CH
	
APTER	THREE
Your	Body	&	Physical	Sensations
Anxiety	and	the	Body
Cole	struggled	with	debilitating	physical	symptoms	including	lack	of	appetite,
racing	heart,	an	inability	to	concentrate,	feeling	internally	keyed	up,	and
insomnia	with	racing	thoughts.	These	distressing	symptoms	were	all	he	could
talk	about	because	they	were	so	unnerving.	Cole	understandably	felt	as	if	his
body	was	betraying	him	and	that	no	amount	of	anxiety-reduction	work	would
solve	this.
Anxiety	regularly	shows	itself	with	physical	symptoms.	At	some	point,
sometimes	after	years	of	experiencing	such	symptoms,	the	dam	breaks	and
the	body	will	no	longer	be	ignored.	For	Cole	this	meant	such	intense	heart
palpitations	that	he	would	become	dizzy	and	pass	out.	Other	people	might
react	in	a	different	way,	like	succumbing	to	acute	exhaustion,	or	no	longer
being
	
able	to	drive	because	of	severe	back	spasms,	or	being	unable	to
concentrate	because	of	persistent	headaches.	For	symptoms	like	this,	anxiety
treatment	begins	once	medical	causes	are	ruled	out.
When	I	see	clients	like	Cole	in	my	psychology	practice,	they	are	usually
surprised	that	“all”	they	have	is	anxiety.	For	example,	for	a	long	time	Cole