Editor’s note: This article explores some of the benefits of anxiety through a personal lens and is based on cross-linked research. For insights and personalized care in the field of mental health, please connect with a trusted healthcare professional.
That was the last thing I wanted to do, but I signed up anyway: read some of my writing in front of an audience. I was so nervous about it, afraid that I might freeze up in front of people, to the point where I might panic and cut my reading short so that I could worry in my loneliness, which I did. act a lot. I read and reread my part out loud to myself. I cut the words that I stumbled upon. I shorten the superfluous. I practiced some more. And by the time I had to stand in front of a large group of people to read my own writing – I didn’t say a word. Not for three minutes.
It wasn’t until I sat down in the back seat, hands shaking, adrenaline still running through my veins, thick like syrup, that I realized I’d done it without messing around.
How can I do this well with something I’ve been so worried about?
The answer lies in the question. My anxiety makes me prepare to come close to a point. I practiced until failure would be harder than success. And then I did it: I delivered. I read my secret writings, my vulnerable words, and I did it in front of writers, teachers, and scholars. A nightmare if you ask someone who is nervous.
One could argue that the reason I do well is because I practice. And one would be right to say that. But the reason I exercised to the extent that I did was because of my anxiety mentality.
Anxiety is not an all-encompassing pain that covers everyone in the same way, but it seems to me that people who are predisposed to feeling anxiety work a little differently. They tend to think things through before they act. In the example of reading in front of an audience, a nervous person might think about all the things that could happen: losing your place in your work; lock your knees and faint (this is a sincere fear of mine); panic while reading and need to stop halfway.
Worry, with unbelievably good reason, has a bad reputation. It makes operation very difficult sometimes. But there’s a lot to be said for changing the way we think about anxiety.
The good thing about this kind of painful and painful thinking is that it can really prepare you mentally.
I went into this reading for looking at the worst outcomes. I not only considered them, but assumed that I would go through each of them, and so I knew exactly what to do when those bad outcomes inevitably came to me. Except they never did. I have read my work so many times that if I get lost, I will know exactly where on the page to continue. I make sure to keep my knees slightly bent – a skill I learned in high school choirs – so I don’t lock them up and faint in front of an audience. And I tackled my fear of having a panic attack by reminding myself that I only had three minutes. I can do almost anything in just three minutes, including what I and countless others dread: public speaking.
Psychologist Chloe Carmichael, Ph.D. speak Anxiety has a healthy function: to stimulate preparatory behavior. You don’t have to worry to prepare or not procrastinate. However, if you are one of those people around who enjoys its anxiety, there are ways to use it to your benefit. Like knowing the worst outcome and working back from there; such as preparing until it is no longer feasible to prepare further.
Worry, with unbelievably good reason, has a bad reputation. It makes operation very difficult sometimes. But there’s a lot to be said about changing the way we think about anxiety and using it as a motivator to increase productivity.
The opposite of anxiety? It often illuminates our core values.
Professor of Neuroscience and Psychology at New York University, Dr. Wendy Suzuki, has written a wonderful book called Good worry: Harness the power of the most false emotion. This is a science-based book that helps readers shift their perspective on anxiety from prison anxiety to something that can promote performance, create compassion, promote creativity. create and give you other superpowers, as she calls them. In the book, Dr. Suzuki says that the sources of our anxiety are points toward what we value in life, indicating what is important or valuable to us.
I think that’s unbelievable. The things we worry about are actually signs that we’re passionate about something. It means we care and we care enough that we are proactive in preserving what is valuable to us.
All of that requires a certain level of understanding. In one interview with NPR, Dr. Suzuki says there’s one gift that can come from your anxiety: a “what if” list. “What if I don’t know the answer? What if they ask me about this part of the book and I can’t remember the research? Everyone can turn your ‘what if’ list into a to-do list. ” She goes on to say that our stress and anxiety trigger our muscles to do something, to act.
The things we worry about are actually signs that we’re passionate about something. It means we care and we care enough that we are proactive in preserving what is valuable to us.
The list of benefits goes on…
Are from Harvard Business Review a series of essays on leading over anxiety: “Decades of research on emotional intelligence have shown that people who understand their own emotions have higher levels of job satisfaction, better job performance and better relationships; More creative; and can aggregate diverse opinions and reduce conflicts”.
All of that sounds great. So what is the caveat?
It’s one thing that uses your anxiety to push you forward, but use it therefore much; think about it over and over again — it will keep you from keeping up. Worse yet, it will prevent you from following and drag you into the clouded panic we all fear most.
If you reach that point, here are some useful things you can do next time you feel nervous. And if I knew people who are as anxious as I think I am, I know you’d be reading this now so the next time anxiety hits you’ll be prepared. Pair that with 50 ways to beat anxietywritten by Alice Boyes, Ph.D., author of Anxiety Toolkit.
Another resource — the best I’ve found (besides therapy) — is a book called Dare: New way to end anxiety and prevent panic attacks by Barry McDonagh. It helps you see anxiety through the same lens as Dr. Wendy Suzuki suggests: as a positive behavior that can actually benefit you — but only if you keep it under control. This book gives you practical ways to ease your anxiety, and they Work. They worked for me like nothing before.
Always say: If you need help, our friends at the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline are here to help, any time of the day. The number is 1,800,273,8255. Starting July 16, 2022, people in the US can now dial 988 and will be connected directly to the Hotline. This is the website for more information.
Take care of yourself.
Treat your head like the temple it is. And when you can, remember that in the beginning, anxiety was our friend. It helps us survive. There are benefits to anxiety, sometimes we just need to be reminded of them.
Kolina Cicero is fascinated with stories – read them, write them, get lost in them. Other things she loves include yoga, travelling, and taking classes in cooking, Italian, and writing. Her first children’s book, Rosie and the Hobby Farmpublished in July 2020.
