The Doing Well Newsletter | Vol. 14

by Jesse Katches

Does Your Anxiety Cause You Pain?

have you ever burned your hand on a stove, quickly pulled back from the heat, and then mentally noted not to do it again in the future?

that’s because pain is information that tells us something isn’t right, and i want to tell you why i believe anxiety is one of the most essential types of pain we can feel. but let me share a bit of background first.

staying active and healthy has always been a big part of my life and at one point in my fitness journey i took up crossfit. i enjoyed the community but being competitive as i am, during the workouts, i always tried to push myself to do more. more reps, more weight, faster times, etc.

but the thing about crossfit - it’s the allure of the competitive environment that ultimately spells injury for many of its participants. including me.

fortunately, my injury was nothing major, but with each passing workout, i further developed a shoulder pain that would ultimately force me to avoid certain exercises.

but lucky for me - i felt the pain.

now, i don’t derive pleasure from pain, but i know that where there’s a painful symptom, there’s a source of the pain that needs to be addressed. and this is no different with anxiety.

it’s so easy to hate anxiety because of the physical and psychological pain it causes, but like all pain, anxiety is information. information that tells us something (either from our past or currently ongoing) needs to be addressed in order to feel better about our future.

wherever there’s a symptom, there’s a source.

one way we can dive into the source of our anxiety is to take note of when it began and how it continues to show up in our life. from there we may be able to uncover the connection between the two and see why we continue to experience the anxiety that we do.

of course, none of this is medical advice and i truly believe that therapy and/or treatment from a certified medical professional are both terrific options for improving anxiety, but if you’re searching for something more, something you can do yourself to overcome your anxiety and panic, to go from feeling trapped to feeling free, i want to let you know (on the down-low ) that i’ve been working on a course and i’m so excited to share it with you .

i’ve been putting my heart and soul into this course because i want to pack in as much value as possible and show you what’s helped me go from waking up each day exhausted by my anxiety to now waking up excited about the person i’m becoming.

i’ll be sending more updates as we get closer to the launch (late OCT)! but in the meantime, if you could reply back to this email with a “heck ya.” ill make a note that you’re interested in going deeper and i may just send you a little extra special something as well .

now go have a wonderful and safe weekend, and as always - i love you and i’m here for you if you need me .

Jesse