One of the goals of working with anxiety is to feel comfortable outside the bubble one creates to have a sense of control. Severe anxiety or hypervigilance related to trauma create a sense of fear about what may be around the corner. A typical method of dealing with the triggers of that fear is to try to contain the environment. This severely limits opportunities for getting to know others, exploring the outdoors, moving into new careers, and engaging in needed conversations. Individual growth is stunted. A goal of therapy for anxiety is to process those fears that cause the body and mind to feel stressed, so that the client will be able to feel safe in present time. The body becomes more comfortable and the mind becomes more quiet as the past stops interfering with present day activities and relationships. I enjoy watching clients experience this for the first time. It makes it much easier to expand ones comfort zone. Eventually it’s possible to look at life through a new lens with opportunities that were difficult to imagine in the beginning. Life becomes easier, requiring less effort. A common experience when this occurs is that colors are brighter and objects are sharper when looking outside the office. When we are comfortable in the world opportunities are noticed that were not visible when hypervigilant .
A path to wholeness