A Pathway to Healing and Resilience
Anxiety Therapy in Santa Monica – Margaret Sigel, LMFT
Living With Constant Worry and Restlessness
From the outside, you may look like you’re doing fine. You show up for work, take care of responsibilities, and manage to hold things together. Friends and colleagues might even describe you as capable and reliable.
Inside, it feels different. Your mind rarely quiets. You lie awake at night replaying conversations, planning tomorrow’s tasks, or worrying about things that may never happen. Even when you accomplish something important, the relief fades quickly and the pressure to do more takes over.
Many thoughtful, responsible people carry anxiety quietly. You may appear strong to others, yet inside you feel restless, pressured, and drained.
Therapy can offer a place to pause. A space where you can put down what you’ve been carrying and learn to move through life with more calm, clarity, and ease.
Why Anxiety Feels So Overwhelming
Anxiety is more than worry. It is a whole-body experience. When your nervous system gets stuck in high alert, even ordinary stress can feel unmanageable.
You may notice:
Racing thoughts that won’t stop, even when you’re tired
Tension in your chest, headaches, or a knot in your stomach
Irritability with your partner, children, or coworkers
Trouble focusing on tasks, reading, or creative projects
Feeling like you should be able to do more, even though you’re already stretched thin
Living this way is exhausting. Anxiety drains your energy, focus, and joy.
How Anxiety Therapy Can Help
Therapy provides a steady, supportive place where you don’t have to hold everything together. Instead of pushing harder, we create space to slow down and reconnect with yourself.
In therapy, we pay attention not just to your thoughts but also to how stress shows up in your body — a racing heart, tight shoulders, shallow breath. We also look at patterns in your relationships and the deeper stories that shape how you see yourself.
Through this process, you can:
Calm your mind and body when you feel on edge
Shift cycles of perfectionism and self-criticism
Improve sleep, focus, and energy
Feel steadier in relationships, with less reactivity
Reconnect with creativity, curiosity, and meaning
Create more balance in your daily life
Together we’ll create a supportive space where you can feel understood and begin moving toward greater balance, clarity, and connection.
Curious if therapy could help? Reach out today
What to Expect in Sessions
You don’t need to prepare for therapy. Our sessions will move at your pace, guided by what feels most important to you.
Together, we may:
Talk through stressors and relationship patterns that leave you feeling stuck
Notice physical signs of stress such as shallow breathing or a clenched jaw, and practice ways to release them
Explore new perspectives and tools that you can carry into your daily life
Many clients describe therapy as a relief. Over time, you may find yourself less reactive, more grounded, and more present in your relationships, work, and creative life.
Frequently Asked Questions
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It depends on your needs and goals. Some clients notice changes within a few weeks, while others choose longer-term therapy to shift deeper patterns.
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This approach is different. By addressing both the mind and body, we can work with anxiety where it lives instead of only talking about symptoms. Many people who didn’t find relief in traditional therapy discover new possibilities here.
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This is a common concern. Anxiety and hypervigilance can feel like they keep you alert and productive. But they often come at a cost: exhaustion, trouble sleeping, irritability, and difficulty being fully present. Therapy doesn’t take away your motivation or focus. Instead, it helps you harness your energy in steadier ways so you can continue to excel without burning out.
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Yes. Parenting and caregiving can intensify anxiety, especially when you’re balancing work, family, and relationships. Therapy provides space to reset and learn ways to feel more grounded and supported.
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Yes. Everything you share is private, with a few legal exceptions related to safety. Many clients say confidentiality makes therapy a safe space to be fully honest.
Moving Toward Calm and Ease
Anxiety doesn’t have to run your life. With the right support, you can feel calmer, more focused, and more connected in your work, relationships, and daily life.
You’ve carried this weight long enough. Now is the time to feel more at home in yourself.