“Anxiety is excitement without the breath.” Fritz Perls.
Anxiety is a word that is used a lot in conversations, in headlines and in doctors’ surgeries. I wonder sometimes if anxiety is seen as a by product of modern society, something to be medicated and then moved on from.
In this blog I want to explore what is behind the word “anxiety” and what it could mean.
In the therapy room, I’ve come to appreciate how anxiety is not just a problem to be solved, but a part of someone that wants to be acknowledged. From a Gestalt therapy perspective, anxiety can be a sign that something in us wants attention, that we’re living in a split between what we feel and what we allow ourselves to express.
For each of us, anxiety feels different. For some, it’s a racing heart before leaving the house. For others, it’s sleepless nights spent turning over thoughts that won’t settle. Sometimes it’s just a sense of unease we can’t quite name, a feeling that something’s not right, even when everything seems fine.
This is a gentle invitation to slow down, breathe, and begin to listen to what your anxiety might be telling you.
Anxiety is a necessary part of being human. At its core, it’s our body and mind’s way of preparing us to deal with something be it a potential threat, a challenge, or an uncertainty. In evolutionary terms, anxiety kept our ancestors alive. But in modern life, the “threats” are often more emotional than physical: uncertainty about the future, fear of failure, fear of being judged, or fear of being hurt.
You might notice anxiety showing up in many ways:
Sometimes it makes perfect sense why we feel anxious for example, before a job interview, after a loss, or during a big life change. But at other times, it seems to appear from nowhere. And that can be the hardest part, when we can’t find a clear “reason” and start blaming ourselves for feeling this way.
In Gestalt therapy, we often ask: What is this feeling in service of?
Anxiety, in this light, becomes a form of inner communication — not something to silence, but something to be curious about.
Sometimes anxiety arises when we are:
Fritz Perls, the founder of Gestalt therapy, famously said, “Anxiety is excitement without the breath.” When we stop breathing fully physically or metaphorically, we hold ourselves in suspense. We are suspended between the urge to move forward and the fear that stops us. And in that gap, anxiety is born.
In Gestalt therapy, we work in the here and now by exploring what is happening in the present moment, rather than just analysing the past. That doesn’t mean we ignore your history; rather, we pay attention to how your past might be alive in your present experience.
For example, if you feel anxious when speaking in a group, we might explore what’s happening in your body as you talk about it. You might notice your chest tightening or your hands clenching. We might gently stay with those sensations and see what they lead to. Sometimes this leads to a memory. Other times it leads to an unspoken emotion, or a part of yourself that’s been quiet for a long time. This is not about fixing anxiety but getting to know it, bringing awareness to your experience and meeting it with compassion. Over time, this can loosen the grip anxiety has on you not by eliminating it, but by helping you understand and respond to it differently.
In working with anxiety, these are some of the patterns that I often see in therapy room:
These patterns are not faults. They are what Gestalt therapy calls creative adjustments that are ways that you’ve learned to protect yourself in a world that, at times, has felt unsafe or overwhelming.
Therapy can offer a space to look at these patterns and discover what you might need instead.
One of the most painful aspects of anxiety is the sense that we’re alone in it, that everyone else seems to be coping just fine, and we’re the only ones struggling. But the truth is, anxiety is incredibly common, even though it doesn’t always look the same in everyone. You don’t have to go through it on your own. Therapy offers a space to slow down, speak freely, and reconnect with the parts of yourself that may have been pushed aside. It’s a place to be heard, not judged or rushed — and to begin exploring new ways of relating to yourself and the world around you.