ABSTRACT
If clients are unable to short-circuit the “loop of negativity,” we can offer them ways to intervene as they reach a state of heightened tension and anxiety. I find it helpful to first introduce some psychoeducation to explain the physiology of anxiety: how and where it manifests on the body. As you work on this part of the cycle in session, encourage clients to hone in on and identify the ways in which their bodies manifest an anxious state. Anxiety is typically experienced through heart palpations or heaviness on the chest, sweaty palms, dry mouth, a feeling of dizziness, a constricted or collapsed body posture, nausea or stomach upset, thought racing, and other symptoms of psychomotor agitation. When clients can identify the “physical harbingers” of anxiety, it is the first step toward being able to intervene. e treatment for anxiety often starts with our clients’ abilities to accurately label what’s happening as feeling anxiety or panic rather than thinking they are “going crazy” or having a heart attack.
