Anxiety doesn’t have to row your boat
Therapy offers space to explore your inner world—and find your way forward.
When Anxiety Feels Constant, Like You Can Never Get a Break
Maybe you find yourself replaying conversations, worrying if you said the wrong thing. Or lying awake at night, your thoughts racing with what-ifs. You try to push through, but the unease lingers—tight in your chest, restless in your body, never fully letting you relax.
You might wonder:
- Why can’t I just let things go?
- What if I made a mistake?
- What if something bad happens?
- Why does my mind feel stuck in overdrive?
- Do people really like me, or are they just being polite?
Anxiety doesn’t just live in your thoughts—it shapes how you hold yourself, how you breathe, how you move through the world. But it doesn’t have to.
If this sounds familiar, therapy can offer a space to slow down, listen to your anxiety in a new way, and begin to loosen its grip.
Therapy Can Help You Find Relief—Not Just Cope
Anxiety isn’t just something to “manage.” It’s often rooted in deeper emotional patterns—fears, expectations, or past experiences that shape how you move through the world. In therapy, we don’t just focus on symptom relief; we explore what’s fueling your anxiety, so it doesn’t have to run your life.
You don’t have to figure this out alone. Therapy offers a space to slow down, understand what’s beneath the surface, and begin to loosen anxiety’s grip. Over time, what once felt overwhelming can feel more manageable. You can move through the world with a greater sense of ease, confidence, and the ability to breathe more freely.
Therapy is a Space to Explore, Reflect, and Grow
Hi. I’m Dr. Elizabeth Stuart—you can call me Elizabeth. I’m a psychoanalyst and psychiatrist, based in Oakland, offering insightful, depth-oriented therapy for those struggling with anxiety, overthinking, and the emotional weight of uncertainty. If anxiety feels like a constant undercurrent in your life—shaping your decisions, relationships, and sense of self—therapy can help you explore what’s beneath it and begin to shift these patterns.
I help people struggling with:
When Fear and Overthinking Take Over
Some kinds of anxiety creep in quietly, taking the shape of endless what-ifs, overanalysis, and second-guessing. Your mind latches onto uncertainties, scanning for what could go wrong. No matter how much reassurance you get, it never quite feels like enough.
- You replay conversations, worrying if you said the wrong thing.
- Big decisions feel paralyzing—what if you choose wrong?
- You can’t relax, even when everything seems fine.
- You hold yourself to impossible standards, trying to avoid regret or failure.
Therapy isn’t about forcing yourself to “think differently.” It’s about understanding why anxiety clings to control—and how deeper fears, old expectations, or early experiences may be shaping these patterns. When we explore these roots, anxiety loses some of its grip, and you can begin to trust yourself more fully.
Therapy isn’t about silencing your thoughts—it’s about learning to hear them differently.
When Anxiety Feels Like Too Much, Too Fast, Too Close
Some kinds of anxiety don’t live in thoughts—they live in the body. A racing heart, a tight chest, a poor night’s sleep, or a sudden sense of urgency or dread. Maybe it builds slowly, or maybe it hits all at once, leaving you feeling overwhelmed and exposed.
- Anxiety hits before you can make sense of it—your body reacts first.
- Some situations feel unpredictable, high-stakes, or hard to escape.
- Avoidance becomes a coping strategy—pulling back feels safer.
- Emotions, sensations, or fears feel overwhelming and hard to explain.
Therapy offers space to make sense of these reactions, not just manage them. Often, these feelings aren’t random—they have roots. Together, we explore why certain situations feel threatening, how past experiences shape present fears, and what it means to create a sense of safety from within.
If your anxiety feels overwhelming, you don’t have to face it alone
Is Medication the Right Choice for You?
Medication can be an important tool in managing anxiety, but it’s not a decision to rush. If you’re wondering whether medication might be right for you—or whether the one you’re taking is the best fit—we can take the time to explore this carefully.
In therapy, we consider medication within the broader context of your emotional world, rather than seeing it as a quick fix. If we work together in therapy, this is part of our process. If you’re seeing another therapist and want a consultation.
How Can I Support You?
I know how exhausting it is to always be anticipating, analyzing, or bracing for what’s next.
Our work together offers more than just relief from symptoms—it creates the possibility for real change, where anxiety no longer dictates your every move.
Together, we’ll explore not just why anxiety feels so inescapable, but what it needs. Sometimes, anxiety is tangled with deeper fears, past experiences, or long-held ways of protecting yourself. As we make sense of these patterns, you may find that the grip of anxiety begins to loosen—not because you’re forcing it away, but because you’re no longer holding it alone.
If you’re ready to take the next step, I’d love to talk. Let’s explore whether this approach feels right for you.
Frequently Asked Questions
Anxiety isn’t just about excessive worry—it’s often rooted in deeper emotional patterns. Therapy helps you recognize what’s fueling your anxiety, rather than just managing symptoms. A psychoanalytic approach explores how past experiences, unconscious fears, and internal conflicts shape your anxiety, allowing for lasting change rather than short-term relief.
Chronic anxiety isn’t just about stress—it often has deeper emotional roots. You may have learned, early on, that the world is unpredictable or that being “on guard” kept you safe in some way. Therapy can help uncover these unconscious patterns, making space for a new way of relating to yourself and your emotions.
Overthinking often isn’t just a bad habit—it’s a way your mind tries to create a sense of control. Therapy helps you explore why your mind holds onto these patterns, what it might be trying to protect you from, and how to develop a different relationship with uncertainty.
Short-term approaches focus on managing symptoms—like breathing exercises, thought reframing, or mindfulness. While these can help, deeper therapy works to understand why anxiety is there in the first place. Psychoanalytic therapy helps you uncover the unconscious fears and experiences driving your anxiety, so it doesn’t have to keep running your life.
Everyone’s process is different. Some people start to feel shifts within a few months, while others engage in longer-term therapy to fully understand and transform lifelong patterns. The goal isn’t just symptom relief, but lasting emotional freedom.
Medication can be helpful for some, but it’s not the only path. In therapy, we take the time to explore whether medication feels right for you, rather than rushing the decision. If you’re already on medication and wondering if it’s the right fit, we can explore that, too. Read more about my approach to medication here.
