Can Anxiety Be A Good Thing?

In the last 2019 memorial day event, I realized that the thing that ruins my daily mood is anxiety. I understand that it is a mental illness that requires a lot of patience and perseverance for someone to overcome. But lately, I noticed that my anxiety gave me an emotional and mental strength I never knew I had. It is why I came to the question if anxiety can be a good thing.

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Anxiety is the feeling of nervousness and worries from a forthcoming event or an uncertain outcome. There are many types of it, ranging from a social anxiety disorder, generalized anxiety disorder, separation anxiety, agoraphobia, selective mutism, PTSD, and a lot more. But despite that, there are some levels of anxiety that can help us in away. Anxiety can be motivating in some circumstances. It is sometimes what makes us get out of bed and think about our duties for the whole day. It can pump some of our adrenalin whenever there’s an immediate thing we have to do.

In some cases, it helps us manage our decisions better because we can think of things in both wrong and useful ways. Not only it stimulates the brain, but anxiety also keeps us safe. That is because the more anxious we get, the more we become aware of what is going on with our surroundings. That is why we pay attention to noise, people’s voices, and body language.

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In general, though anxiety is harmful and can cause devastation, small doses of it can help. Yes, it can be uncomfortable in some states because of the stress response. But using it to stimulate the fight-flight-freeze can activate the anterior insula. It is the brain’s function that predicts harm and makes you learn to avoid it. Thus, giving you enough time to think about your situations through.