Susette Jarvis

When Anxiety is Hiding Something Deeper

Woman overwhelmed by anxiety, with emotional keywords in the background, symbolising hidden trauma, grief, and inner child wounds.

Recognising Trauma, Grief, or Inner Child Wounds Beneath Chronic Anxiety



Anxiety can be overwhelming. It can show up suddenly, without warning — racing heart, tight chest, spiralling thoughts, and often, we’re left wondering...

“Why do I feel this way? Nothing’s even happened.”

The truth is, anxiety isn’t always about what’s happening right now.

Sometimes, anxiety is a messenger. a protector. A loud signal from something deeper within you that hasn’t yet healed.

🔍 What’s Really Beneath the Anxiety?

Chronic anxiety often points to unresolved emotional pain. It’s like the body and mind saying, “I’m not safe,” even when there’s no threat in the present moment.

So what could anxiety be hiding?

💔 1. Unhealed Grief

Grief doesn’t only come from losing a loved one. We also grieve:

  • A childhood we never got to fully experience

  • Friendships that faded

  • The version of ourselves we had to let go of to survive

  • Lost opportunities or unmet needs

When grief is suppressed or unspoken, it sits in the heart.

It may show up as sadness, fatigue, numbness — or anxiety.

🌪 2. Stored Trauma

Not all trauma is extreme or obvious. Trauma is anything that felt overwhelming and left a mark on your nervous system. This can include:

  • Emotional neglect

  • Feeling constantly criticised

  • Growing up with unpredictable or controlling caregivers

  • Being bullied, shamed, or silenced

These experiences can leave us in a long-term state of hypervigilance — our system always scanning for danger. This can turn into anxiety that never quite goes away.

👧 3. Wounded Inner Child

Your inner child is the part of you that still holds onto early beliefs, fears, and memories. When your younger self didn’t feel safe, seen, or loved, you learned to cope in ways that helped you survive — but might now be keeping you stuck.

Some signs of a wounded inner child:

  • Struggling with people-pleasing or perfectionism

  • Fearing rejection or abandonment

  • Feeling “not good enough” no matter what you achieve

  • Difficulty trusting yourself or others

These patterns are not flaws — they’re coping mechanisms developed at a time when you were too young to understand what you truly needed.

🕯 Anxiety as the Alarm Bell

Anxiety often rises when your wounded parts are triggered. It might not always make logical sense — but emotionally, something has been stirred.

The inner child remembers what the adult brain has forgotten.

🧘‍♀️ How Do You Begin Healing When Anxiety is Hiding Something Deeper ?

When Anxiety is Hiding Something Deeper, your healing begins when you realise that your anxiety is not the enemy — it’s a signal that a younger part of you still needs care, attention, and safety.

Here’s how you can start:

1. 🌱 Acknowledge the Deeper Feeling

Next time you feel anxious, pause and gently ask:

“What part of me feels unsafe right now?”

“Is this anxiety trying to protect me from an old pain?”

You might be surprised at the answers that arise when you sit with the feeling, rather than fight it.

2. ✍️ Journal to Explore the Root

Some gentle prompts:

  • When was the first time I remember feeling this way?

  • What did I need back then that I didn’t receive?

  • Is this feeling from now… or from my past?

Writing can open up insight and healing. Your story matters.

3. 🤲 Reconnect with Your Inner Child

Visualise your younger self. Place your hand on your heart and say:

“You are safe now. I see you. I love you.”

These words can have a powerful effect when spoken regularly with intention and care.

4. 🌀 Use Holistic Tools to Soothe the Body

Since trauma and inner child wounds live in the body, healing must also involve the body. You can begin with:

  • Gentle breathwork

  • EFT tapping

  • Guided meditations

  • Hypnotherapy

  • Subconscious reprogramming

These are all methods I teach in my courses and use in my 1:1 healing sessions.

You can get the complete online course HERE

💖 Ready to Begin Healing Your Inner Child?

If this blog has stirred something within you —If you know there’s a younger part of you still hurting or hiding…

I invite you to begin your healing journey with my heartfelt eBook:

📘 Healing the Inner Child: A Journey to Emotional Wholeness

Inside, you’ll find:

  • Reflective journaling prompts

  • Guided meditations

  • Practical healing exercises

  • Gentle tools to reconnect with your inner child

  • And a compassionate path back to peace

✨ This is the work that changed my life. Now, I offer it to you.

👉 Download the eBook here

🌼 Final Thoughts

Anxiety is not a weakness. It’s often a whisper from the past, asking to be seen and healed.

You don’t have to stay stuck in fear. You can gently unravel the roots… and come home to yourself.

With love and light,

Susette Jarvis Holistic Healing | Inner Child Work | Anxiety Support

📧 susette@susette-holistichealing.com

SUSETTE JARVIS

DipCHP/DipC

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