How to Reclaim Hope and Gently Heal Shame with Anxiety Therapy in Portland
Finding a moment of calm can be the beginning of healing. Anxiety therapy in Portland offers an opportunity to reconnect with hope and soften shame.
Anxiety therapy in Portland can help when life feels smaller and tighter than you ever wanted it to be. For many people, that tightness comes from anxiety tangled up with something quieter but just as powerful: the heavy, hidden weight of shame. When these two join forces, they can keep you stuck in loops of overthinking, self-doubt, and isolation.
If that feels familiar, you’re not alone. You may feel like you’ve been carrying something invisible for years, trying to hold everything together while wondering why it all feels so hard. And yet, if you’ve found yourself reading this, there’s already a small part of you (maybe even one you don’t fully trust yet) that imagines something different. That spark matters.
The Quiet, Binding Weight of Shame
Many of us who’ve learned to carry the weight of shame throughout the years don’t always recognize it as a feeling. Most of the time it shows up in familiar experiences: as the voice that says “don’t let them see this part of you,” as a prickly discomfort that pulls you out of the moment, or as that subtle tightening in your chest that happens just before you speak. It makes life feel smaller and quieter, as though there’s an invisible rope cinched around you, keeping you in place and making it harder to move toward the things you care about. And the more you try to outwork or outrun it, the more it seems to tighten.
For those of us in the LGBTQ+ community, this can be especially true. Shame may have grown in those moments when you had to scan the room before showing who you were, where it felt safer to shrink than to risk being fully seen. After years of that pattern, it can feel like a straightjacket made out of some strong but unclear expectations, and those expectations have a familiar hold whether or not they align with your beliefs and values. Even if you’ve never called it “shame,” it’s easy to know the feeling of constantly holding yourself back because being yourself hasn’t always felt safe
When Anxiety and Shame Get Tangled
On their own, anxiety and shame are heavy. When they come together, they can feel relentless. Shame tells you to hide, to be small, to avoid making mistakes because if you are seen, something will surely go wrong. Anxiety, right on its heels, tells you to prepare for everything, to imagine every scenario where you fail or get it wrong. Together, they create an exhausting cycle that can keep you on edge even in the most ordinary moments.
That cycle can be so familiar you barely notice it anymore. Maybe you find yourself replaying conversations for hours afterward, worrying over a single word. Maybe you second-guess decisions so many times that it’s easier to make none at all. Even good moments feel out of reach, as if a glass wall separates you from everyone else. These patterns can come from all kinds of experiences: trauma, repeated rejection, family dynamics that made love feel conditional, or the slow drip of messages from the world that said “be someone different.” While those protective patterns may have helped you survive in the past, after a while they begin to feel like a cage.
What Anxiety Counseling in Portland Can Offer
Therapy is not about erasing anxiety or shame (these are emotions, not defects). It is about loosening the hold they have on your life. In psychotherapy in Portland, the first step is simply creating an experience together where you don’t have to pretend or perform. That in itself can feel new; the chance to let your guard down (slowly) and notice what happens when you are not bracing for judgment.
Once we have that safety, we slow things down. We begin to see what’s underneath the loops you’ve been caught in: the beliefs about yourself that shaped them, the moments that taught your body to brace for impact, and the self-criticism that tries to keep you in line. These patterns are not who you are. They are ways you’ve learned to protect yourself.
Naming these patterns with someone who understands can be powerful. The tangle that felt so overwhelming begins to have some room to breathe, and in that space, there is room to try something different. You start to notice when your mind jumps to criticism, and you begin to experiment with curiosity instead. You notice the moments when shame urges you to disappear, and you try, little by little, to stay present. Over time, those new ways of meeting yourself start to feel more natural. Slowly, what felt like an unbreakable knot begins to loosen.
How Therapy Helps You Reclaim Hope
As this work unfolds, many people begin to see themselves through a softer lens. The constant spinning of anxious thoughts begins to quiet just enough that you can hear your own voice again. You notice that you have choices about how to respond, and the voice of self-criticism that once drowned out everything else starts to lose its volume. That shift often surprises people. This is not about “thinking positive” or ignoring hard things, it’s about discovering that you are more than the story anxiety and shame have been telling about you.
For LGBTQ+ clients, there is often a special relief in realizing that so much of that story never belonged to them in the first place. Therapy becomes a space to untangle from years of trying to be what others demanded and to experience what it’s like to be fully met and understood. For other clients, the relief comes in realizing they don’t have to hold everything alone anymore. In both cases, hope begins to take root in the simple but radical belief that there could be another way forward.
Therapy That Honors All of Who You Are
Part of why this work matters to me is because shame is so often about the parts of you that never had a safe place to be. That is why therapy must be a space where your full self is welcome. You don’t have to hide, perform, or explain yourself to exhaustion. We work with all of it…the anxiety that makes life feel small, the inner critic that never lets up, and the fear that if you are fully seen you will be judged or left behind. Together, we move at a pace that feels safe, with curiosity instead of the pressure to arrive at an exact location.
What This Work Can Look Like
For many clients, the first shift happens in the session itself. Simply being heard without being criticized can be a revelation. From there, therapy begins to gently explore how these patterns developed and how they show up today. We work with that inner critic, not to banish it, but to understand why it’s been so loud and what it has to say beyond the story. We slow down the spirals of thought so you can see them coming and make different choices. Little by little, the binds begin to loosen, and in their place, there is opportunity for more self-compassion. It doesn’t happen overnight, but the steady pace of this work creates a foundation where something new becomes possible.
It’s easy to underestimate how much courage it takes to even consider therapy, especially if shame has been part of your story. Taking a step toward support can feel big, sometimes bigger than anyone around you realizes.
Finding the Courage to Reach Out
Meet Eric Goodwin: Portland therapist offering supportive, LGBTQ+ affirming anxiety therapy that helps you understand shame and choose a new path forward.
If you’ve been carrying all of this alone, reaching out for anxiety therapy in Portland can feel like opening a door you’ve been leaning against for a long time. That moment matters. It can be the first time you give yourself permission to not do it all alone.
Working with a Portland therapist can be a turning point. The right connection can help you feel less alone, more understood, and more capable of navigating whatever comes next. If you’re ready, I’d love to meet you and hear more about what you’re looking for.
I offer psychotherapy in Portland for anxiety, LGBTQ+ affirming care, and mindfulness-based self-compassion. If you’re curious what that might feel like, I offer a free 15-minute phone consultation so we can talk about what you’re looking for and whether working together feels right.
Call me at (971) 533-5590 or click here to schedule your consultation. You don’t have to carry this alone. Even a single conversation can be the beginning of loosening those invisible binds and feeling hope again.
Frequently Asked Questions About Starting Anxiety Therapy in Portland
Many people come to me with questions about what it’s like to begin therapy, especially when anxiety and shame have been part of their lives for a long time. These are some of the most common:
What if I’ve never been to therapy before? Will I have to share everything right away?
Not at all. In the beginning, you get to set the pace. The first sessions are about building a sense of safety and understanding what’s going on for you. You only share what feels manageable, and we go from there.
I’m not sure I even know what “shame” feels like. Can therapy help me figure that out?
Absolutely. Many people don’t call it “shame.” They just know that something inside keeps them from speaking up or showing up the way they want to. Therapy helps you get curious about those patterns so you can understand what’s happening beneath them. Naming it often brings relief because it means it’s not just you; there’s a reason it feels this way.
Do you work with LGBTQ+ clients?
Yes. A large part of my practice is with LGBTQ+ clients, I identify as Queer myself, and therapy is an experience where you don’t have to hide or over-explain who you are. We can talk about how past experiences of rejection or pressure have shaped you and begin to make room for healing.
Do you offer online therapy across Oregon?
Yes. I see clients online throughout Oregon as well as in-person in Portland. Online therapy can be especially helpful if it feels overwhelming to add one more thing to your schedule or if you live outside the city.
How do I know if therapy will be different this time?
That’s such an important question. Many people who start therapy with me have tried before and felt stuck. The way that I work with you, we will regularly be checking in to discuss what your experience is like, what changes you’re noticing, and what does or does not feel supportive in our work together and making changes as we need. It’s okay to try again. Every therapist is different, and the process can be different too.