Reframe and Reclaim Anxiety
With the end of the school year upon us, stress levels are likely high. While most of us would give almost anything to avoid feeling anxious, anxiety is actually associated with several positive attributes. Of course, too much anxiety can be overwhelming but just the right amount can be beneficial. So, in addition to taking time for proper self-care, the next time you feel stressed you can reframe and reclaim anxiety in the following ways:
1. You are intelligent with a well-developed imagination: Researchers at King’s College in London have recently drawn a connection between anxiety, higher IQ scores, and creativity (reference).
2. You are prepared, observant, and self-aware: The right amount of anxiety improves performance on a variety of physical and mental tasks (reference).
3. You possess important social-emotional competencies: Anxiety encourages you to stay open to social and emotional signals of others, helping you recognize certain strengths and weakness in others (reference). Anxiety also helps you see through lies and identify who you can trust (reference).
4. You have the potential to be a good leader: According to a recent article in Forbes magazine anxious leaders make better decisions (reference).
5. You are good friendship material: While most social anxiety sufferers have doubts about the quality of their friendships their friends are much more positive (reference). Furthermore, getting a little flustered in social situations often serves to show others that you care and are trustworthy (reference).
6. You are safety conscious: Researchers have discovered that anxiety in childhood reduces the occurrence of life threatening accidents later in life (reference).
7. You are courageous: True courage is not the absence of fear but the willingness and ability to proceed in spite of and with the help of it.
This article is based on an article written by Renee Jain and published in the Huffington Post.
