
The quick answer is (and the answer that everybody hates) ... it depends!
The ability to worry, to feel anxious, is what makes us the top of the food chain. It allows us to prepare for action, to anticipate potential threat and to create solutions. Unfortunately, for a lot of us nowadays, our worry is elevated for many reasons. Day-to-day stress, financial concerns, COVID uncertainty, inability to deal effectively with conflict, these are just a few of the reasons I hear from my clients.
Take a look at the Worry spectrum in the diagram below. As you can see, there is an optimum range somewhere near the middle where the worrying is productive and useful (the green zone). This is where we would ideally like to be.

You may think that the more to the left the better you would be. Should we not strive to be where we are "totally carefree" on the far left? Actually no. Too much to the left where you are far too complacent and not worry about anything at all is dangerous! While you may not have the problems that an overly anxious person have, you will have a set of problems of your own. Imagine if you are a farmer and you don't worry about when to start planting for the next season. Or if you are far too chilled out to start that big assignment even though it's due next week.
For a lot of people, the problem is being more on the right side of that green zone. They worry so much about what's going to happen, whether it's their jobs, or their ageing parents or whether they'll end up alone that they can't stop ruminating, catastrophising and losing sleep.
They plan, re-plan, have multiple to do lists, constantly multitasking. No wonder they are exhausted! Being in a constant state of high anxiety takes a lot of energy! Farther still to the right, you start seeing symptoms like panic attacks, phobias and obsessive-compulsive behaviours.
What I do with my clients with high anxiety is work together to get back closer towards the green zone. The closer you are to it, the more you are able to enjoy the now. Worrying is living in the future and missing out on the present.
As the late John Lennon once said,
"Life is what happens when you are busy making other plans"
If you would like help managing your anxiety, please contact me.
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