Anxiety and fear are very present in our day to day in the form of sensations or actions. Some of these sensations are physical (shortness of breath, rapid palpitations, agitation, tiredness, etc.) and other mental (overwhelmed, desire to flee or attack, restlessness, insecurity, etc.) that together lead us to certain actions. These actions, in some cases, can be adaptive (if we see a lion in the street it will cause fear or anxiety and we will flee from the situation to get to safety) or maladaptive actions (not seeing ourselves able to face a new job and feel overwhelmed, difficult breathing, insecurity, wanting to run away, mental block, etc., for a long period of time). The question is, when is it adaptive and when is it not? It is normal that when we are assigned new responsibilities as a different job, we feel nervous, restless, and even insecure, since it is something new, but when these symptoms last over time and others are added, generating a certain level of physical and mental wear, is when anxiety or fear become maladaptive.
Anxiety and fear are not necessarily negative. As we have seen in the example of the lion or running, if we see a car crossing the street, they prepare us to react to real dangers, it is like our internal alarm. The problem comes when this alarm goes off before dangers that are not real and we suffer the unpleasant symptoms of anxiety or fear. Therefore, it is important to detect when it is a real threat and when it is not. If we know how to detect it, we can change its function and try not to get carried away by the unpleasant sensations that anxiety and fear generate. For example, when we feel anxiety or fear in situations without real danger, we can change its function and see it as a challenge to overcome, instead of being paralyzed by the unpleasant sensations that fear and anxiety produce, since no matter how unpleasant they may seem our body will tend to balance and will cease. This will allow us to advance and overcome many obstacles in our life, which will make it more interesting, complete, comfortable and we will achieve many goals, because each step and each improvement will bring us closer to our state of personal well-being. In this way fear will make us act instead of paralyzing us.
We have to remember that we do not always have all the necessary resources to overcome different fears or situations that induce anxiety. If we try to face something that is very important or necessary for us and we feel that we are not capable, we must go to a psychologist since he will be the professional who will provide us with the help and resources necessary to take action in a healthy way.
Laura Fernández
Health Psychologist