Anxiety Is Not All Bad; You May Need Help to Understand What It Wants You to See

Anxiety has a bad image, and it rightly should. Anxiety conjures images of a mind spinning out of control, fingers fidgeting, dreading impending doom. That said, it is important to note that anxiety is not always your enemy. It can actually be a useful thing, if we take it as a marker in our lives where we may need to work on or change something. In this article I will dive into how anxiety can serve as an alert and an inner compass to help you gain awareness of your self, your needs and your way to restore more balance in your life. This is where anxiety may not be all that bad and the intention behind why professional help can help shine light on the hidden message anxiety is trying to share more clearly.

Anxiety as a Natural Response

That said, anxiety is a biological fact, one in fact designed to protect us. It’s all part of that ancient mechanism, the “fight or flight” response, which has developed over the millennia in order to help humans survive. When faced with a perceived threat or stressor, the body enters this state, releasing adrenaline and other hormones that prepare us to respond instantly. But much of the anxiety triggers today are psychological — not physical. This anxiety that helped keep us alive is now a disruption to our lives, but it still does its job, it urges us to take notice.

Why We Should Listen to Our Anxiety

Of course, chronic anxiety can lead to health issues if not addressed, but infrequent or situational anxiety can be a strong self-awareness tool. Anxiety that pops up is a symptom that something is out of balance or turned out in a different way that need your response. This could be a requirement that went unmet, or an uncomfortable truth you have been avoiding, or a course of action that you felt unable to pursue. Anxiety is demanding, Listen, Something is off here. You are invited to examine your circumstances and to make changes that align with inner calm and contentment.

What Anxiety Might Be Trying To Tell You:

• You may want to set boundaries: If you feel anxious about a particular relationship, you probably need to set some boundaries.
• Overcommitting: If you do feel anxiety related to work or commitments, then you may be overcommitting yourself and need to make assessments about where to reprioritize.
• Repressed Values: If you are worried about a job or a way of life, it may mean you actually care about things that are not present.

The Different Faces of Anxiety

We experience anxiety in many different ways and not all anxiety feels the same. Generalized anxiety disorder, panic disorder, social anxiety and situational anxiety are each different. Some anxiety care is constant and debilitating; other situational anxiety is temporary, directly related to events. When you learn to identify the type of anxiety you have, you better realize what in your life it is trying to communicate to you and then you can know if it is something chronic you need to manage, or a signal that you need to change something in your life.

How Anxiety Can Motivate Positive Change

Understanding anxiety can lead to some positive shift in reality. So if this is an anxiety feeling that you had going for you that week and you know there is a big project coming up, then this is a good indication that you care about it and probably are going to eradicate right there and then all the effort you will put to prepare yourself. Relationship anxiety creates open dialogue or establishes boundaries for healthier bonds.

The key point here is that anxiety does not need to be a barrier when it is understood and managed. Instead, it can motivate you to change and to grow. As you practice navigating and translating these sensations, you may find that anxiety, once a barrier to self-awareness, transforms into a tool.

Seeking Help: Why Professional Support Can Be Beneficial

Making sense of the messages anxiety is sending you can be confusing and difficult to do without support. Having therapy can give you the opportunity and time to watch what is beneath your anxiety and how you might handle it. Professionals, like the therapists at All in the Family Counselling, have training in helping people understand conflicting emotions and learn more about their reaction patterns.

A therapist can help you understand what it is about particular scenarios that makes you anxious, how your history is informing your response, and what you can do to regain your sense of agency. With a little professional help, you can learn to use anxiety as a compass, you can start living, working and playing in a way that aligns with, and strengthens, your mental health and overall happiness with your life.

Practical Steps to Start Embracing Anxiety

And although I find professional support to be vital, there are other small everyday approaches you can opt for which can assist to cope with, and to make sense of your anxiety:

• Meditation and Mindfulness: when you practice mindfulness you can be present, which allows you to observe your anxious thoughts without getting swept away in them.
• Journal: Writing down what you think may help to pinpoint what your anxiety is and if there are any common themes or triggers.
• Be Kind to Yourself: Reaffirm that anxiety is normal and that you’re not the first nor the last person to have it. Treating yourself kindly can calm those anxious feelings a little bit.
• Move Your Body: Physical activity helps to relieve anxiety by releasing endorphins, natural substance that has feel good effect.

Redefining Your Relationship with Anxiety

Instead of seeing anxiety as an enemy, try viewing it as an inner guide. While it’s true that chronic anxiety needs careful management, occasional anxiety can be a prompt for personal reflection and growth. 

Ask yourself: What is my anxiety trying to show me? By addressing these questions openly, you may find that your relationship with anxiety changes, shifting from frustration to understanding.

Conclusion

Anxiety is not the enemy, and whilst it can be uncomfortable, it need not be. By reframing anxiety instead of a destination at the end of a journey that will pan out inevitably, treat it as a signpost that points in the direction to go you may be able to change how you react to it. A specialist can assist in providing tools to process what your anxiety needs to say and how to adjust accordingly.

If you think you would like to learn more about your anxiety or that you would like to see a mental health provider about managing your anxiety, please reach out to a trusted mental health provider such as All in the Family Counselling. Now, sure anxiety can be irritable on even the best of days but really it is simply attempting to illuminate your life of so much more potential of meaningful presence and ichor.