Why am I overwhelmed by anxiety?

As a therapist, I am not immune to stressful periods. Workload/ life balance management, a busy client private practice, an over-flowing diary, difficult sessions, attending supervision, ordering the groceries and forgetting to buy the coffee (essential!). All this can mean that I am awake at 3am ruminating on the day ahead. In my life, stress comes and goes. We all experience stressful periods, but we should be able to shrug them off and move on unscathed.

So, when does stress become anxiety?

According to the Counselling Directory statistics for August 2025 – anxiety was searched for 72,400 times and stress was searched 18,477 times. It seems there is a threshold for when chronic stress becomes unmanageable and becomes persistent anxiety. Anxiety can be deeply debilitating — not just emotionally, but physically, cognitively, and socially. When stress becomes a constant presence in our lives, it moves beyond being an occasional pressure or motivator and starts to seriously undermine our wellbeing.  

It can show up in many ways. One of the most common symptoms I see in therapy is this nagging doubt that things can’t change. A lack of motivation, feeling hopeless, emotional outbursts aimed at those we love and accusations of being emotionally unavailable.  At work, this may involve burnout, fear of failure, persistent negative thoughts, and perceiving criticism in everything.

Negative conversations and situations from the past come back to taunt us and we are stuck in a repetitive cycle where the gnawing inside of us starts to take over. Chronic stress and anxiety can affect our brain function and lapses in concentration appear. Our physical health suffers and digestive issues, high blood pressure, constantly feeling ‘under the weather’ and poor sleep are also common symptoms.

Short-term relief can come in the form of one more glass of wine until the bottle is empty, poor eating habits, compulsive behaviours including online shopping, 3am doom scrolling and gambling.

Psychodynamic approach to anxiety: Why Treating Anxiety Isn’t Just About Symptom Relief

Psychodynamic therapy is a form of depth psychology that focuses on unconscious processes and how they influence us. Unlike therapies that primarily focus on managing symptoms (like CBT), psychodynamic theory sees anxiety as a signal of inner conflict—often between unconscious desires, fears, and social expectations. Perhaps you tell everyone you are independent, but you unconsciously fear abandonment resulting in broken relationships. Or you feel deeply inadequate after a childhood of struggling to feel good enough. 

Early Attachment and Developmental Experiences Matter

Psychodynamic therapists explore how your relationships have shaped your ability to manage emotions. Whether you were intimidated by a critical parent, endured a traumatic event, struggled to overcome a bereavement, competed with siblings – everything and nothing can contribute to how we relate to chronic stress and anxiety as adults.

How we defend ourselves against these feelings – repression, denial or projection – are unconscious strategies we use to protect ourselves from emotional pain. But denying our feelings – negative and positive – leaves us stuck in an anxiety loop.

Once you can understand how you function internally, you can slowly begin to shift your emotional responses. In time, your body will respond, and you can feel whole again.

What Does Psychodynamic Therapy for Anxiety Look Like? 

Therapy sessions typically involve open-ended conversations where I encourage you to speak freely.  Over time, this deep exploration leads to insight, emotional integration, and symptom reduction. 

If something in this post resonates with you, counselling could help you explore it further.

You’re welcome to get in touch to arrange a free 15-minute call and see if working together feels right.

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