Learning to name anxiety can open up new ways of understanding and relating to it. This is work I support in therapy with teens and adults at Harbor Light Mental Health in Bellingham, Seattle, and throughout Washington State via secure telehealth.
The Power of Naming in Ursula Le Guin’s Earthsea
Often, fiction mirrors reality. Few examples seem more evident to me than Ursula Le Guin’s Earthsea series. This is particularly true when it comes to mental health—and especially in relation to anxiety and OCD.
In her famed fantasy world, Le Guin describes wizards whose task is to protect and preserve the balance of the world. Their magic is mysterious, yes, but also surprisingly straightforward. It reminds me a bit of Sherlock Holmes explaining a case to Watson: once the explanation is laid out, it feels almost elementary.
In Earthsea, a wizard’s power is rooted in their ability to know and speak the true names of things—using Old Speech, the language of creation. To name something accurately is to know it. By naming it, a wizard comes to recognize it, learn about it, understand it, relate to it, and, at times, influence it. In its purest form, this knowledge doesn’t grant power for domination or control, but instead for care, responsibility, and restraint. As such, naming allows the wizard to move from a place of being subjected to the world to a place of intentionally living within it, with the possibility of doing real good.
So what do wizards and naming have to do with mental health—especially anxiety and OCD? Quite a lot, actually.
How Anxiety and OCD Take Control When Unnamed
Anxiety and OCD often operate in the background, unchecked and unnamed. They quietly take the wheel, driving us around without our knowing. They influence what we do, how we feel, what we say to ourselves, and how we relate to others. Many times, instead of doing the things we value—the things that are important to us—we end up doing what our fears and doubts demand, without even realizing it.
When anxiety and obsessions show up without being named, they can cause us to spiral. A vague sense of unease turns into worry, which turns into uncertainty, which turns into avoidance or compulsive behavior. Before we know it, we’re no longer acting in line with what matters to us—we’re reacting to fear.
But like the wizards of Earthsea, our “magic” begins with naming. The moment we can recognize this spiral or pattern and say, “This is anxiety,” something shifts.
Naming doesn’t make anxiety disappear, but it does change our relationship with it—and, like the wizards of Earthsea, allows us to influence it. Once named, anxiety is no longer an invisible force driving us to places we may or may not want to go. It becomes something we can notice, understand, and respond to more intentionally. Moreover, we can begin to sit with it—and even learn from it.
For some, the idea of naming anxiety or getting to know it can seem not just bizarre, but counterintuitive. For example, if I’m feeling anxious, don’t I want to get rid of it, avoid it, or distract myself? Absolutely not. When we fight with anxiety or try to escape it, we often make it stronger. As I’ve mentioned in other blog posts, avoidance and compulsive behaviors tend to give anxiety more power and control, often keeping us from doing the things we truly value or enjoy.
How Naming Anxiety Helps in Anxiety and OCD Therapy
To name anxiety and change our relationship with it, we must first become aware of it. We learn how anxiety shows up for us. This might include how it feels physically (such as feeling sweaty or out of breath), how it talks to us (for example, saying “you aren’t safe”), how it conjures up memories or images (such as recalling times when something bad happened), and how it urges us to behave (“get busy,” “don’t do that”). The more we can recognize these experiences and name them as anxiety, the more we can decide how we want to respond—rather than letting anxiety decide for us.
By doing so, anxiety becomes more familiar, less mysterious, less all-powerful, and perhaps even helpful. And like naming in Earthsea, this kind of knowing doesn’t give us control in a harsh or forceful sense. It gives us clarity, choice, and the ability to act in ways that align with what we value—even when anxiety is present. That’s real magic!
If you’re interested in learning how to better name and relate to anxiety, this is work that can be practiced and supported in therapy. At Harbor Light Mental Health, I provide anxiety and OCD therapy in Bellingham, as well as in Seattle and throughout Washington State via secure telehealth.