Beyond Relaxation: The Science of Healing Chronic Anxiety with Brainspotting
I used to believe that if I just meditated long enough, breathed deeply often enough, or got the “right” number of hours of sleep, I could outrun anxiety. But over time, I realized: my nervous system was still on high alert, even when I seemed relaxed on the outside. The racing heart, the restlessness, the nights when thoughts kept circling.
For many high achievers, anxiety is seen as a motivator—a constant edge that keeps them sharp. When the tension rises, the common advice is to “relax,” breathe deeper, or take a vacation. While these tools may provide temporary relief, they don’t address the neurological roots of chronic anxiety.
Emerging research in neuroscience shows that anxiety is less about surface-level stress and more about how unresolved experiences are stored in the brain and body. This is where Brainspotting offers a new path forward.
The Brain on Anxiety
Anxiety isn’t just a feeling—it’s a physiological state driven by the brain’s survival circuits.
Think of anxiety like a smoke alarm that doesn’t know when there’s only steam from the shower. The brain’s alarm systems (the amygdala, nervous wiring) get triggered by echoes of old experiences, unresolved stress, or patterns lodged in our neural wiring.
Even when we “should” feel safe, the body might still be living in alert mode—muscles tense, heart ready to bolt, mind anticipating threat.
Relaxation techniques, the kind many of us try first (breathing, yoga, meditation), help with surface calm. They’re like silencing the smoke alarm temporarily—but they don’t always stop the wires from sending false signals in the first place.
Why Relaxation Falls Short
Relaxation exercises are valuable, but they operate at the cognitive level—training the prefrontal cortex to regulate stress. Chronic anxiety, however, is often lodged deeper in the midbrain, where survival responses live. These are automatic processes that talking, reasoning, or even deep breathing can’t always reach.
It’s why so many high performers report: “I know I should feel calm, but my body just won’t let me.”
Brainspotting: A Deeper Path to Healing
Brainspotting works by identifying eye positions—“brainspots”—that connect to unprocessed memories and emotional experiences. By holding focused attention on these spots while staying present with body sensations, the brain naturally processes and releases stuck survival responses.
Instead of layering new coping strategies over anxiety, Brainspotting allows the nervous system to reset, it asks less “how can we relax right now?” and more “where is the system stuck? What memory, experience, or feeling hasn’t been fully processed?”
The result isn’t just momentary calm—it’s a shift in how the brain responds to stress altogether.
Through focused attention on “brainspots” (locations in the field of vision tied to internal experience), clients can allow implicit memories and nervous system patterns to emerge and resolve. It’s less about forcing calm and more about allowing release.
Real-World Impact
Athletes, entrepreneurs, and leaders often describe the difference as moving from “fighting against anxiety” to “feeling free to perform.” Their bodies no longer default to hypervigilance.
I’ve seen clients who said “I meditate every day, but I still feel wired.” Over time, with Brainspotting, they begin to notice:
Their body isn’t holding tension behind the shoulders or in the jaw as often.
The racing mind quiets, not because they try harder, but because the brain stops sending alarm signals.
Moments of flow start showing up—tasks that used to feel exhausting become more natural.
What You Can Try Now
You don’t have to wait for therapy to start paying attention to what’s beneath your anxiety. A few invitations:
Notice where in your body anxiety lives—jaw, chest, stomach, etc.—and allow gentle awareness there.
When you feel anxious, pause and ask: “What story or memory might be connected to this feeling?”
Keep a small log of moments when you feel safe vs when you feel triggered. Patterns often emerge.
These practices don’t replace deeper healing work, but they help you begin to see the hidden wiring.
We’ve been sold the idea that stress, anxiety = motivation. Sometimes that’s true in the short term. But over the long haul, relying on anxiety is like running a sports car in first gear—it wastes energy.
True performance doesn’t come from pushing anxiety into your engine—it comes from clearing the blockages so the engine can run smoothly. Brainspotting helps with that clearing.