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“Chains Weigh Heavy”: Body Mapping Embodied Experiences Of Anxiety, Priya Vaughan Dr, Anna Tewson, Patricia Morgan Dr, Katherine M. Boydell Professor
“Chains Weigh Heavy”: Body Mapping Embodied Experiences Of Anxiety, Priya Vaughan Dr, Anna Tewson, Patricia Morgan Dr, Katherine M. Boydell Professor
The Qualitative Report
Anxiety has both cognitive and somatic dimensions as is ubiquitous at a population level. We report on an arts-based research workshop gathering data on embodied experiences of anxiety and non-anxiety. We developed an innovative short body mapping workshop to collect data and undertook thematic analysis to analyse textual and visual data. 35 body maps were produced. “Tightness,” “pain,” and “heaviness” were the most frequently expressed embodied sensations of anxiety. By contrast, when not feeling anxious, participants’ bodies primarily felt “energetic,” “ordered,” and “open.” Anxiety was most frequently felt in the stomach, head and heart. 35 Participants mostly used an abstracted, …