What is anxiety?

Anxiety is a natural human emotion, designed to protect us by urging us to take action when there is a threat. But sometimes, anxiety can feel overwhelming and out of proportion to what’s actually happening. It may cause us to:

• Feel intense fear or worry, even if we’re not in real danger.
• Avoid people, places, or situations that make us feel anxious.

Many people also find that anxiety can:

• Make them more sensitive to feelings of stress or tension.
• Keep their minds stuck on the future, worrying about "What if" scenarios.
• Make situations seem worse than they really are.

Is anxiety affecting me?

Rather than asking, "Do I have anxiety?" a more helpful question might be: "How is anxiety limiting me?"

• What would you do differently if your anxiety was less intense?
• How would your relationships, work, or daily life change without so much worry?
• How would feeling calmer affect your overall happiness and well-being?

If you feel like anxiety is getting in the way of living the life you want, there are ways to work through it.

Understanding and handling anxiety:

• Anxiety tends to blow threats out of proportion and make us feel like we can’t handle them.
• It tells us to avoid things that make us nervous. But the more we avoid, the more anxious we feel next time. It’s a cycle that can be tough to break.
• The key isn’t to get rid of anxiety but to change how we respond to it.
• Anxiety makes us focus inward, on our fears about the future or physical feelings like a racing heart. But we can train ourselves to focus on the present, paying attention to what’s really happening around us, instead of getting stuck in our heads.

What can help?

• Try to focus on what you can see, hear, or touch—things outside of your thoughts and feelings.
• Anxiety might tell you to wait until things "feel right" before acting. But that feeling of safety usually comes after we take action, not before.
• When we slowly face the things that make us anxious, we teach our brain that we can handle them—and over time, the suffering that can accompany anxiety decreases.
  

Facing anxiety doesn’t mean you have to do it all at once. It’s about taking small steps, knowing that you’re capable of handling more than your anxiety might lead you to believe.