Feeling Overwhelmed? Therapy Can Help You Manage Anxiety

Have you ever watched a child play with Legos? They pour out all the colorful pieces onto the floor, sort them by shape, color, and size, and start grouping them together. After a period of time, an entire city, a train station, or another elaborate form begins to take shape. Out of nowhere and nothing, something emerges. What’s even more interesting is that children don’t want to be pulled away from playing (even if they’ve been on the floor for hours).

What does playing with Legos have to do with anxiety therapy? There’s always a dynamic at play (pardon the pun). In this case, it’s the brain’s ability to direct attention from a state of non-play—or just before they had the idea about Legos—to active engagement. Because the brain loves to fantasize, imagine, and experience new sensations rather than feel bored, it engages rather easily (yes, children do like to play). But most adults rarely have an opportunity to imagine on any regular basis. If they do, it’s usually related to either work or parenting.

Instead, the adult brain is exposed to high-pressure stimuli, constant activity, and intrusive sights and sounds. Under tension and stress, the brain shifts into “fight or flight mode,” and when it cannot turn off, anxiety starts to build. It begins to generate anxious thoughts, becomes fixated on the same thought, or speeds up the thinking process. It sends signals to the body to move and speed up. Heart rate increases, and the body shifts into a state of arousal. The energy and information that pulsate through matter (the body) are experienced as frantic-type activity. That is labeled anxiety.

The type of therapy that addresses both thoughts and stimulation can be highly effective at decreasing activation. When the brain can focus on a new sensation or experience, it pulls its attention from one state (overstimulation) and redirects it to another (new stimulation). Derived from the contemplative teachings of Buddhism, mindfulness—used in dialectical behavior therapy (DBT)—helps bring attention back to the present moment. DBT uses breath, sensation, and feeling to do so.

While this skill is important, I believe that “rest and activity” are powerful concepts. It’s a process that introduces the idea of impermanence in experience. It allows my clients to create space for creativity and wonder. This is the place of freedom and expression. It’s where something new can take shape—just like the Legos—only this time, it’s the self being rebuilt with intention.

I sometimes teach skills in therapy sessions, it’s often the case that a simple journal prompt is enough to help create a change in patterns around overwork and the brain.

Do you want to learn more about my therapy work? Or ask a few questions? Schedule a free consultation. I want to hear from you. soniabrill720@gmail.com.