Anxiety and the Nervous System

Anxiety and the Nervous System

Anxiety is not a flaw or something that needs to be fixed. It is often the nervous system doing its best to protect you.

For many people, anxiety shows up as racing thoughts, tightness in the chest, shallow breathing, restlessness, or a sense of always being “on edge.” From a somatic perspective, these experiences are signals that the nervous system has learned to stay alert—sometimes in response to past stress, uncertainty, or moments that felt overwhelming. In my work as a Somatic Experiencing® practitioner, I support adults experiencing anxiety by working with the nervous system in a way that feels steady, collaborative, and paced.

Rather than asking “What’s wrong with me?” we gently shift toward “What is my body trying to do for me?”

How Somatic Experiencing® Supports Anxiety

In our work together, we move slowly and with care. We don’t try to force calm or push symptoms away. Instead, we build the capacity to notice sensations in the body without becoming flooded by them.

This might include:

• Tracking subtle bodily cues like breath, temperature, tension, or movement
• Learning how your nervous system moves between activation and settling
• Supporting moments of grounding, orienting, and safety as they naturally arise
• Creating space for the body to complete stress responses that may have been interrupted

Over time, these small, attuned moments can help your system recognize that it no longer needs to stay on constant alert.

Creating space for regulation and choice

Anxiety often asks for attention, pacing, and compassion. It may be inviting you to slow down, to reconnect with your body, or to re-establish a sense of choice and agency.

Through a somatic approach, we work toward increasing flexibility in the nervous system—so that activation can rise and fall more easily, rather than feeling stuck or overwhelming. This isn’t about eliminating anxiety altogether, but about changing your relationship to it, so it feels more manageable and less consuming.

Moving at the pace your system allows

Healing is not something the body can be rushed into. The nervous system learns safety through experience, and that learning happens gradually, in small and often subtle ways. Our work honors that healing happens in layers, at the pace your system is ready for.

Over time, this respectful pacing can support a deeper sense of steadiness and self-trust—allowing your nervous system to find its own rhythm for healing.