Struggling with Anxiety: Therapy in New Jersey Can Help!

Woman Having Anxious Thoughts

Struggling with Anxiety? Therapy in New Jersey Can Help

Do you ever feel like your mind won’t stop racing with worries? Do you constantly expect the worst to happen? Anxiety can feel overwhelming, but what if your anxiety isn’t the real problem? What if it’s actually a sign that something deeper is going on?

Anxiety often comes from negative thought patterns that keep us stuck in fear and self-doubt. But in many cases, anxiety also acts as a defense, protecting us from dealing with difficult emotions. Understanding this cycle and learning how to break free using a top-down and bottom-up approach can help you take back control of your thoughts and emotions. Therapy can help break the cycle of anxiety and negative thoughts.

Understanding Anxiety and the Negative Thought Cycle

Negative thinking creates a cycle that fuels anxiety. When we constantly doubt ourselves, expect failure, or focus on worst-case scenarios, our brains go into high alert. This triggers a stress response that affects our emotions and bodies:

• Stronger Negative Emotions – Fear, worry, and helplessness become overwhelming.

• Physical Symptoms – Anxiety can cause headaches, muscle tension, a fast heartbeat, or stomach problems.

• Changes in Behavior – When anxiety takes over, we might avoid people, put things off, or feel stuck in bad habits.

  
  

When this cycle repeats, anxiety becomes a habit. It starts to feel like the only way we know how to react.

Is Anxiety Protecting You from Your Feelings?

Anxiety isn’t always just a reaction to stress. Sometimes, it’s a way for our minds to avoid difficult emotions like sadness, grief, or disappointment. Instead of facing these feelings, anxiety keeps us focused on fear and worry.

For example:

• After being rejected, instead of feeling sad, you may start obsessing over what’s wrong with you.

• If you're dealing with grief, your mind might focus on worrying about the future instead of allowing yourself to feel the pain.

  
  

Recognizing anxiety as a distraction can help you address the real emotions underneath and begin healing.

How Therapy Can Help Rewire Your Thought Patterns

To truly change how we experience anxiety, we need to work with both the mind (top-down approach) and the body (bottom-up approach).

Top-Down Approach: Changing Thought Patterns

The top-down approach focuses on shifting the way you think about situations, helping you take control over anxious thoughts.

• Challenge Negative Thoughts – Ask yourself: Is this really true? Is there another way to see this?

• Practice Mindfulness – Notice your thoughts without reacting to them. Let them come and go like waves.

• Be Kind to Yourself – Instead of saying, I can't handle this, try I am feeling anxious, but I can get through it.

  
  

Bottom-Up Approach: Calming the Body

The bottom-up approach helps soothe your body’s anxiety response, which can make it easier to manage your thoughts and emotions.

• Deep Breathing & Grounding – Slow, deep breaths and grounding exercises can help tell your brain that you're safe.

• Movement & Exercise – Walking, stretching, or even shaking out tension can help release built-up stress.

• Processing Emotions – Instead of avoiding feelings, try journaling, talking to someone, or letting yourself experience emotions in small doses.

• Therapy – especially bottom-up approaches, can help with anxiety by addressing the body's response to stress and trauma, promoting emotional regulation, and fostering a sense of safety and stability, ultimately leading to better coping skills and a more balanced nervous system. These can include somatic experiencing, EMDR (Eye-movement Desensitization and Reprocessing), IFS informed Parts Work, and Mindfulness. At Budd Therapy, we incorporate an eclectic approach tailored to each client.

  
  

How Therapy Can Help Break the Cycle of Anxiety

If you are struggling with anxiety, therapy in New Jersey can help. Anxiety doesn’t have to control your life. By recognizing negative thought cycles, understanding how anxiety may be protecting you from deeper emotions, and using both top-down and bottom-up approaches, you can break free and feel more in control.

If you’re ready to work on changing your relationship with anxiety, reach out for a consultation. Together, we can help you build healthier thought patterns and find lasting relief.

Offering online and in-person therapy in Basking Ridge, New Jersey.

Schedule a Free Consult Now

About the author: Linda Di Filippo is a licensed trauma therapist in Basking Ridge, New Jersey, who who works collaboratively with clients to help them get unstuck and uncover the root causes of their emotional challenges. Specializing in holistic methods and EMDR therapy, Linda supports individuals on their journey toward transformational healing and lasting emotional well-being.