Reframing Anxiety: A New Relationship with the Mind & Body

Match 16, 2025.

For much of my life, I struggled with anxiety. And to be honest, I still do—it’s something that comes with being deeply aware, with caring about life, about others, about the path I’m on. But the difference now is that I no longer let it control me. Instead, I’ve learned to navigate it, to work with it rather than against it.

Anxiety, at its core, is energy—an alert system telling us that something within us needs attention. But when we resist it, try to suppress it, or let it spiral unchecked, it can feel suffocating, like an ever-present weight on the chest. The key shift I’ve made is in how I listen to it.

I’ve come to see anxiety as a signal—sometimes it’s a call to action, other times a reminder to pause and reflect. If I feel that familiar tightness rising, instead of immediately pushing it away, I ask:

• What is this energy trying to tell me?

• Is there something unresolved that needs my attention?

• Am I avoiding something I need to face?

Rather than getting caught in overthinking or drowning in worst-case scenarios, I turn toward my body. Because anxiety often starts there—tension in the chest, knots in the stomach, a racing heart. And it’s in the body where I’ve found the wisdom to work through it.

Through breathwork, movement, and stillness, I’ve learned that I don’t have to be trapped in my thoughts. Instead of letting them run wild, I breathe into the discomfort, allowing it to move through me rather than stay stuck inside.

Some believe the goal is to eliminate stress entirely, to sit forever in a state of stillness, untouched by worry. But I don’t see it that way. We can use that energy—once we’re grounded in ourselves—to take aligned action, to move forward with clarity rather than fear.

Because anxiety doesn’t have to be an enemy. It can be a compass, pointing us toward what matters most.