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By: Sherry Katz, LCSW  Do you remember the curtained stall in which the Wizard of Oz stood and tinkered with gadgets so he'd sound scary? Did your fear significantly dissapate once you realized his scary, overpowering voice was artificially made to sound that way, that there was not any fearsome creature behind the curtain?
Similar to the feelings of being threatened, anxiety traps our emotions, accelerates our thoughts into unproductive loops, and always arrives at a worst case scenario. Many people would like the feeling of anxiety to simply go away as quickly as possible. In some specific situations when very quick relief is necessary to function, as a very occasional answer, a pill has a good purpose. Another anxiety treatment option is CBT, which teaches a person to intellectually recognize the facts of a situation which usually triggers anxiety. The person is taught to increasingly rely on their minds to handle situations in which anxiety would otherwise debilitate them.
As effective as pills and CBT are to control symptoms, neither does anything to further someone's ability to learn about themselves or to work toward an overall decrease of anxiety appearing in their lives. Anxiety teaches us to know, care and trust ourselves. To walk directly into the deep pain hidden by our fear which tells us to avoid subjects which are sensitive within our heart, takes courage. To feel and make sense of what we are afraid to know about our weaknesses and self-questioning, eventually dissolves both the fear and the pain. Just as to know the truth about who in fact is making scary sounds and pronouncements hidden behind the curtain dissolves the fear of what the Wizard says, so too our fear quiets once we know the situations which cause it.
How do I know this, or is this all speculation? Therapy in my practice works the way I describe here. Anxiety is common to many people. I know that someone who is willing to uncover the pain hidden beneath their fear, opens room for new and not painful ways to interact with others. You will also have the reward of accomplishment to have discovered and removed what may for many years has been great inward discomfort. About the Author...
Sherry Katz, LCSW is a family and couples therapist in practice for over twenty years. Her office is located in Ridgewood, NJ. Whether you are in a relationship or would like a relationship, Ms Katz's systems relational therapy helps people see the difference between what they tell themselves they would like and whether the person lives in a way which will make their relationship wishes happen.
Click here to contact or learn more about Sherry Katz Last Update: 7/17/2017
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