It is time to befriend anxiety.
But what is anxiety? Anxiety is what we feel when we are worried, tense, or afraid—particularly about things that are about to happen or that we think could happen in the future. Anxiety is a natural human response when we feel that we are under threat. It can be experienced through our thoughts, feelings, and physical sensations.
Anxiety is an alarm or warning system, like an internal smoke detector. But instead of warning you of only smoke, it warns you of perceived threats too, i.e., any possibility of smoke, and this internal smoke detector starts ringing. This “alarm” warns us of any approaching danger so we can protect ourselves. However, burning incense sticks for prayers also sets off the smoke detectors. Similarly, your anxiety may be making you perceive danger where none exists.
Anxiety is an evolutionary trait that helps protect us from danger. Anxiety is meant to function as an alarm or warning signal, letting us know that dangers lurk ahead so we can protect ourselves. It is a tremendously adaptive system, and the associated bodily responses help us manage objective dangers. So, if a tiger is chasing us in the woods, then an acute fear response with a racing heart and shortness of breath prepares the body to flee, fight, or freeze to escape the danger.
When an objective danger is present, it makes sense to escape that situation, but usually there is no tiger chasing us in the woods—we just feel that way.
When we routinely have ‘false alarms’ going off, then situations that are not objectively dangerous but make us feel anxious come to be feared and avoided. When we become intolerant of uncertainty and risk and come to fear the experience of anxiety itself, our world becomes smaller. It is true that we don’t know for sure how the test, the date, or the check-up will turn out, but rarely is our life better by avoiding or not preparing for these events.
Anxiety is uncomfortable but not dangerous. In fact, moderate levels of anxious arousal can improve our performance when we think about the arousal in a healthy way. It’s hard to give a good speech when we feel absolutely no arousal, and some anxiety can remind us to take needed precautions. Even high levels of anxiety are not themselves imminently harmful; a panic attack does not cause a heart attack. Rather, it is the sustained experience of anxiety and stress over time that can contribute to negative health outcomes.
It is time to change the narrative and befriend anxiety as a signal that a challenge lies ahead instead of a threat. The thinking pattern that screams in our heads, believing the situation portends a threat we cannot manage, can be changed to a quieter voice that empowers us to handle a challenge and recognise that we can get back up even when something doesn’t go well. It is time to develop a new mantra: “Anxiety is uncomfortable but not dangerous.” This is when we will try new things, and our world will grow.
