Reasons to ‘Unfriend’ Anxiety as Early as Today

Lisa Franchi March 02, 2015

We all get anxious from time to time. Anxiety is a natural emotion – a natural survival mechanism that keeps us guarded from perceived threats. It acts like a signal that tells whether to stop, flee or fight. Back in the days, prior the civilisation, anxiety is a solicitous friend that keeps us alive.

But not in the modern times. Today, we are not facing a wolf-like threat anymore as what our ancestors used to. Most stresses we encounter today can be tackled more effectively when we are able to slow down, and think and focus on the resolution. In this world, anxiety does not really help you at all.

If you think being anxious and all can save you from the stresses of the world, think again. Below are the top reasons why you should start to ‘unfriend’ anxiety.

Anxiety does nothing but feed your negativity.

We all engage in negative thinking from time to time. In fact, our brain is hardwired to favour negative thoughts more than the positive ones, according to experts. We call this phenomenon the “negativity bias”. But being such a pessimist makes it hard for you to focus on finding a solution. It basically just makes things worse. And being anxious and all feed your negativity. Being anxious makes you more likely to think of negative things, worry about things that are impossible to happen, and get stuck. Worse, anxiety makes it hard for you to hang on to a positive thought for more than five seconds.

Anxiety hampers cognition.

The more you get anxious with a problem at hand, the more you will find it hard to concentrate on thinking about the best solution. When you are anxious, you can’t think clearly, and you are unable to explore other options. That’s because your mind is busy ruminating about the worst scenario that is not likely to happen at all.

It pulls your self-esteem down.

Anxiety tricks your mind into believing that you are smaller than you really are. It makes you think like you can never do anything right, or that you are bound to fail. And when your self-esteem is broken, the more it gets harder to cope with problems that come your way, and the more you become anxious and frustrated about things.

It makes you feel helpless.

When you are filled with anxiety, you feel the great need to escape – go somewhere where peace and calmness is limitless. Regrettably, there’s no place to be. Everywhere you go, it haunts you down. Anxiety has a very way of making you feel helpless and powerless.

Anxiety hampers the way you perceive things.

Anxiety keeps you from seeing the two sides of the coin. It only makes you focus on the downside, the consequences, the worst scenario and all the bad stuff. It narrows your view of the things around you, even your perception of yourself.

Anxiety interferes with your relationships.

One of the worse consequences of holding on to anxiety is that it ruins your relationship with others. Anxiety prevents you from meeting new people, connecting with them in a deeper level, and resolving relationship issues. It blocks understanding by creating a wall between you and the people you care about.

If anxiety gets the better of you, you’ll mistakenly see yourself as a weak and impaired individual, rather than as a strong person who is capable of going through even the most difficult situations. We can never go away from anxiety. It is part of our human nature. But we have the power to control it, and use it to our advantage. If you have issues managing your anxiety, seeking professional help is necessary.