Anxiety doesn't always start with thoughts. Sometimes it starts in the body.
Your stomach tightens, your shoulders tense, it's hard to take a deep breath. There's a lump in your throat, a headache, a racing heart, or pain with no obvious physical cause.
The body doesn't invent these symptoms. But sometimes it starts to speak about things we have long failed to notice or haven't allowed ourselves to feel.
In Gestalt therapy we don't try to "get rid of" the symptom straight away. What matters to me is exploring, together with the person: what is happening to you right now? What are you afraid of? Where are you holding back anger, sadness, desire or tears? Where are you forcing yourself to endure more than you really can?
Anxiety often appears where there is a lot of uncertainty and little inner footing. When someone is constantly controlling themselves, other people, the future and their own reactions, the body stays braced for danger.
In therapy you can gradually learn to notice that moment earlier: not when your body is already screaming, but when the tension is only beginning.
The aim of therapy is not to never feel anxious again. Anxiety is a normal part of life. What matters is learning to understand it better, to tolerate uncertainty and to get back your ability to choose.
At the same time, a physical symptom should always be checked medically. A psychological explanation doesn't cancel out physiology.