We have all experienced anxiety at some point in our lives. Anxiety is one of the many ways we experience fear. It is an unpleasant feeling, and therefore we don’t want to feel it. We would like it to just go away, and it is even tempting to take a pill, or anesthetize ourselves with alcohol or other substances to stop feeling it. But we would be overlooking the fact that anxiety, like all emotions, has a purpose for existing. Its mission is to warn us that we are doing something wrong. That we are not relating properly with ourselves and the world around us.

Our body cannot speak to us with words, so it does so with sensations, emotions and feelings. And in the specific case of anxiety, the body is forced to generate unpleasant sensations, because otherwise we would not listen to it. And if with the first unpleasant sensations we still do not hear it, then the intensity increases.

The most common signs of anxiety are: A very active mind (mostly focused on worries about the future), difficulty sleeping, a racing heart, short and rapid breathing, tingling in hands and feet (which can spread to arms and legs), tension in the upper body (shoulders, back, neck and jaw), nausea and vomiting in some cases, and a sense of dread that invites isolation.

Unlike the fear we feel in the face of imminent danger, anxiety is caused by fears that we project in our mind, but which have nothing to do with the present moment. For example: reliving a traumatic event or imagining a catastrophic situation that could occur in the future. We could say that anxiety is a product of avoiding the present moment.

If your anxiety could speak to you in words and tell you what you need to hear (and don’t want to hear) it would probably give you one of the following messages: “Stop worrying and get busy”. “You’re not being authentic, express yourself as you are.” “You’re not living the way you want to live.” “Stop worrying so much about others, you need to take care of you”. “Out of fear, you are putting things off, it’s time to take care of your needs”. “You feel imprisoned, you need to start setting boundaries”. “You are imagining problems that you don’t even know are going to happen.” “Don’t lock yourself in, the world is not as dangerous as you think it is”. “You need to get out and live, to regain your confidence.” “Go for your dreams, find out what you are capable of”.

As you can see, anxiety has noble messages to give you. Its mission is to make you feel uncomfortable so that you get out of your safe zone and start living your life.

When you feel anxiety, you might ask yourself some of the following questions to gain clarity: Am I living in the present moment? Have I stopped being myself? Am I expressing what I really think and feel? Am I giving up my freedom to please others? What am I avoiding facing?

A good habit to prevent anxiety is to listen to your body constantly. Taking a few minutes a day to check in with yourself will help you address your anxiety before it grows. You’ll find that if you listen carefully, your body will tell you what you need: Take a deep breath, get your feet on the ground and look at reality without drama. What is happening may not be what you want, but it is what is happening, it is not good or bad, it is just the present moment, accept it as it is. And finally, the best remedy for anxiety is to take action; even if you are afraid, even if you don’t feel ready, even if you don’t feel like it. Just try, as best you can, if you do well, good for you, you’ve learned something new. If it doesn’t work out as you expected, you also learned something, try again! That’s how you build confidence, with every attempt, with every effort you make to try again.

“Our greatest glory does not consist in never having fallen, but in having risen after every fall” Confucius.