Anxiety – maybe it’s not such a bad thing

Now you probably think I’ve gone crazy – anxiety is not a bad thing?

Doesn’t really seem like it, does it, when you feel your heart pounding, you’re hot and sweaty, and it even seems difficult to breathe properly – how could that ever be anything other than a bad thing?

So I’m not saying that it doesn’t feel bad – because it does – or that constant states of anxiety might not be bad for your physical health – not saying that either.

But what if a feeling of anxiety is trying to tell us something, what if it’s a clue, an invitation to get curious about what’s really going on?

Anxiety and I are old friends, we go way back but these days we’re seeing less of each other. What I’ve come to realise is that how I feel is a message from my own in-built guidance system – a guidance system which is here to help me navigate my way through life.

Pretty much all of us have situations where we feel anxious – maybe it’s making a speech, going for an interview, asking someone out on a date, going to a party, ___________  (fill in the blank with your favourite!). Thoughts like “what if it goes wrong”, “what if they don’t like me”, “what if they say no”, “what if they say yes” run through our minds.

And then it seems like the feeling of anxiety is coming from or has something to do with you, your abilities, the speech, the presentation, asking someone out, going to the party etc.

But it doesn’t.

That feeling of anxiety isn’t telling you that there’s something wrong with you or speeches or presentations or parties or dates – it’s your in-built guidance system reminding you that you are ok, no matter how it looks to you. Reminding you that all that is happening is that you are thinking ‘anxious’ thoughts right now. And that’s ok because thoughts come and go if we don’t engage with them.

So what if the feeling of anxiety is an invitation – an invitation to realise your true Self again, the Self which is eternal, loving and joyful – the Self which is who you really are.