapter holds an essential teaching and meditation, unfolding a step-by-step process to nurture deeper freedom and stability in daily life.

Thank you for taking the time to read this and I hope it’s helpful.

~Christine

Christine Gaw is a Person-centred counsellor at dovelight. Her areas of expertise are anxiety, depression and relationship difficulties. She also has long-term experience working with transgender clients. Empathy, acceptance and authenticity are values at the core of what she practices and she builds a trusting relationship with her clients so they can be their true self.