Question for everyone...do you think panic and anxiety serve a purpose?

[masonmoore0824]

I am looking for different opinions...does anyone think that having anxiety about something has any meaning? Such as acting as a warning for a situation that is not best for you? How about when the anxiety progresses to panic attacks? Is this a faulty reactive mechanism or is it a sign that needs to be noticed and explored? I really wonder about this, especially lately with my on and off feelings about going back to school. The last job I had started with anxiety and I tried to cope using skills from counseling, but it escalated into full blown panic attacks. This was a difficult, but rewarding job that I ended up losing over a combination of an injury and this escalating anxiety.

What is your experience with anxiety and panic? Is it always just a false alarm or does it sometimes alert you to something that is not good for you? Please let me know what you think...

[ab123]

I believe it serves a deeper spiritual purpose. I believe since I can endure so much negative emotion, that I am capable of so much more understanding of life than a non sufferer.

[Dahila]

Ab maybe you are right, I think anxiety suffers are always observing others (fight or flight) and this is why we read others well, if we are not clouded by the doubts...

[alankay]

Anxiety will come up on or about most anything. Anxiety can be a result of an unresolved psychic conflict or bad memory, etc, but often you'll get anticipatory anxiety about upcoming changes or challenges like jobs, dates, school, tests, social events, etc, that is just.............anxiety. The worst scenario you start to imagine never really happens. Once you see this scenario work out a few times you'll recognize it for what it is and do your best to try to accept that and get on with whatever it is. At the root of it is just old .....anxiety. Sometimes in a little different form but still anxiety. Alankay

[masonmoore0824]

Anxiety will come up on or about most anything. Anxiety can be a result of an unresolved psychic conflict or bad memory, etc, but often you'll get anticipatory anxiety about upcoming changes or challenges like jobs, dates, school, tests, social events, etc, that is just.............anxiety. The worst scenario you start to imagine never really happens. Once you see this scenario work out a few times you'll recognize it for what it is and do your best to try to accept that and get on with whatever it is. At the root of it is just old .....anxiety. Sometimes in a little different form but still anxiety. Alankay

So it's probably not a great idea to make decision based on this anxiety and take it as a "sign" that something isn't good for you?

[Lord Jazzinho]

Anxiety is in effect the fight or flight instinct. Unfortunately today we can neither fight or run so the the feeling becomes sustained and acts on us instead of acting on a specific threatening situation. It then becomes like a learned habit for us to respond to threats in this way and fast escalating anxiety causes a panic attack. You have change your perspective from I can't deal with this to that to bring it on and what will be will be. But anxiety is normal and probably useful in some situations but chronic anxiety is a problem and when it gets hold of you in this way it begins to feed itself and take over.