The term “anxiety'' gets thrown around quite a bit these days. Partially because it’s become more acceptable to openly discuss mental health issues, but also because it seems to be turning into a catch-all for expressions of discomfort.

There is normal anxiety which is intermittent and is expected based on certain events or situations.

I started writing this with a specific memory of what I thought was my first anxiety attack when all of a sudden I remembered a different time from earlier in my life, but I’m inclined to share my starting point nonetheless to help show how this can occur in my sessions with clients – you come in thinking one event is the genesis of the issue, when really it’s much earlier and usually lurking somewhere in the unconscious, waiting for something to unlock it.