Anxiety Isn’t Just in Your Head—It’s in Your Story
Anxiety can be relentless. It might show up as overthinking, restlessness, panic, difficulty sleeping—or a constant hum of unease you can’t shake.
From an attachment-based psychodynamic lens, anxiety is more than a cluster of symptoms. It’s a signal—often rooted in early relational experiences that shaped your nervous system, sense of self, and how safe you feel in the world.
At the same time, anxiety has biological-neurological, somatic, and contextual dimensions. It can affect your heart rate, digestion, sleep, and immune system and hormonal regulation. When it becomes chronic, it’s not just emotionally exhausting—it’s physically depleting too.
The Attachment-Based Understanding of Anxiety
In childhood, we learn to regulate emotions and seek comfort through our caregivers. When those relationships were inconsistent, overwhelming, or unavailable, anxiety often became part of our internal landscape.
You might recognize yourself in one of these patterns:
- Hypervigilance: Always scanning for signs of danger in relationships.
- People-pleasing: Prioritizing others to avoid disconnection.
- Difficulty with boundaries: Fearing rejection or engulfment.
- Fear of being “too much”: Suppressing your needs to stay safe.
These aren’t flaws. They’re adaptations—your mind and body’s way of trying to protect you.
This psychodynamic understanding can sit alongside a more clinical framework: anxiety can also be diagnosed in clinical terms—as generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, social anxiety, or other subtypes. These categories can be helpful in understanding how
anxiety expresses itself, but they don’t define who you are.
How Anxiety Affects Your Life
Anxiety doesn’t just live in your mind—it shows up in your work and relationships:
- Constantly checking your phone, waiting for a reply
- Feeling anxious when you’re alone, or when someone gets too close
- Avoiding conflict at all costs—even when something hurts
- Worrying that you’re not “enough,” no matter how much you do
- Avoiding situations that make you uncomfortable, even when it means your work or relationships suffer
These patterns are common—and they can shift with the right support.
In addition to exploring emotional roots, therapy can also address cognitive distortions and behaviours that keep anxiety going. This might include helping you recognize catastrophic thinking, challenge internalized beliefs, or experiment with new relational patterns.
Anxiety’s Many Layers: Mind, Body, and Context
While I focus on the emotional and relational roots of anxiety, I also approach it holistically:
- Organic and biological factors like inflammation, hormonal shifts, or nervous system dysregulation may amplify anxiety.
- Lifestyle factors—sleep, diet, movement, and substance use—play important roles in both the causes and maintenance of anxiety.
- Psychological factors—attachment patterns, trauma histories, unconscious fears—often shape how anxiety feels and persists.
I stay continually informed by evolving research in these areas, including developments in psychiatry, somatic psychology, and the role of supplements in emotional health.
Anxiety is rarely caused by just one thing—it is layered, shaped by history, biology, relationships, and environment. That complexity deserves to be respected.
Healing Through Therapy: Depth + Practical Support
In our work together, we’ll approach anxiety with both depth and practicality. Therapy will help you understand the emotional roots of your anxiety, while also giving you tools to manage it in everyday life.
In our sessions, you can expect:
- A warm, consistent space to explore your story at your pace
- Emotion-focused work to uncover unconscious patterns
- Practical tools for exposure, grounding, emotional regulation, and boundary-setting
- Gentle exploration of how your nervous system responds to threat-and how to cultivate a sense of safety.
- A focus on the therapeutic relationship as a new kind of secure attachment
I also integrate elements from Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), and Dialectical Behavior Therapy (DBT) when appropriate—always adapting tools thoughtfully to your unique process.These modalities can offer practical frameworks and exercises to complement deeper inner work.
A Nuanced Approach to Medication
The conversation around medication and anxiety is evolving. We do know that the brain matters—but not in simple, one-dimensional ways.
While therapy is often enough, sometimes anxiety is severe enough that medication can play a supportive role. If needed, I can provide referrals to trusted psychiatrists who understand the value of integrated care. We’ll collaborate thoughtfully, so any medical support aligns with your therapeutic goals.
You’re Not Broken. You’re Wired for Connection.
Anxiety often points to a deeper truth: a longing for safety, connection, and attunement. These things may have been missing in the past—but they’re possible now.
With compassionate exploration and the right support, you can learn to live less from fear, and more from grounded presence.
Do you think therapy could be helpful?
If you’re feeling anxious, overwhelmed, or stuck in patterns that feel hard to shift, you might be ready to start psychotherapy. I’d be honoured to explore whether I might be the right therapist to help you.
Schedule a free 15-minute consultation to find out if this work could be right for you.