The first thing to remember is that anxiety is
not about what happens right now, it's about what might happen in the
future. People who experience this condition are usually concerned about
possible negative outcomes. Worrying keeps us on guard by making us
aware of possible dangers. From this point of view, anxiety is actually
useful because it keeps us out of harm's way (physically and mentally).
But where do we draw the line? How can we tell the difference between
healthy and unhealthy anxiety? In this article, we're going to 'bring
down' some popular misconceptions by clarifying what it truly means to
suffer from anxiety.
Each and every person on this planet has experienced anxiety, at
least a couple of times. We worry about bills, jobs, deadlines and
pretty much anything related to our future. But is this a problem?
A Simple Definition for Anxiety
Instead
of giving you a textbook definition for anxiety, we're going to focus
on how people usually describe this condition. Anxiety is usually
characterized as 'vague', 'unspecific', 'troubling', 'worrisome' and
'distressing'. You feel like something's wrong but you don't exactly
know how to describe that feeling. Basically, anxiety is a nonspecific
fear, completely unrelated to external factors or circumstances.
Anxiety Often Doesn't Work Alone
Whether
it manifests as an isolated symptom or accompanied by other distressing
symptoms, anxiety is the key component in many mental illnesses. Most
people describe anxiety as a diffused fear. Since there isn't a
well-defined object, you might experience a continuous tension. You
constantly feel threatened, nervous and oftentimes, you don't even
realize what exactly scares you that much.
Healthy vs Unhealthy Anxiety
As
we have previously discussed, everybody worries about something. In
fact, this is exactly what keeps our emotions in check. Constructive
worrying helps us cope with difficult and potentially dangerous
situations, in an adequate manner. For instance, if the cabbie drives on
the wrong side of the road it's absolutely normal to feel scared
because he might cause an accident. In this scenario, anxiety becomes a
normal, healthy response because from a rational and realistic point of
view, it makes perfect sense.
How to Identify Unhealthy Anxiety?
When
a certain situation doesn't pose any real threat or the danger is too
small to justify the intense reaction, it means that you're dealing with
unhealthy anxiety.
How to Distinguish Between the Two?
One
way to separate healthy from unhealthy anxiety is by analyzing the
consequences. When you feel like your wellbeing and social circles are
affected, you're no longer dealing with healthy anxiety. Another
important criteria is time. If the negative symptoms last for more than
six months it usually means that your anxiety has become a real problem.
In other words, anxiety becomes a problem when it exceeds a certain
threshold, defined primarily on the basis of substantial changes in your
happiness and wellbeing.
What Now?
Fighting social
anxiety is never easy which is why we have adopted a step-by-step
approach. We'll start with psychoeducation which will cover the basics
of social anxiety like: symptoms and explanations. Next, we'll focus on
specific social contexts in which anxiety usually poses a problem. It's
crucial that you identify and challenge negative thinking because that's
exactly what triggers social anxiety. In order to make things easier,
we've designed a set of useful applications that will accompany every
stage of the healing process.
It's Up to You!
Last but
not least, you'll have to face your fears by exposing yourself to
anxiety producing situations. It might sound scary now, but by the time
you reach that step, you'll be more than ready. This is the main reason
why we chose an inside-out approach. You start by making some meaningful
changes on the inside, which will then reflect on your outer self.
As long as you stay committed and follow our careful instructions, you'll have a real chance of gaining a better life!
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