What’s the difference between healthy and unhealthy anxiety?
Anxiety and depression are the two most common symptoms among people who come to the mental health clinic. Anxiety is the focus of this article.
I hope it will help you decide if you are suffering from anxiety, and if so, when you should visit a clinic.
What is anxiety??
What is anxiety in the first place?
Let’s start by listing some synonyms for anxiety: worry, concern, anxiety, uncertainty, fear, apprehension….
The large number of synonyms is an indication of how often we experience these things. Also, there is a variety of subtle nuances in the way we feel so the way we express our anxiety may be different each time.
In summary, it is safe to say that we feel anxiety on a daily basis as a part of our joy, anger, sorrow, and pleasure, and that anxiety itself is not usually something that we should be concerned about, nor is it something we should seek to get rid of.
The first important point is to recognize that it is okay to feel anxious as long as it is healthy anxiety.
So what is the difference between healthy anxiety and the anxiety that psychiatrists perceive as a medical condition warranting professional care?
Healthy anxiety is what has kept you alive.
Your birth, survival throughout childhood and even the very fact that you are here reading this article is in large part because of your parents.
Likewise, the presence of your parents was in large part because of their parents, etc.
Would you believe me if I told you that your very presence in this world is in large part because of anxiety?
Indeed, that it is one of the most crucial of survival skills? Or would you be surprised?
In fact, in ancient times, when humans were not yet at the top of the food chain, anxiety was a crucial function that prevented us from being attacked by predators and other animals.
The key system is called amygdala which is a part of our brain and common to all vertebrates, from fish to reptiles to birds.
The amygdala can be thought of as our “emergency bell.” Because it exists across species, it serves a function that has remained imperative throughout the process of biological evolution.
By helping us to think twice when confronted with emergent situations, the amygdala has helped us to avoid being eaten by beasts in the primitive age, not to mention saved countless lives since.
Are the “emergency bells” still necessary for modern people?
Today’s human beings are at the top of the food chain.
They have attained material wealth through the development of agriculture and the industrial revolution, and have also advanced to an age where they are trying to attain “spiritual wealth.”
On the other hand, the speed at which humans have become civilized has far surpassed the speed of mammalian evolution, so it can be said that social changes have progressed in an extremely short period of time compared to biological evolution.
As a proof of this, I believe that you, living in the modern world, do not encounter situations where you have to protect yourself from fierce beasts every day. That is how safe and secure the world has become.
The “emergency bell” that the amygdala sends out has not been able to keep up with the speed of civilization, and still functions at the same level as it did in ancient times.
A Story of Insulin
The same story can be told about diabetes.
In ancient times, it was difficult to get sufficient food for the day.
The body therefore maintained energy by preparing several hormones to raise blood sugar levels in an attempt to enhance the body’s ability to maintain blood sugar levels even with little food intake.
In today’s age of food insatiability, these hormones that raise blood sugar have become a hindrance and it is the hormone that lowers blood sugar has become a more important function.
Because human biological evolution has not yet caught up with the speed of civilization, however, we still remain with only one hormone that lowers blood sugar – insulin.
Healthy Anxiety and Unhealthy Anxiety
When do you feel anxious in modern life?
The day before an exam, a meeting with an important client, thinking about your future career… the list goes on.
If you are able to sense your anxiety appropriately in these situations, it is a healthy reaction.
Some people may get sweaty hands, while others may experience butterflies or a racing pulse.
You may experience muscle stiffness, difficulty falling asleep or waking up in the middle of the night because you are so excited about, or fretting over, an upcoming event. These reactions are directly linked to how our bodies prepared for possible or imminent attack by a beast during primitive times.
When experiencing anxiety-driven symptoms like the above, take a moment to note whether you have:
- Controllability – a sense of control
- Evanescence – passing with time
- Reasonableness – appropriate to the situation
If these three things are true, then the anxiety you are feeling is a healthy response. This is the distinction between anxiety as a healthy reaction versus unhealthy anxiety.
＞Unhealthy anxiety is composed of two elements: To be continued…
