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Anxiety is one of the most common mental health issues in the world. Almost everyone has experienced some form of anxiety at some point throughout their lives, but is anxiety bad for you?
On the surface, the obvious answer is yes. Anxiety can be debilitating, and it can cause panic attacks, insomnia, depression, and even physical symptoms like heart palpitations or chest pain. However, the complex answer isn’t as clear-cut as you may hope. Anxiety is a natural instinct, designed to protect us, and believe it or not, there are times when anxiety can be good for you.
So, how can you tell the difference? In this post I’ll cover:
- What anxiety is.
- Ways anxiety is bad for you.
- When anxiety can be good.
- And tips for managing it.
Keep in mind, this article is simply personal advice from someone who’s been successful with managing anxiety. If you suffer from chronic stress, you should seek professional help.
What is Anxiety?
Anxiety is your brain’s natural response to danger. It is a signal that our brain sends to the rest of the body to prepare for a potential threat. It’s like a smoke detector: if you see or smell smoke, it will alarm you and make sure you evacuate the building as fast as possible.
To understand what anxiety’s evolutionary function was originally intended for, we must think back to the dawn of the human species. In his book, “The Happiness Trap,” world-renowned psychologist Dr. Russ Harris explains how the primitive mind works.
“The number one priority of the primitive human mind was to look out for anything that might harm you and avoid it! In essence, the primitive mind was a ‘Don’t get killed’ device, and it proved enormously useful.”
(I highly recommend the book it will change your life.)
Though our civilization has evolved, anxiety still exists because our brains haven’t caught up.
Is Anxiety Bad For You?
If anxiety is always present in your life and you’re never able to cope with it in a healthy way, then it will start to take a toll on your mental and physical health. When we’re constantly anxious, we exhaust our bodies and minds. Additionally, too much anxiety can lead to troubling symptoms such as:
- Poor sleep
- Bad eating habits
- Fatigue
- Irritability
- Increased worry
- Difficulty concentrating
- And more
Over time, these symptoms can cause us serious problems like panic attacks and heart disease.
Anxiety can also be bad for you when it’s too specific. For example, if someone is only anxious about one thing like public speaking, then they may have trouble advancing their career. Or, if a person has social anxiety, then something as simple as going out to buy a gallon of milk could be a significant challenge.
When anxiety impedes your life and prevents you from reaching your goals then you need to seek professional help. If you want to learn about the best types of therapy for anxiety, then check out the linked post.
When is Anxiety Good for You?
Believe it or not, there are a few ways that anxiety can be good for you.
Anxiety is an instinct that’s designed to protect us, and there are many instances where it does exactly what it’s intended to do. For example, I recently found myself quite anxious about current events like severe storms, supply chain issues, and hospitals being overwhelmed. If COVID-19 has taught me anything it’s that the infrastructure we’ve become so reliant upon is more fragile than we realize. My head was filled with worry about what would happen if any of these issues became severe. I was completely unprepared.
At the time, this type of anxiety was bad because it was causing me a lot of stress. However, it was trying to tell me something important. It was telling me that I needed to be better prepared. My therapist helped me figure this out by asking me to write down my list of worries and what I could do about each one. This helped me make a plan to become better prepared, and as for the worries I had no control over, writing them down helped me let go of them.
Another example of helpful anxiety is when it prepares us for high-stress situations like giving a presentation. Our brain may give us some warning signs prompting us to take the necessary steps before anything bad happens; like practicing our speech or taking deep breaths before getting up on stage.
One other way anxiety can be good for you is with “good stress.” Good stress can help activate your body’s fight or flight response and prepare you for success. This type of stress comes from things like exercise and competition which raise levels of adrenaline and cortisol to boost energy and sharpen reflexes.
How to Manage Your Anxiety
Managing anxiety can be tricky. There are hundreds of books, thousands of medical professionals, and many medications dedicated to treating it. So, obviously, I can’t cover it completely in one blog post, but I can offer a little advice.
If you’re feeling anxious, it’s important to know when anxiety is good for you and when it can be bad for you. The key is to understand your anxiety and what triggers it. Like I shared in my personal example, writing down your worries can help you figure this out.
You also need to decide what is most important to you, overcoming anxiety or easing its affect on you.
How to Effectively Overcome Anxiety
In my experience, the only way I was able to get past my anxiety was by brute-forcing it. Brute force is a cybersecurity term that refers to using trial-and-error to guess login info, encryption keys, or find a hidden web page. In terms of mental health, when I say brute force, I simply mean I force myself into situations that give me anxiety if they are connected to my core values. For example, being a good dad is a core value of mine. When I signed my son up for soccer his team needed a coach. This caused me a ton of anxiety, but I forced myself to do it. Then I got good at it.
Now my confidence is much higher and when I have anxiety I can move past it much faster. The best part about the whole experience is because I was successful, I even have confidence in attempting other feats that would have previously given me a ton of anxiety.
It’s important to note that brute force is an effective method for conquering anxiety, but easing anxiety is a different practice.
How to Ease Anxiety
Sometimes, when you’re feeling overwhelmed, you simply need a way to calm your anxiety so you can find some peace. Fortunately, there are many ways to ease anxiety. Regular exercise, mindfulness with or without meditation, and spending time outside are all great starting points.
To really keep anxiety at bay it’s important to build stress reducing activities into your daily routine. To help you get started, read my post, “14 Ways to Ease Anxiety When You’re Overwhelmed.”
At the end of the day, managing anxiety is a personal experience that mental health professionals can help you with.
I wish you the best of luck, and I hope the next time your anxiety creeps in you can easily figure out whether it’s good or bad and take the appropriate action to live a calmer life.
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