Trapped in anxiety
In the work I do, I share everything I wish I knew after experiencing a panic attack for the first time. I was taken to the hospital by my worried mother who had raced from the suburbs after a terrified call from her 24 year old daughter. After a few tests, the Doctor on the emergency floor that night flatly informed me I had suffered an anxiety attack and sent me on my way. Those two words “ANXIETY ATTACK” did not seem to do justice to my suffering the last 12 hours. Since waking that morning, I was shaky, nervous, perspiring for no reason, unable to sit still. When night came, I tried to go to sleep, but felt as if something was terribly wrong in my body. Suddenly, my heart started to beat incredibly fast. I felt I must be having a heart attack and was about to die. It’s hard to accurately describe the explosion of terror that permeated my brain and body when faced with a certainty that I was dying in a new apartment, unknown to neighbors, completely alone.
The next few weeks were a blur of functioning in my role as a fairly green radio announcer while my mind became fixated on never having an ANXIETY ATTACK again. I hadn’t yet heard of this malady, I didn’t know why it happened and I constantly imagined all the places it could happen and how awful it would be to die there. I didn’t know then that my brain had changed. It now correlated the ANXIETY ATTACK with a danger to be avoided at all costs.
The problem was, to me, the danger was my own body and I couldn’t escape it.
Years went by and my life became smaller and smaller. Fear of ANXIETY ATTACKS happening while I was on the air, in the subway, at the movies or before sleep led me to avoid most experiences and make choices led by constant inner alarm bells. It wasn’t until I finally revealed the whole truth about my chaotic and terrified inner world to the man who would become my partner of the last 25 years, that I finally began my journey of awareness, education and healing. In my work with clients, I share everything I’ve learned about panic attacks, how they actually arise to help us, what they can teach us, how we can learn to befriend anxiety, untangle ourselves from identifying with it and how we can use its lessons to possibly craft a life of more meaning and purpose than I could have every imagined.
Healing is possible
My work is to guide people to their own experience of the present moment and a softer state of “safe enough” through evidence-based, gentle and compassionate movement, breath and meditation practices. I offer countless skills to help the mind focus and rest, and these tools can be the gateway to true contentment; the kind of tranquility that isn’t dependent on outer circumstance, but can be experienced even in the midst of the challenges of being human.
You are stronger than you think
If you're tired of trying so hard, of believing you are too much, not enough, unworthy and wrong, if you're ready to overcome imbalanced fear and move toward authentic confidence, let’s begin a conversation about how I can support you as you step into the life you were meant to live.
Begin Your Own Healing Journey
We can work together:
In a private 75-minute virtual session with me, you will be invited to explore a collection of skills to tend to your wellness goals for your body, mind and heart. You will receive your session from a comfortable position in a chair, on a couch or on a yoga mat if desired. No previous yoga experience is required. You may be offered restorative, soothing and restful shapes, or if it serves the needs of your body, appropriate movements will be offered to encourage strength and relaxation.
I'll offer you customized breath techniques and mindfulness practices intended to invoke calm and a sense of safety before you explore the tools that are the right fit for your individual needs.
I'll teach you how to investigate your mind and compassionately question your thoughts, inviting you to cultivate a kinder inner voice.
We will explore how to work WITH emotions and the techniques to construct healthy boundaries that can support you taking care of yourself.
You will come away from sessions armed with a personalized tool box of techniques to help you reconnect with authentic confidence and calm, along with simple, daily practices to support you on your journey of self-discovery and self-care.
I will hold non-judgmental space for you as you relearn to treat yourself as you would a dear friend. That may mean letting go of trying so hard to be “good” and turning towards the freedom of compassion, forgiveness and rest.
With LOVE,