The Positives of Anxiety

[jitters]

Anxiety Sucks it's true but what positives have people learned through the process.

I have learned so much about myself, my family and my attitude towards life. I have learned that I am not alone and in meeting others with anxiety disorders have met people with whom I have a great deal in common. I have had the time to learn a great deal as I have not been working. I have learned about Religion, Philosophy, Astronomy, Computers, Webdesign and Medical Issues (through my Hypocondria). I have had two years with my son which without this illness I would have missed through work. I think of these as the positives of Anxiety, Has anyone else had good things happen through the anxiety.

Duncan

[scatmantom]

I find it makes me feel worse after I do something to hurt another person, and as a result I think twice before doing or saying hurtful things to people. The fear of gettin anxious and falling behind has also encouraged me to stay on top of my university work.

[kevin]

As much as I'd like to agree with you I can't. I'd rather be ignorant or just plain too stupid to have anxiety and acknowledge, understand and think about all these things.

[Jeordie]

I've learned tons of things.
Anxiety is something natural, something that we carry on because we need it somehow. I think the path of healing beings when you stop thinking of it as a plain bad thing you have, as something you'd rather not have. Think of panic attacks: they disappear when you don't worry about them, accept them, make them friends, WANT them. No pain can scare you if you want it to happen, if you accept it as a part of life.

I've learned way too much. I'm a completely different person now after struggling few years with anxiety, with several up and downs. It was 100% worth living through this.
I don't think I'd be interesting at all without having passed through hell. I like people who deal with their dark side, who know that life can be shit, who seek for truth, or have been seeking, and who experimented hell and arise from that - calling that their training, their hell, the black hole they stayed in to go back and appreciate life better. That is what I call interesting people - I see an abyss between them and the others.

I wouldn't know how to better explain. I thank my soul for giving me signals, even when they're awful sometimes.

[MikeMarcoe]

I have dealt most of my life with a persistent fear of losing money. I stash nearly all my disposable income into IRAs and things like that. I have found that my irrational fear of loss has helped me to save money.

[V for Victor]

Yeah, anxiety/depression is like a terrible storm with little rays of light shining down through it.

I agree with Jeordie, passing through your own personal hell makes you a more well-rounded individual. It can help you to help others with the same problem as well.

Because of my anxiety I have learned and retained a vast amount of knowledge about medicine, illness, the human body, and so on.

Best of all, anxiety has helped to make me a stronger person, and has helped me to look inside myself and about who I am.

Sure, I still deal with mild anxiety and depression from time to time. It is a part of me, but I'm in control of it now, and I know how to deal with it. Anxiety is more like a pesty nusiance now, not a crippiling disease.

[spidersghost]

In a sense, I believe that anxiety did get me in a deeper touch with myself.
It's such a consuming illness that all you think about is you. Perhaps it's an egotistical disease. haha.

Jokes aside, I think it broadened my mind on how I think generally.
I think deeper than I ever remember doing. This is great for artistic endeavors and experimentation. I probably read and interpret books, movies, plays more extensively than I did in the past.

It's also made me more empathetic to others who have odd quirks about them and not be as judgemental if someone is feeling "low" whereas I recall being sort of annoyed by people who I considered "pouting", "miserable", etc.

And in a strange way it's made my own happiness and well-being be a real goal for myself and I think that's healthy - the desire to be healthy.

[jitters]

I started out with this thread just trying to be positive about my difficult condition, but I think there have been some real positive posts about the natrure of this illness and how it affects us and those around us, thankyou keep posting. I missed one important positive; my understanding of those with similar conditions and the conditions themselves.

Duncan

P.S. kevin said:

"As much as I'd like to agree with you I can't. I'd rather be ignorant or just plain too stupid to have anxiety and acknowledge, understand and think about all these things."

Why? When struggling with serious anxiety and being homebound, why would it be ignorant or stupid to think about such issues. Learning more about anything Makes us a little less ignorant and a little less stupid. More over as well as the disraction that learning provides, it can also make us more understanding of the world around us, The more we understand the less we fear.

[/quote]

[Jeordie]

Kevin is probably in a pretty negative mindset and I hope he gets out from it through, I recommend, listening to Nine Inch Nails songs.

[jitters]

To cheer him up? LOL. why not Nirvana ;)

You know, it's strange but I have always listened to music most people would find depressing to relax and chill out. My fav song is Suicidal Dream by Silverchair (a great song), but it never made me feel suicidal. However Boy Bands do often push me to the edge. I hate them. Hate. Hate. Hate. :evil:

Duncan

[Jeordie]

Depressive songs make our depression seem acceptable, boy bands make us think we should be lame in order to get the girls. Which is much more depressive.