Good anxiety vs Bad

It is no secret I struggle with anxiety! I must say over the years it has calmed down a bit. Actually, no that is untrue, it hasn’t so much calmed down; I am just wayyy better managing it now. I can feel it creeping in, I figure out where it is coming from, and I make a plan to minimize it or squash it down completely. Anxiety can manifest in different ways for different people and can be caused by different things for different people. Anxiety isn’t always bad either, it is your body’s way of protecting you from possible pain/ discomfort. It is almost like your body sensing danger. For example when you get too close to a hot stove your brain sends a signal to the body to produce pain in your fingertips so you move your hand away before getting burned. Its a warning…. like uhh hey if you don’t move your hand soon you are going to be in much more severe pain and probably in the ER. Your body is trying to protect you/ shield you from harm.

I am currently finding my self in situations causing some anxiety. Some of it I feel is because I am doing new things and change scares the crap out of me. I feel like I am going to mess things up or that I am going to get hurt in the end game. Anxiety that comes from a place like this isn’t necessarily a bad thing. I am learning to be more vulnerable and opening myself up for more failures and heartbreak…. that is a bit scary to me… intimidating I guess. So boom… anxiety settles in.

Then there are other types of anxiety where it comes from a place of bad gut feelings. You know that type of feeling when you are watching a horror film, and the hero of the story line is about to walk into the mass murderer or is doing something stupid. The music gets all eery, the lighting gets dark, and you just know either something is going to jump out and scare you to death or you are about to see a big bloody scene. Anxiety of this kind could also be a warning sign. It could be the little pain in the fingertips before the third degree burns. The problem is how do I differentiate the good kind vs the bad gut feeling?

Fear of the unknown vs. fearing danger. Fear of pushing comfort zones vs. fear of losing yourself. Fear of squashing insecurities vs fear of ignoring the “do not enter” sign. For some, it may seem black and white, but for me the lines get blurred. Or, maybe the lines are perfectly crisp and concise, but I am choosing to believe they are blurred in order to avoid the facts.

Sometimes the going back and forth thinking about all of the anxiety, trying to determine if it is coming from a growth place or a danger warning, gives me more anxiety!! Sometimes I wish someone will just hold my hand and tell me when to push through certain feelings or when to pull your hand away from the stove, but life doesn’t work that way. Learning to make mistakes, feeling pain and heartache, making decisions from gut feelings, making decisions to do what is uncomfortable, its how we grow. It is how we learn and course correct along our paths. It is just part of life.

So how am I going to differentiate the situation I am in right now? Good anxiety vs bad anxiety?? Have I made up my mind yet? Have I found a chunk of wisdom deep down…. nope!! I honestly have no idea yet! I am still learning and stumbling along the way! Stay tuned for next weeks episode! Maybe there will be updates 🤨🤣