Are you feeling anxious or nervous tackling a problem at work, go to an interview, take a test or make an important decision. It is said that anxiety isn’t all bad and might even be a life-saver. It’s an evolutionary trait meant to protect us from threats and dangers. It is an alarm system and a temporary motivator, to finish a project on time or meet a deadline. But when anxiety exceeds its function as a temporary motivator, when it overflows its banks, flooding the mind with toxic thoughts and poisonous worries and monkeying with the body’s stress hormones, havoc ensues.
People often wonder if they can live a normal life with anxiety. Dealing with anxiety isn’t easy. Living with that tightness in your throat, those butterflies in your stomach, those racing thoughts of “what if’s” spinning through your mind, and the constant feeling that something just isn’t right can be miserable. It can be overwhelming when it strikes, feeds on itself, and leaves you wondering if you’re losing your mind.
Dealing with anxiety doesn’t have to mean you are doomed to a life of misery, and or even an abnormal life. Anxiety and stress can be a very normal, even helpful part of any life fully lived, especially in moderate amounts. The key is knowing how to use it effectively to keep it helping you, and fueling the growth it is striving to do.