Have you ever found yourself saying:

“I know exactly why I feel this way.”

Maybe you’ve identified the childhood experience that contributed to your anxiety. Perhaps you’ve spent hours reflecting on a relationship pattern or researching the psychology behind your emotional responses.

Insight can be incredibly valuable. Understanding ourselves helps us make sense of our experiences and can often be an important part of the therapeutic process.

But there’s a common challenge I see in my work as a somatic based therapist: many people are highly skilled at thinking about their emotions, yet struggle to actually feel them.

Have you ever noticed how quickly a thought can start to feel like a fact?

One intrusive thought — What if something bad happens?, What if I made a mistake?, What if I’m a bad person? — can spiral into hours of anxiety, reassurance-seeking, overthinking, or compulsive behaviors. And if you’re someone who struggles with anxiety or OCD, you know this experience all too well.

One skill I teach my clients who struggle in this way is something called cognitive defusion.