Anxiety can make your world progressively smaller while convincing you that avoidance is the only thing keeping you safe. It might show up as constant worry, racing thoughts, physical tension, panic, social fears, dread about uncertain situations, or an exhausting need to anticipate everything that could go wrong. You may know logically that a fear is disproportionate while your body responds as though danger is immediate. It’s an incredibly frustrating disconnect.

Therapy can help you understand the patterns maintaining anxiety, develop ways of responding differently to anxious thoughts and sensations, and gradually build greater tolerance for uncertainty and discomfort. Anxiety is part of being human. The goal is for anxiety to stop making so many of your decisions for you.