Why Does Anxiety Feel So Physical?

“I am afraid of the unknown. Of what may happen.”

Perhaps this is at the heart of anxiety for many of us. Not knowing what is going to happen, not being able to predict what comes next, and the mind trying to reach into the future to prepare us for something that hasn't happened yet.

Anxiety can have us thinking about all the possibilities. We might overthink, rehearse conversations, imagine different outcomes or find ourselves caught in a constant loop of “what if?”

And it doesn't just happen in our minds.

Anxiety can be incredibly physical. A racing heart, tight chest, shallow breathing, a churning stomach, tension or restlessness. Sometimes our body can feel anxious before we have even worked out what we are anxious about.

Our experiences shape us. What happens to us, particularly in our formative years, can influence how we learn to understand ourselves, relate to others, respond to threat and make sense of the world around us.

Perhaps we learnt to stay alert to other people's moods. Perhaps being prepared, getting things right or staying in control helped us feel safer. These responses may have made a lot of sense at the time. But sometimes ways of coping that once helped us can continue long after the circumstances have changed.

I think it can be helpful to become curious about this rather than critical. Instead of asking ourselves, “Why am I like this?” perhaps we can begin to ask, “What is happening here?” What might I be afraid of? What is my body responding to? What have I learnt about what it means to be safe?

Talking therapy can help us explore the story behind our anxiety, put words to our experiences and begin to understand patterns that may have become familiar. But sometimes anxiety is difficult to think our way out of. This is where an embodied approach can offer something different.

Therapy isn't only about talking from the head. It can also be about listening to the body and to experiences that may not yet have words. Noticing our breathing, tension, sensations, impulses and the subtle changes in our bodies can give us another way of understanding what is happening.

I know this personally. Words don't always come easily to me when I am overwhelmed. Sometimes my thoughts become jumbled, stuck in a loop and racing ahead. At those times, I need to pause and gently notice what my body is telling me. I have also experienced what it is to disconnect from my body, to dissociate and step outside myself when feelings become too much.

We cannot remove uncertainty from our lives. There will always be things we don't know, things we cannot predict and things we cannot control.

Perhaps the work isn't about becoming certain. Perhaps it is about developing a greater capacity to be with the unknown. To notice what is happening, to listen to ourselves and, slowly, to discover that we might be able to meet what comes next without having to know exactly what it will be.

Vikki Harris, Psychotherapist