What is anxiety — and why does the body matter?
From early body psychotherapy to contemporary neuroscience
The connection between anxiety and the body is not new.
In the 20th century, body-oriented psychotherapists such as Wilhelm Reich explored how emotional tension could become expressed through breathing and muscular patterns. Later, Gerda Boyesen, within biodynamic psychotherapy, developed ideas about physiological regulation and the relationship between emotional experience and bodily processes.
These approaches belong to the history of body psychotherapy. Some of their specific theoretical concepts remain debated and should not be presented as established neuroscience.
What is striking, however, is that contemporary neuroscience is now providing a different and much more precise way of studying the relationship between psychological experience and the body
And this is where interoception becomes particularly interesting.
What neuroscience tells us about anxiety
The brain is constantly receiving information from inside the body: heartbeat, breathing, muscle tension, temperature and signals from the digestive system.
The capacity to sense and process these internal signals is known as interoception.
Research increasingly shows that anxiety is associated not simply with having bodily sensations, but with how we attend to, interpret and evaluate them. A 2024 systematic review and meta-analysis, for example, found associations between anxiety and greater attention to bodily signals and more negative interpretations of those signals.
This gives us a useful way of understanding the anxiety loop:
A bodily sensation → an interpretation → increased threat → greater arousal → more bodily sensation.
For example, a racing heart might be interpreted as:
Something is wrong with me.
That interpretation can increase vigilance and anxiety, which may further increase physiological arousal.
This does not mean that anxiety is “all in the body” — nor that every bodily sensation has a hidden psychological meaning.
Rather, contemporary neuroscience suggests that brain, body and environment are continuously interacting in the experience of anxiety.
Why this matters in therapy
This is one reason a somatic approach can be useful.
Rather than trying only to change the thought “Something bad is going to happen,” we can also become curious about what happens in the body when that thought appears:
Where do I feel it? What happens to my breathing? Do I tense, freeze or want to escape? Can I stay with the sensation without immediately treating it as a danger? Can I find support in my environment?
The aim is not to make the body tell us the truth.
It is to develop a greater capacity to notice, tolerate and understand our experience.
And sometimes, this creates a little more space between what we feel, what we anticipate and how we respond.
If anxiety has become a recurring part of your life, you don't have to figure it out on your own.
Therapy can offer a space to slow down, understand what is happening, and explore not only your thoughts but also how anxiety is experienced in your body and in your relationships.
In my practice, I combine relational and somatic psychotherapy, working with words, the body and what happens between us in the therapeutic relationship towards welcoming something new and vibrant.
I see adults and couples in Paris 10th and online, in English and French.
If you'd like to explore whether this approach might be right for you, I offer a free 20-minute introductory call — a chance to ask questions, share what you're experiencing and see whether we might be a good fit.
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