Anxiety in the Body

I often see patients struggling with anxiety and panic attacks. There was a time when my local counselling service was extremely slow, and the only help I could offer was a referral letter and a promise that someone might contact them in two or three months. It did not feel right. I felt I was letting my patients down.

I decided I had to find a way to help people during the appointment itself. I quickly realised that it was impossible to fully explore anxiety in a standard ten minute consultation. Anxiety stories were usually long, complicated, and deeply personal. I needed a way to help without having to analyse the entire story first.

To my surprise, I discovered that many effective approaches already existed. I tried some of them with friends and family and found that several worked remarkably well. None works for absolutely everyone, but there are many useful techniques available. What they all seem to share is one important idea:

The story is often less important than people think.

What matters more is how anxiety is experienced in the present moment.

This is how I help patients understand how anxiety works.

First, I ask them to briefly think about the thing that makes them anxious while sitting in front of me. Usually, the anxiety appears quite quickly. Then I ask them to rate it from one to ten.

Once they choose a number, I ask them to increase the anxiety slightly and move one point higher on the scale.

Most people are surprised by this request, but after a few moments they are usually able to do it.

Then I ask a simple question:

“How do you know the anxiety became stronger?”

Most people answer:
“I just feel it.”

Then I ask:
“But what exactly do you feel?”

At this point people often become unsure.

This is when something important becomes visible.

When we become anxious, we usually think about a person, situation, or future event. At the same time, the body reacts automatically. Muscles tighten. People may notice:

a lump in the throat
tightness in the chest
a knot in the stomach
tension in the shoulders
trembling
pressure somewhere inside the body

As this physical tension increases, the anxiety feels stronger.

This simple observation often gives people a completely new understanding of anxiety. They begin to realise that anxiety is not only a thought. It is also a body sensation.

In many ways, emotions and physical sensations are deeply connected.

We say:
“I feel pain.”
“I feel anxious.”
“I feel angry.”

The body and mind are constantly influencing each other.

The physical feeling related to anxiety is often caused by groups of muscles tightening automatically in response to fearful thinking. When this tension becomes chronic, it may eventually contribute to physical discomfort and pain.

From this perspective, anxiety can sometimes be understood as another body signal, similar to hunger or a full bladder. Different body sensations trigger different behaviours:

hunger makes us look for food
tiredness makes us seek rest
anxiety may drive overeating, smoking, drinking alcohol, avoiding situations, or emotional outbursts

These behaviours often continue until the internal tension temporarily settles.

The technique I use focuses on dissolving the body sensation itself. When the physical tension softens, the anxiety often decreases naturally as well.

This is why the story, although important emotionally, is not always the most important place to begin.

You can watch a short video explaining this proces.