Anxiety Therapy

You know you can’t prevent everything that could go wrong in life…

But you can’t stop yourself from trying anyway.

You’re worrying about the surface-level to-dos: taxes, housework, your job – in a near-constant frenzy.

And under that are the deeper concerns that loom constantly – your parents’ health, your children’s peers, what financial decisions you should be making right now.

But the occasional catastrophic thoughts entering your mind are just too much. It’s boiling under you all the time, so it feels like all these concerns have a hold on you rather than you having a handle on them.

It doesn’t seem like it should be that way.

The constant worry robs you…

Of enjoyment…

Of peace…

Settling in peace would be irresponsible, given everything on your plate.

It feels like your vigilance keeps everything in order and that others just don’t care as much as you do. Why are you always the one that cares the most? Gets affected the most? Gets hurt the most? Reacts the strongest?

It’s hard to rely on others because doing it yourself and figuring it out is how you’ve always done it. It’s hard to imagine being at peace with anyone else having that control. Impossible, even.

Why can’t you convince your mind to let go?

It’s like something lives inside of you that’s always on watch. And you can’t appease that part of you… no matter what you do.

In anxiety therapy, you’ll come to learn why you see the world through that worry lens. And when you understand that, you’ll naturally have compassion for yourself whenever you feel on edge or panicked.

I see your bravery in reaching out. I feel the discomfort in your voice and see the worry on your face. It’s so familiar to me. I’ve seen this look and heard this voice many times before. I know that it’s the beginning of one of the best journeys of your life ahead.We will spend our first couple of sessions getting to know one another. I ask many questions about how things are now in your life and what they were like previously, all the way to childhood. I’m putting together a map of the flow of your life to hold in my mind when we begin Somatic Breathwork, the mind-body technique I use to help you understand your worries and release them.

I allow plenty of space and time for you to ask about how I work and what breathwork is like. You’re free to ask anything about it!

I will be happy to provide some immediate ways to begin soothing your nervous system for clients who are feeling particularly on edge. I use Polyvagal Theory (Porges) to understand how your nervous system (vagus nerve) shapes your experience in the moment. My understanding of the Theory allows me to know what states you’re in and how I can help you feel more regulated and balanced without delay.

Our long-term goal will be to tackle the underlying cause of your anxious states. We know your nervous system is feeling threatened, but we don’t know why. Each breathwork session gives us clues. We follow them and piece them together. Over time, you not only gain knowledge about the origins of your anxiety but, more importantly, feel relief from them. The breathwork sessions will allow you to release some emotions you’ve been (usually unconsciously) holding. Sometimes the relief is immediate in the session, and sometimes it takes days or weeks to feel the effects fully.

Over time, you won’t need the regulating techniques. We will alternate breathwork sessions with talk sessions. I can start helping you see yourself and the world in a more freeing way. Now that the emotional burdens have lost their weight, you’ll be able to learn how to handle life more easily.

Alicia* had a hectic life and couldn’t imagine it any other way.

Her childhood was unpredictable, full of sudden moves, occasional poverty, and an incident of sexual abuse. Despite all that, Alicia kept it all together for her three younger siblings, sometimes acting as a substitute mother.

In anxiety therapy, Alicia admitted there were parts of her childhood she couldn’t remember. She was certain this was a problem… but didn’t know what to do about it. As we did Somatic Breathwork, we learned how coming home from school and seeing moving boxes burdened her limbs and heart with dread. Life felt so out of control then. She had forgotten that feeling.

Alicia only felt it for moments before it drifted away. I helped her straddle the two worlds – child and adult – to cultivate an awareness that she wasn’t in control of her fate as a child (but she is now, as an adult). She could finally close that chapter in her life – a chapter she didn’t even know was still open before therapy.

Alicia reentered the world with an enhanced ability to navigate its ups and downs. But instead of being frozen with fear or trying to predict every little detail that could go wrong, she was able to see and honor her priorities. Her life became less hectic as she reined in what was in her control and let go of what wasn’t.

It’s time to see life through a different lens.

If you’re curious about what happens in breathwork and how it can make you feel less anxious, please reach out.

I’m happy to answer questions in a free 20-minute phone call at (805) 836-0975. If you’d like to contact me via email first at therapy@drlesliewright.com, that’s fine, too!