Many of us know how exhausting, frustrating, and (at times) painful anxiety can be, so it might be helpful to focus on some of the positive aspects of anxiety.  If “positive” sounds like a stretch to you, then think of these as some “not-so-terrible” aspects that you can use to your advantage. 

Here are Four Ways Anxiety Can be Helpful:

1)  It can help you become a better planner.  At its core, anxiety is a fear of the unknown. It’s constant worrying, nervousness, or fearfulness about events or something with an uncertain outcome. When you’re constantly worrying about could happen, or what could go wrong, it can push you to plan and prepare for several different outcomes. You may also find yourself trying to ease that fearfulness by preparing for all kinds of things to go wrong and coming up with a back-up plan (or several). 

Which brings us to…

2)  You’re probably a realist. I think there’s a common misconception that people with anxiety are pessimists: They expect the worst and they look for the worst in every situation. I don’t think that’s true at all. It’s not that they believe only negative things can happen, or they are not open to positive outcomes, it’s more likely that they’ve accepted that there are a number of possible outcomes and they want to be prepared for them all. If you are a person trying to comfort someone with anxiety and you’re feeling that they’re being pessimistic, you might want to stop and ask yourself if that’s really true or if you’re trying to get them to view the world with blind optimism and they’re just not going for it (hint: you’re going to lose that battle almost every time).

3)  It will force you to get creative. Keeping nervous energy bottled up can be painful. Finding a way to focus that energy can be amazing. One of the best things you can do as a person with anxiety is find a creative outlet. One of the most helpful things you can do to support someone with anxiety is suggest an activity that allows them to express some creativity and/or tires them out. Go for a hike, play basketball, go dancing. Most likely, their minds are racing and while talking it out can help, turning it into something else entirely (a painting, a poem, an exercise routine) will do wonders.

4)  Increased Self-Awareness. If you’re not already, more than likely you’ll become more in-tuned with yourself and your needs. You have to be. You have to know how much of certain things you can handle, when you can allow someone to push you a little bit out of your comfort zone and when that could be disastrous. You have to learn what coping mechanisms work best for you, when you need to be alone and recharge, and when you need a little extra support from others. Spending time reflecting on yourself is more than helpful, it’s necessary for personal growth.

Hope this helps to put a positive spin on things!

-SM Grady

© 2018 SM Grady