Anxiety and Worries: Understanding the Balance Between Alert and Disorder

Anxiety is part of everyone’s life, but have you ever stopped to think about when it stops being an ally and becomes an obstacle? In this article, we’ll explore the nature of anxiety, how to identify when it becomes excessive, and practical strategies to manage it in daily life.

The Protective Purpose of Anxiety

Anxiety is not our enemy by nature. In fact, it works as an essential internal alarm system for our survival.

Think of it as a vigilant guard that:

• Makes us jump away from a speeding car
• Alerts us to potential dangers, like a snake in our path
• Prevents us from making risky decisions, like swimming during a storm

Beyond these extreme situations, anxiety also plays an important role in our daily lives. It motivates us to prepare adequately for an important presentation or to check if a family member has arrived home safely.

Remember: The goal is not to completely eliminate anxiety, but to learn to distinguish when it is helping us and when it begins to harm us.

When Does Anxiety Cross Healthy Boundaries?

There’s a fine line between useful anxiety and problematic anxiety. Do you recognize when your anxiety has crossed that line?

Anxiety becomes a problem when:

• It significantly interferes with your daily routine
• Causes a level of stress disproportionate to the actual situation
• Compromises your quality of life and overall well-being

For example, a little anxiety can help you meet deadlines and improve the quality of your work. However, when it intensifies, the effects can be harmful:

• Sleepless nights trying to achieve perfection
• Difficulty concentrating and making simple decisions
• Frequent errors caused by an overloaded mind
• Compromised sleep and rest
• Social isolation and emotional imbalance

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD): Do You Identify With This?

GAD is characterized by a pattern of excessive and uncontrollable worry, accompanied by physical symptoms of tension. But how do you know if what you’re feeling is just normal anxiety or a disorder?

Common signs of GAD:

• Constant worry: Repetitive thoughts about future problems without concrete actions to solve them
• Difficulty with control: Inability to interrupt the cycle of worries
• Escalation: Small problems quickly transform into catastrophic scenarios
• Physical symptoms: Muscle pain, headaches, chronic fatigue, digestive issues
• Functional impact: Difficulties sleeping, concentrating, or making decisions

If these symptoms are compromising your quality of life, it might be time to seek professional help to better understand what’s happening.

The Roots of Excessive Anxiety

Many people ask themselves: “Why do I feel so much anxiety?” The answer is rarely simple. Anxiety usually results from a combination of factors:

• Biological: Genetic predisposition and brain functioning
• Psychological: Traumatic experiences in childhood, perfectionism
• Temperamental: Tendency to react intensely to emotions
• Environmental: Daily stressors, social pressures, crises

The important thing to understand is that you don’t need to change everything in your life to deal with anxiety. Learning to respond to stress in a healthier way can already make a big difference.

Worry vs. Problem Solving: Which Path Do You Choose?

One of the traps of anxiety is confusing worry with problem-solving. Let’s clarify the difference:

Instead of getting lost in the cycle of worries about an important job, for example, you could:

• Schedule a conversation with your supervisor to clarify expectations
• Break the project down into smaller, more manageable steps
• Establish small daily goals to advance consistently

Self-Monitoring: The First Step to Controlling Anxiety

Observing and recording your worry patterns can be transformative. This is a simple exercise you can start today:

1. Keep an anxiety diary for a week
2. Note when you feel anxious, what triggered the feeling, and how you reacted
3. Identify patterns of common triggers
4. Observe the frequency and intensity of worries
5. Evaluate which worries are productive and which are just draining

This conscious monitoring not only interrupts the automatic cycle of worry but also offers valuable insights into your emotional responses.

Transform Your Relationship with Anxiety

If you’ve been struggling with excessive anxiety, know that you’re not alone. Millions of people face similar challenges daily, and there are proven methods to manage these feelings.

Want to learn specific techniques to transform your relationship with anxiety and regain control over your thoughts? Our “Calm Mind” program offers a practical step-by-step approach to identifying triggers, developing coping strategies, and cultivating a more serene mindset.

Don’t let anxiety dominate your life. Click here to learn about our program and discover how to transform your anxiety from an obstacle into an ally for a more balanced and productive life.

Remember: understanding anxiety is the first step to managing it in a healthy way.

Reference:

HOFMANN, Stefan G. Dealing with Anxiety: CBT and Mindfulness Strategies to Overcome Fear and Worry. Artmed Publisher, 2022.