The gift within anxiety
Mental health can be a damaging thing to some-one who has unfortunately had more than just a stop-by from the beast, but there is a light found in having mental health. That’s to say I’m not disregarding its crippling pain, difficulty and torment, but there may be a gift within, that we just haven’t been able to unwrap ourselves, which is why I want to unwrap it for the people who cannot. Anxiety can come in different ways for different people but the benefits of having anxiety are the same for everyone struggling with it. The proposal of this piece is to help individuals suffering, see that they are beautiful, no matter how much they are struggling.
Empathetic understanding
The most inspiring superpower that anxiety can offer is empathy. Because of the sensitivity and anxiousness to situations, it provides the potential to understand every situation and its possibilities as a result of overanalysing. Though overanalysing can be a damaging thing, it does allow individuals to be more sympathetic and understanding of everyone else’s situation. With having this sympathetic understanding, they have the ability to change the world for the better. Most people can only see black and white logical information, but this is when over thinking can be a blessing, when it’s not being torturous.
Avoid accidents
Anxiety ridden individuals tend to read every situation and assess every outcome, to the point where they fail to go forward with that decision. They look at every angle to which a situation may go wrong, but because of this, they are more aware of the risks involved. Therefore they are less likely to have accidents because, speaking from experience, they have already thought about every possible risk! The ability to foresee likelihood risks to others can prevent outcomes that they fail to seek.
The right friendships
A lot of people find it strenuous to make friends, even if they don’t show it. There are individuals that are surrounded by a lot of friends, but they may not be able to open up emotionally. For people suffering with anxiety, social situations may take huge amounts of energy and are more resistant in whether they should go out or not. Therefore when they make friends with people, they are closer friends because it takes them a lot of energy to go out in the first place, so when they find someone they are comfortable with, it’s for real. Not only that but having gone through personal struggle, individuals tend to be more accepting. Having this emotional capability can benefit relationships by enhancing trust.
Understanding own self awareness
The routine of some-one suffering from anxiety will be to overanalyse everything. You can overanalyse yourself, mostly not for the better but it can be. Having anxiety can be helpful in understanding our self-importance. With myself only being diagnosed with anxiety within the past few years, it has only made me find out more about myself which I failed to realise before. It can help you understand your own personality more in term of; likes, dislikes, friendships, activities, etc. In turn, this can increase confidence, as we acknowledge strengths and struggles to be able to cope that bit more.
Evolutionary advantage
Having anxiety can allow for adaptations to be made in the human race. Aspects of anxiety may be seen as desirable, such as; having higher emotional intelligence. This emotional intelligence will allow for the human race to grow and work in the interest of every individual’s needs as there is more capacity in having a greater understanding. In particular, the understanding of mental health will grow. Not only this but this emotional intelligence will allow for the avoidance of dangerous situations.
Next time when you have relapsed from anxiety and you’re in a place of recovery, think about how you as a person may be benefiting from your struggles. You are stronger than you think and you can unwrap the gift within anxiety too.
