Is Anxiety a Negative Emotion?

Should the goal be to get to zero anxiety because anxiety is a negative emotion?

This is such an important question that can have a huge impact on your mental health.

There is no denying that anxiety can be such a destructive force. It can paralyze us from making decisions, take us away from enjoyable present moments, stop us from performing at our full potential, cause us sleepless nights, make us irritable and tense, cause us to make shitty short-term decisions, and can even have serious physical health effects. It can take up so much space in our heads and bodies, and completely f*ck up the present... being so focused on the future.

However, this anxiety, as much as you hate it, could play a really important role in your life.

Anxiety can contain really important information about the beauty of who you are as a person, and it can motivate you to behave in really positive ways.

It can show you are a deeply caring person with high standards who values relationships, work ethic, security, and a high level of morals and sense of justice. It can show a form of self-love... keeping your self and those you care about safe and prepare you for worst-case scenarios, motivating you to fight for your values

A lot of folks have the goal to eliminate anxiety completely. This is admirable, but misguided. The problem is not that anxiety enters your system, it is how we react to it when it hits us... and hit us it will!

The truth is... anxiety is going to enter your system. For hundreds of thousands of years, anxiety has kept us safe from the dangers of this world. Without it, we would not be on this planet. Imagine walking through the jungle... a hungry lion is standing right in front of you... staring at you and licking his lips... and you get NO anxiety! Yeeesh...

The goal is not to shut it out.

We need to curious and compassionate towards this vital emotion. The energy should be put into how we respond to anxiety once it comes in. You CAN get to a place where you work with it rather than against it.