Anxiety from Within: A Cognitive-Phenomenological Study

Anxiety is one of the most common mental disorders, yet current approaches (psychoanalytic, cognitive-behavioural, biomedical, etc.) have failed to provide a comprehensive theory of the phenomenon or effective methods of treatment. Previous studies on a variety of pathologies (schizophrenia, post-trauma, depersonalization, etc.) have shown that taking a cognitive-phenomenological approach, which focuses on the pre-reflective experience and especially on its bodily aspects, may significantly improve our ability to understand a range of pathologies. The present study offers a cognitive-phenomenological analysis of an excerpt selected from the personal diary of a woman coping with anxiety. We hope that this modest study will contribute to a better understanding of anxiety disorders and perhaps even suggest new theoretical and therapeutic trajectories.