What does anxiety feel like?

 

Anxiety can range from small worries to intense panic, and often comes with physical symptoms like chest pain, shortness of breath, stomach aches, and increased heart rate. It may feel like something terrible is about to happen, or that you are choking and drowning at the same time.

 

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Why does anxiety happen?

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Everyone experiences anxiety, but there may be differences in the severity of it based on your history, your lifestyle, and your core beliefs. You may feel anxious because you have a presentation coming up, or you may feel constantly anxious and fearful that something bad is going to happen. People who have experienced some form of trauma often have anxiety, but it can also stem from the way we were raised as children,  past relationships, or if we have low self-esteem.

 

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How does therapy help anxiety?

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Therapy can help address anxious thought patterns as well as behaviours or other lifestyle choices that make our anxiety worse. You might work with your therapist on challenging anxious thoughts or beliefs or on how to cope with or decrease feelings of anxiety. Therapy may also look at your relationship with anxiety if you have a tendency to wish it away by changing your attitude from hating your anxiety to accepting your anxiety.