Today, many people live with anxiety and distress.
In this article, I want to offer some light on these experiences and how we approach them in Gestalt Therapy.
What exactly is anxiety?
According to the RAE dictionary, anxiety is:
“Distress often associated with illness, especially neuroses, that prevents calm.”
But the truth is, many healthy people experience anxiety daily: before a job interview, an exam, a trip…
Some anxiety is functional. It becomes a problem when it’s intense, prolonged or hard to explain.
What’s the difference between anxiety and anguish?
Anguish is intense anxiety. When you feel physical symptoms like a racing heart, dizziness or sweating, it’s often referred to as anguish, though the inner process is the same.
They both point to something deeper that needs your attention.
Don’t fight it — listen
In Gestalt counselling, we don’t aim to eliminate anxiety.
We aim to understand it.
It often comes from projecting into the future, imagining worst-case scenarios and feeling fear or helplessness.
Why escape to the future?
Avoiding the present can feel safer. But it also disconnects us.
So we ask:
What’s hard about this moment?
What am I not facing?
What part of me wants to be heard right now?
Breath: your way back to presence
Conscious breathing —inhale through the nose, exhale through the mouth— helps to calm the mind and return to the here and now.
If you’re going to imagine, imagine well
Anxiety is fantasy.
So if you’re already imagining… why not create a gentler version?
One that brings calm instead of chaos?
An invitation to listen
Anxiety is not your enemy.
It’s a message asking for your presence.
If you’re ready to listen, Gestalt Therapy can support you.
