How to Tell if Anxiety is Legitimate

Do you ever get the feeling that what your anxious about has little or nothing to do with what is actually happening? Many of us do, and it happens a lot. Anxiety is a concern or worry about past and/or future events, which is detrimental to being in the moment.

The real question is: how legitimate is anxiety ? Especially, since anxiety and fear are normal human responses to certain conditions.

This article will give you some tips on how to discern real and legitimate anxiety from the goofy tricks your mind plays on you. You’ll learn the essential questions to ask yourself when anxiety is causing personal discomfort. You’ll also learn two important tips that help you reduce anxiety.

Here’s the most important thing to know: anxiety is made up in the mind. But it is powerful, and it often dominates thought processes. Anxiety is natural and it is normal. At any given time, in any situation, anxiety can be a lived experience. It’s common, contagious, and controlling. Cultural conditioning has programmed your mind to believe that anxiety is attractive to some extent.

Anxiety does have some positive attributes though. For some people, it can be inspiration to take action. It also triggers a “fight or flight” response to fear, which can keep you safe from danger and harm.

Anxiety may benefit you in certain situations, especially if you tend to procrastinate. If you’re a procrastinator, anxiety will get you up and doing something, helping you achieve accomplishments. You’ll worry enough about the anticipated result that it will motivate you to do something so that you accomplish your task.

But many people get more anxious about things than what is considered normal. If you become consumed and overpowered by anxiety, it will hinder you from being able to fulfill daily functions. You will become a victim to it, and sometimes, have feelings of being helpless to it.

When victimized by anxiety, your mind is working against you. This is the point where anxiety is no longer legitimate. This is also the time where you will need to do something about it.

In order to recognize how much of anxiety is legit, first notice how familiar and repetitive your thoughts are. Do the thoughts race in your mind, over and over again? If they are way too familiar, your mind has succumbed to anxiety, which is unnecessary and creates more madness in the mind.

Once you have tracked your thoughts to determine how familiar and repetitive they are, ask yourself the question “how is this serving me?” If, in response, you feel a sense of panic or more anxiety, this is your body telling you that anxiety has no purpose to fulfill, and it’s not at all serving you.

When feeling anxious, you can also ask yourself “Is this really me?” You’ll get an answer that will help you discern whether anxiety is legitimate or not. The crucial thing about this question is that you’ll need to be honest with yourself. If you are, you’ll further understand how anxiety was taken over the power of your mind.

Do you want your power back? Do you want to feel calm and relaxed?

Illegitimate anxiety is created in the mind and you can do things to regain control over the anxious thoughts. You will need to use the power of your imagination to create thoughts and images that help you calm down. Remember your imagination ? You can use it to relax yourself and reduce anxiety.

Have you tried meditation ? Meditation has many benefits. To put it simply, if you meditate, you will have a sense of detachment from the “hooks” of anxiety. You’ll be able to look at the cause for concern, be okay that it exists, but move in with your life.

If you do things to be more present, you will reclaim your power and reduce anxiety. Anxiety is mostly about the past and future. Living more in the moment will help you regulate and reduce unnecessary anxiety. You will reclaim your personal power.