Anxiety

Anxiety is a pervasive mental health issue that often includes symptoms like chronic worry, restlessness, and physical sensations such as increased heart rate and muscle tension. While occasional anxiety can be a natural response to stress, chronic anxiety may signal deeper underlying emotional or psychological conflicts. It may stem from unresolved trauma, family dynamics, or persistent negative beliefs formed early in life. As explained by the Mayo Clinic, factors such as genetic predisposition and environmental influences play significant roles in the development and persistence of anxiety (Mayo Clinic, 2021).

In his book The Body Keeps the Score, Bessel van der Kolk explores how trauma and prolonged stress can influence mental health, highlighting that untreated trauma is often linked to chronic anxiety and can manifest in physical symptoms. Van der Kolk explains how trauma therapy can help individuals reconnect with their bodies and reduce anxiety symptoms by addressing unresolved emotional wounds (van der Kolk, 2014).

Moreover, psychodynamic therapy can help uncover unconscious patterns rooted in early life experiences, bringing hidden fears and beliefs into awareness. In Anxiety: A Very Short Introduction, Daniel Freeman and Jason Freeman discuss how therapies that address the unconscious mind—such as psychodynamic therapy—offer individuals insight into the formative experiences that shape their anxieties and behaviors (Freeman & Freeman, 2012). By exploring these influences in therapy, clients can gradually develop healthier, more adaptive responses to stress.

Therapy offers more than symptom relief; it can foster lasting mental health and emotional resilience. By helping clients develop self-awareness, self-compassion, and more adaptive ways of thinking, therapy reduces anxiety and promotes overall well-being. Such work is empowering, equipping individuals with the tools needed to live with more confidence, adaptability, and peace in the face of life’s uncertainties.

For further information, see Psychology Today's discussions on anxiety’s roots in unconscious beliefs and the therapeutic approaches that address these patterns, which emphasize both cognitive and emotional healing.

References

Burns, D. (1999). Feeling Good: The New Mood Therapy. Avon Books.

Freeman, D., & Freeman, J. (2012). Anxiety: A Very Short Introduction. Oxford University Press.

Mayo Clinic. (2021). Anxiety disorders: Symptoms, causes, and treatment. Retrieved from https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/anxiety/symptoms-causes/syc-20350961

Psychology Today (2023). Is Your Anxiety the Problem or Just a Symptom? [online] Available at: www.psychologytoday.com [Accessed 1 Nov. 2024].

van der Kolk, B. (2014). The Body Keeps the Score: Brain, Mind, and Body in the Healing of Trauma. Viking.