| |
Basic InformationMore InformationLatest NewsQuestions and AnswersBlog EntriesBenzodiazepine Use Linked to Alzheimer's DiseaseObsessions and AddictionHow Exercise Can Reduce AnxietyFear of Heights – Story of a Rock ClimberAromatherapy and AnxietyBe Careful About What You Read OnlineMeditation and AnxietyStress and Anxiety: The Impact the Government Shutdown and The Fiscal Cliff Had on PeopleStress, Anxiety and Mindfulness MeditationWhat We Fear More Than DeathEmbrace Your PastYou Are So Much More Than FearA Simple Trick to Stopping Automatic Negative ThoughtsOf Anxiety and StressEye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR): Another Type of PsychotherapyHow to Ground Your Fear of FlyingThe Mental Squiggle: A Good Way to Gain Freedom from Mind TrapsTest Anxiety – When Your Mind Goes BlankYour 14:57 Minute RuleThe Helicopter Parent and the Dangers of Over ProtectingMeditation for Difficult EmotionsJust Breathe: A Practice to Calm the Anxious MindIt's Called Onychophagia or Nail BitingManaging Anxiety by Accepting your Brain's Alarm SystemDo We Need Anxiety? Thoughts for Entering the New YearDoes Anxiety Plus Depression Equal Depression Plus Anxiety? How Clinicians Really ThinkWhat are Thoughts and Who Are You?One Breath at a TimeCultivating Hope in the Eye of a StormIncreased Childhood and Adolescent Anxiety and Depression3 Steps to Silence the Inner-CriticA Way to Turn the Worry Volume DownPractice a Self-Care DietBrain: Chronic Alcohol Maintains FearWhat You Need to Know About Generation XhaustedStrangers and The Need For Personal SpaceRecognize How Precious Your Life IsTaming Anxiety's Effect on MemoryBuried Alive: Saving, Collecting and HoardingStress on the Rise? Two Simple Practices to Find ReliefKids are More Stressed than We Realize: 4 Steps to TakeWhy You Just Can't Stop Texting and DrivingGetting Unstuck: One Practice that Can HelpThe Transitional Objects and Self ComfortBeing Kind to Your Body is Healing to the MindStress Reduction, Tropical Fish and AquariumsAre You Superstitious?Dental PhobiaWhen Calmness is a Trigger for Fear and How to Change itWhy You Need to Get in Your Body Now5 Steps to Change Feelings of Anxiety Of Anxiety and Depression and PlayThe Importance of Saying "No"OCD and ReassuranceA Tip for Happiness: Turn Routine into WonderTaking Back Control of Your Mind: The Power of AcceptanceAvoidance in OCD: It's Never the AnswerResidential Programs for OCD: How Long Should You Stay?Angst in the Face of Economic Meltdown: Managing Your Anxiety When The Stress Won't Go Away! Part IIAngst in the Face of Economic Meltdown: Managing Your Anxiety When The Stress Won't Go Away! Part IWould You Want to Do Therapy Online?8 Ways to Overcome Homework AnxietySensory Overload, Tension and Stress Keep Calm and Carry On: Potential PitfallsCognitive Consistency and Cognitive DissonanceBe in the Eye of the Storm Understanding Recovery Avoidance in OCDBreaking Free from LimboCBT and Mindfulness for Social Anxiety: Train your Brain for Social SuccessHow to Work with UncertaintyNational Debt, Stress and Perception, Is It Really That Bad?Helping or Enabling...A Fine Line When Dealing with OCDGot IBS? Study Says to Try a Little MindfulnessIs Mindfulness Uniquely Buddhist? Decision Making, Who Is In Control?Can you Improve Life Satisfaction by Changing Your Focus?ERP Therapy - A Good Choice for Treating Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)Clear Away the Mental ClutterDepression & Panic Disorders: Jennifer’s StoryUnchecked Journalism Can Lead to Mindful MisperceptionsI Wish I Had an Illness...Mental or PhysicalDo You Know How Overgeneral Memory Can Impact Depression?Did You Know You May be Keeping Difficulty Around?Negative Self-Talk: A Culprit of Anxiety and DepressionOnline Mindfulness-Based Anxiety TherapyHow to Stop Panic Attacks and Panic AnxietyPanic Attacks: The 30-Minute RuleThe Childhood Anxiety Epidemic: What Parents Can Do About It Help for Panic Attacks & Panic AnxietyHow to Mindfully Work with Difficult EmotionsOvercoming Social Anxiety with Mindfulness TherapyThe Guilts: A Psychoanalytic and Cognitive ViewWhy We Fear Success and What to DoPTSD, Veterans and Equine TherapyAgoraphobia and Spatial Orientation: An Interesting AngleElisha Goldstein's Top 10 MentalHelp Blogs of 2010Online Mindfulness Therapy for AnxietyNewly Married Couples and Sexual FrequencyAn Interview with Joseph LeDoux, Ph.D., on the Synaptic Self and Memory ReconsolidationAnxiety TherapyAlthough We are Wired to Feel Stuck: There is Hope Let's Learn: Trichotillomania (Part 2)An Interview with Monica Ramirez Basco, Ph.D., on ProcrastinationLet's Learn: Trichotillomania (Part 1)What Does the Tetris Effect Have to Do With You? How to Flood Your Life With ConfidenceFascinating Explanations: KindlingWhat to Do in the Places that Scare You: Pema ChodronSelf Therapy: An Interview with Jay Earley, PhDReflections On A SeasonMake Your Life as Inconvenient as PossibleSelf CompassionPerceptions of Life TodayNew Study: 5 Million Californians Need Mental HelpPrepare Now: How to Get Teens to Focus with Homework You May be Trapped in Your Own MindYour Subconscious Mind May be Making Critical Errors in JudgmentOverweight? Your Brain May not Know When to StopOur Anxiety Disorders Topic Center has been Updated!Shyness and Marital ProblemsPeace not War What Everyone Should Know about the Dangers of Their MindsHow Well Do You Know the Committee in Your Mind?More Mindfulness Research for Anxiety and Depression: Here's the RubHow to Slow Down Your Racing Heartbeat When Feeling AnxiousYour Worry or Your Life? The Dark Side of Happy Anniversary Taking a Mindful Path Through ShynessYou vs. Procrastination: 1 (Mindful) Secret to Winning the BattleFreedom from Your Anxious MindAre You Wired to Worry? 3 Common Mistakes People Make When Working with InsomniaThere is No Such Thing as ADDWhat You Need to Know to Help Heal Insomnia Overcoming School Anxiety: An Interview with Diane Peters MayerAn Interview with Gail Steketee, PhD, on Hoarding and OCD (Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder)In a Falling Economy, Trust Your Gut Or Reason? Avoidant Personality Disorder and Social PhobiaWhat Every Parent Should Know About School Anxiety5 Steps to Emotional Freedom: Placebo or Panacea?Can Anxiety Be a Good Thing? I Blush, Therefore I...Feeling Stuck with Anxiety or Depression? Try this Today! Catastrophizing Controlling Your Life: 3 Steps to Break FreeNew A&E Series Explores Anxiety DisordersRejection, Why Does It Hurt So Much?An Interview with Steven Phillipson, Ph.D. on the Nature and Treatment of Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (OCD)Anxiety, Stress and Depresion in Light of the RecessionTherapy for Borderline Personality Disorder – building a life instead of digging up the past?Young Yet Sad: The Social PhobicHow trying to avoid your fear, anxiety, and panic keeps it knocking on your doorCatastrophizing Illness: Mind and Body RevisitedAn Interview with Victoria Lemle Beckner, Ph.D. on Treatments for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)Social Phobia and Self Concept and the BrainAn Interview with Frank Ochberg, MD on Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)TIME OUT! 2 Things you can practice today to stave off anxiety and depression in this hectic time. Shy Bladder Syndrome (Paruresis): Getting HelpAn Interview with Edna Foa, Ph.D. on the Nature and Treatment of Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)Going to the Dentist: Fears and PhobiasStuff, Why Is It So Difficult to Part With?An Interview with Michelle Craske, Ph.D. on Anxiety Disorders Research and TreatmentBlenophobia, The Fear of NeedlesAnxiety and Alcoholism and StigmaDo You Have a Shy Bladder?Obsessive Compulsive Disorder, Plagued by DoubtPost Traumatic Stress Disorder and Iraqi VeteransPsychotherapy and Murder in New York: Should We All Stay Home?An Interview with David H. Barlow Ph.D. on the Nature and Treatment of Anxiety and Panic DisordersWorried SickAn Interview with Richard Heimberg, Ph.D. on Generalized Anxiety Disorder and Social Anxiety Disorder Research and TreatmentTreating PTSD, Part TwoNational Stress Øut WeekHalloween...Fear With A PurposeCollege and Mental Health Problems, They Go TogetherSeparation Anxiety DisorderRecognizing emotion gets harder or easier depending on your moodThe Story of A Psychiatric Service Dog TeamEarly verbal abuse results in more adult depressionOn Being A PerfectionistChronic cortisol exposure causes mood disordersTreating PTSD with Beta-BlockersDavid Beckham has OCDCortisol May Be an Anxiety TreatmentGenetic contribution to OCD may have been identified VideosLinksBook ReviewsSelf-Help Groups |
| | |
Can Anxiety Be a Good Thing? Elisha Goldstein, Ph.D. Updated: Aug 27th 2009 If you look up anxiety on Google, almost 100% of what you will find is promises to treat or cure your anxiety. Part of the problem with anxiety is that it is always interpreted as a negative experience. What happens is that even the slightest hint that anxiety is there can get the mind reeling that something terrible is upon you.
What if the mind was able to see things differently? What if the mind was able to notice the onset of anxiety and channel it in a way that could bring positive results?
Here is what you might notice:
- Anxiety heightens our senses and may cause us to perform at our best in a given situation. Before getting up to give a presentation, a little anxiety may cause our thinking to get a bit crisper and we can more readily access information and field questions.
- Anxiety can be a motivator to get things done. When we begin to worry about not getting things done, a little anxiety can give us the energy needed to spring to action and make it happen.
However, what often happens is our minds recognize a bit of anxiety and react with fear and worry, which intensifies it to a state of great anxiety, which hampers the benefits above to a place of debilitation.
One thing we can do when a cycle of worried thoughts, high anxiety, and a tense body is upon us is become aware that a stress reaction is occurring. Simple instructions, but not easy. So how can you do this?
Often times, the easiest way to do this is through awareness of your body. See if you can nonjudgmentally notice any tension in your body or tightening of your stomach. As soon as you notice this is occurring, you have momentarily stepped outside of it and from this place of presence comes a choice.
You can choose to practice coming to your senses for a moment just to further interrupt this stress cycle.
Then you may want to ask, how can I channel a little of this anxiety for benefit in this moment? Can I use it as motivation to get things done? Or maybe I just want to continue to practice coming to my senses, allowing myself to just be more present and grounded.
This is just another way of viewing the initial onset of anxiety and is not meant to be a complete treatment for anxiety disorders. However, rather than reaction with fear to initial anxiety, maybe it can be channeled for more positive agendas. This is something to consider as anxiety seems to more prevalent than ever these days. Have patience and compassion with yourself through this process as it takes practice.
How can anxiety benefit you? As always, please share your thoughts, stories, and questions below. Your interaction provides a living wisdom for us all to benefit from.
Great value in asking simple questions - kaudio - Aug 29th 2009
I recently thought of motivational stress and wondered how to use such stress productively. People become anxious when they encounter matters that have unknown elements. But, when one takes a moment to define what they want to accomplish, this serves as a basis for figuring out the next steps to take in order to succeed, mitigating the anxiety by filling in the gaps in imagination. This message is repeated in many different ways by fans of GTD, but it takes practice in order to appreciate the benefits of this kind of thinking, and to motivate oneself in a productive way.
The message of asking simple questions to raise awareness is so powerful, but as you suggest this easy activity can also be difficult to master. A Google search for GTD illustrates the many bloggers who share their experience of the book, and how they often - sometimes obsessively - spend large amounts of time 'tweaking' their processing systems. Much to their chagrin, these people are aware of the irony of this sort of activity because the very purpose of the GTD book was to enhance the productivity of the readers, not serve as additional material to 'tweak' as a new crutch for procrastination.
Certainly, I too share in this 'tweaking' as well. I do not wish to give the impression that I have not spent time thinking about productivity in a manner that was not actually productive; but, I do want to make the point that it is a big leap as a human being who did not have any stress and focus management techniques to then learn to ask simple questions to manage his own stress and focus. I spent years just going from one problem that was in my face to the next until I burned out, became tired, and moved on to the next thing. This pattern of behaviour was set in for so very long that it also takes a long time to really reap the value of asking simple questions.
Even if this talk of GTD seems like snake oil, to simply ask oneself 'are you tensing up?' every so often is enough to raise awareness towards the body, and to explore what may be the cause of such tension. |