Después de la terapia, mi ansiedad desaparece por completo.

After therapy, my anxiety disappears completely.

Breakdown of Después de la terapia, mi ansiedad desaparece por completo.

• mi: my
• después de: after
• la ansiedad: the anxiety
• desaparecer: to disappear
• la terapia: the therapy
• por completo: completely

Questions & Answers about Después de la terapia, mi ansiedad desaparece por completo.

Why do we say después de and not just después before la terapia?

Después alone is an adverb (“afterwards”).
When you say after something, Spanish needs después de + noun/verb.

• Después de la terapia = after the therapy
• Después comemos = afterwards, we eat (no noun after después, so no de)

So:

• ❌ Después la terapia…
• ✅ Después de la terapia…

Why is it después de la terapia and not just después de terapia, like English “after therapy”?

English often drops the article: “after school”, “after work”, “after therapy”.
Spanish usually keeps the article with nouns like this.

• Después de la terapia ≈ “after (the) therapy / after therapy”
• Después de la escuela ≈ “after school”

You can sometimes hear después de terapia in very colloquial speech, especially if “therapy” is more like “therapy in general”, but the natural, neutral choice here is después de la terapia, especially if you mean “after my therapy session” or “after therapy (as a process I’m doing)”.

Why is there a comma after Después de la terapia?

A time expression placed at the beginning of the sentence is usually followed by a comma:

• Después de la terapia, mi ansiedad desaparece por completo.
• Por la mañana, estudio español.

You could technically omit the comma in some informal writing, but the standard, clear way is to include it after that introductory phrase.

Why is it mi ansiedad and not la ansiedad here?

Mi ansiedad means my anxiety—your personal, specific anxiety.

• mi ansiedad = the anxiety that I have
• la ansiedad = (in many contexts) “anxiety” in a more general sense, as a condition or concept

In this sentence, you’re clearly talking about what happens to your anxiety when you finish therapy, so mi ansiedad is the natural choice.

Compare:

• Mi ansiedad desaparece por completo. = My anxiety disappears completely.
• La ansiedad puede ser debilitante. = Anxiety can be debilitating. (general statement)

Why is ansiedad feminine?

In Spanish, every noun has a grammatical gender. Ansiedad ends in -dad, and nouns ending in -dad are almost always feminine:

• la ciudad
• la libertad
• la enfermedad
• la ansiedad

So we say:

• la ansiedad
• mi ansiedad
• esta ansiedad

And any adjective would also be feminine:

• mi ansiedad constante
• mi ansiedad terrible

Why is the verb in the simple present (desaparece) instead of something like a future or progressive tense?

In Spanish, the simple present is often used to talk about:

1. Habits or regular effects
2. General truths

Here, mi ansiedad desaparece por completo suggests this is what normally or reliably happens after therapy.

• Después de la terapia, mi ansiedad desaparece por completo.
  = After therapy, my anxiety (normally) goes away completely.

You could say:

• Después de la terapia, mi ansiedad está desapareciendo.
  but that would emphasize an ongoing process right now, not a usual effect.

So the simple present desaparece is the most natural for “this is what happens every time / usually”.

Can I say desaparece completamente instead of desaparece por completo? What’s the difference?

Yes, you can say both:

• mi ansiedad desaparece por completo
• mi ansiedad desaparece completamente

Both mean “my anxiety disappears completely.”

Por completo is a fixed expression that feels very natural and common.
Completamente is a standard adverb; it’s also perfectly correct.

Nuance:

• por completo: very idiomatic, often slightly more emphatic in speech.
• completamente: a bit more “neutral” sounding.

You could also hear:

• mi ansiedad desaparece totalmente
• mi ansiedad desaparece por completo después de la terapia (emphasis at the end)

What exactly does por completo mean, and why is the preposition por used here?

Por completo is an idiomatic phrase meaning “completely / entirely / totally.”
Literally it’s something like “by/for completeness”, but you shouldn’t translate it word-for-word.

Think of por completo as a set chunk you can use like an adverb:

• Se olvidó por completo. = He/She completely forgot.
• Cambió por completo. = It changed completely.
• Mi ansiedad desaparece por completo. = My anxiety disappears completely.

You don’t replace por with a different preposition; por completo works as a unit.

Could I say Mi ansiedad desaparece por completo después de la terapia instead? Is the word order important?

Yes, you can absolutely say:

• Mi ansiedad desaparece por completo después de la terapia.

Both orders are correct:

1. Después de la terapia, mi ansiedad desaparece por completo.
2. Mi ansiedad desaparece por completo después de la terapia.

The difference is emphasis:

• Starting with Después de la terapia emphasizes the time: After therapy… (this is what happens).
• Starting with Mi ansiedad emphasizes the subject: My anxiety… (this is what happens after therapy).

Grammatically, both are fine and natural.

What’s the difference between desaparecer and expressions like se me va la ansiedad?

Both can describe anxiety going away, but the tone and nuance differ:

• Mi ansiedad desaparece por completo.
  More neutral/formal, almost like describing a symptom: My anxiety disappears completely.

• Se me va la ansiedad (después de la terapia).
  Very colloquial/spoken. Literally: The anxiety goes away from me / My anxiety goes away.
  It sounds more like everyday speech.

Both are correct in Latin American Spanish; desaparece is a bit more “standard/neutral,” while se me va is more conversational.