Most people who struggle with anxiety have the incorrect, though understandable, belief that anxiety is bad — like some kind of invading bacteria or faulty circuit in their brain.
But just because something feels bad doesn’t mean it is bad.
For example:
- Muscle soreness after a good workout feels bad, but it’s actually a good thing — it means your muscles are growing and strengthening.
- Pain when touching a hot pan on the stove feels bad, but it’s actually a good thing — it’s a signal to your brain to move your hand quickly in order to avoid the real enemy: tissue damage.
Well, anxiety falls into the same category as muscle soreness and nerve pain in that it feels bad but isn’t actually dangerous.
Anxiety is just misguided fear.
The symptoms of anxiety don’t mean something’s wrong or broken. They mean your body is doing exactly what it’s supposed to be doing — even if the initial assessment of danger was misguided.
Similarly, when it comes to anxiety, worrying about anxiety and the potential dangers it poses is a setup for developing chronic anxiety. On the other hand, when you accept your anxiety as uncomfortable but not dangerous, its power and intensity quickly diminish.
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