Feeling anxious a lot of the time? Well, consider yourself in good company. The National Institute of Mental Health’s study released in 2008 found about 30 percent of people in the U.S. will experience an issue with anxiety at some time in their life. It is important to remember that like many other concerns in the world of mental health anxiety functions on a spectrum. Anxiety is normal reaction to a stressful situations, and some anxiety is actually beneficial. Researchers Yerkes and Dobson are known for a bell curve which bears their name indicating that very low levels of anxiety actually associate with as poor of performance as very high levels. More importantly is that moderate levels of anxiety are associated with peak levels of performance, so in other words, not only is some anxiety desirable, it is necessary for peak performance.
With the benefits of anxiety being said, the point at which it becmes an problematic is when it begins to interfere with life. For instance, a person is so nervous when meeting for job interviews that they do not go or become physically sick leading to not able to acquire work. Or maybe excessive worry is causing problems in interpersonal relationships like arguments with family or significant others. Essentially, if anxiety (or any other mental health issue) is leading to problems with work, family, or experiencing life in general, then it may be worth trying therapy to develop some new coping skills. In wellness- David