One of the most challenging emotions to deal with is anxiety. The symptoms of anxiety are inherently unpleasant and an experience that we instinctively seek to avoid: racing pulse, sweaty palms, churning stomach, unsettling thoughts. Often, we try to quell anxiety by cultivating its opposite: calm. However, this may not be the most effective approach.
The problem is that the physiological symptoms of calm are the polar opposite of those of anxiety, so to try to create a state of calm from one of anxiety is often quite difficult.
In anticipating an anxiety-producing event like public speaking, a test, or some kind of performance, it is quite natural that the body will produce an anxiety response. Indeed, not only is it natural, but this response can be beneficial. Sports people, actors, musicians, and performers of all types often talk about the benefit of feeling nervous before performing because the adrenaline that it produces helps them to operate at their best.
A lot of the issue lies in how we interpret the sensations of physiological arousal that accompanies anxiety. We tend to think of these symptoms as a sign that ‘something is wrong’ and quickly go into problem-solving mode trying to ‘fix’ the situation. When anxiety arises we often waste a lot of our energy trying to get rid of it – energy that we could be directing in more creative and productive ways, into, for example, improving our performance.
Anxiety as an ally
The key is to try to harness and utilize that anxious energy in a skillful and creative way. The first step is to change the way we perceive anxiety. This means rather than view the arousal of these symptoms as an enemy or an obstacle to be overcome, it can be more helpful to view it as an ally and a resource within us which is trying to help us.
This is in fact true. The stress response evolved to keep us safe and help us protect ourselves. This emotional reaction evolved over thousands of years when we lived in hunter-gatherer societies where threats to our physical well-being were an ever present. Our system needed to be able to respond quickly and effectively in an environment rich with the presence of predators. This fight-or flight response helped us react quickly and effectively in the face of danger to enable us to survive such constant threats.
Today we no longer have such constant threats to our physical well-being, yet we have a brain that still reacts in the same way. This is known as paper-tiger paranoia. The brain has an inbuilt negativity bias that is always scanning the environment for threats. So situations we face in our daily lives that are not life-threatening are processed in the same away and produce the same physiological response as if our lives were under threat.
When you feel anxiety arising it is the body’s intelligence trying to protect you and keep you safe. Knowing this can help us shift our attitude towards it from one of aversion to one of gratitude and appreciation.
Turning anxiety into excitement
In his book, ‘The stress test’, Ian Robertson observes that the physiological symptoms of fear and anxiety closely resemble the symptoms of excitement and arousal. The same increase in heart rate, sweaty palms, butterflies in the stomach occur when we are nervous or excited.
Robertson posits, then, that perhaps a more effective way of dealing with anxiety is to re-frame and relabel it. Rather than try to create a state of unruffled calm from a highly-aroused state of anxiety, we simply relabel anxiety as excitement and trick our brains into experiencing it so.
From risks and threats to opportunities and rewards
By relabeling anxiety as excitement, you activate the ‘approaching rewards’ part of the brain which switches off the ‘avoiding harms’ orientation. This can change your whole mindset and perception of stressful situations.
As you re-frame anxiety as excitement you begin to interpret challenging events less as threats and more as opportunities. Rather than focusing on risks and what we stand to lose in a situation we instead begin to focus on the potential rewards and pleasure that mastering a situation can bring.
This process will not only serve to increase confidence but it will also increase your motivation to seek out challenging situations as a chance for further growth and success.
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