“Anxiety is a thin stream of fear trickling through the mind. If encouraged, it cuts a channel into which all other thoughts are drained.”

Arthur Somers Roche (Esposito, 2014)

A Tale of Anxiety

We will start our Anxiety Tale by looking at a pair of twins, Marta and Megan Brewster. The sisters are seventeen-year-old seniors in high school. They take the same classes. They live in the same household. They are applying to the same colleges and are searching for the same after-school jobs. The chief difference between the sisters is their state of mental health. While Megan copes with manageable stress levels, Marta suffers from dysfunctional anxiety.

A Day in the Life of the Brewster Twins

Marta and Megan Brewster wake up one morning to discover that their car’s battery has died. They must figure out how to get to school. Megan realized that the battery was getting old weeks ago and, as a result, made plans with her friend, Posey, to pick them up, should a problem arise. Unaware of the Posey plan, Marta learns of the dead battery and immediately becomes overwhelmed with worry. Of course, she knew it might become a problem, but the idea of making a plan (calling friends, asking for favors) overwhelmed her, so instead she put it off. Now, realizing that she has no plan to get to school, she slumps down into a chair, her breath quickening, fighting back tears. “This is so stupid,” she says. “I know it’s not a big deal. I KNOW it. I just didn’t sleep well, my mind’s been racing, and this is the last thing I need.” “It’s okay,” Megan says. “I’ve got it covered.”

When the sisters arrive at school, they find out that Mr. H is administering a pop quiz. Megan is mildly annoyed, but thankfully, she studies often is always semi-prepared for Mr. H’s shenanigans. She knows that if she focuses and keeps a cool head, she will be fine. Unfortunately, this is not true for Marta. She studies just as often as Megan, but finds it difficult to absorb anything. She gets restless and overwhelmed, fretting over how much information she must learn, distracted by what might happen if she fails. As a result, when she starts the quiz, her mind blanks. The material looks familiar, but she is so frazzled, she cannot remember anything she learned. Long story short, Megan passes. Marta fails.

In the afternoon, each sister meets with their guidance counselor, Ms. W, to discuss their post-graduation plans. Megan presents Ms. W a neatly organized binder full of information pertaining to standardized testing, college applications, and job searches. When Ms. W comments on how well-prepared she is, Megan explains that planning is how she copes with worry. “So long as I have things in order, I know I’m doing my best. If things still don’t work out, it’s okay.” Marta’s meeting with Ms. W isn’t quite so positive. Halfway through describing her half-formed plans (thinking about the future makes her feel nauseated, so she avoids it), Marta feels a wave of mental exhaustion taking over. She tries to fight it, but all she can hear is an internal voice saying, “It’s too much. You can’t possibly do all of this. It’s huge and scary and overwhelming and it would be better just to crawl under a blanket and hide.” But of course that is not an option. Mercifully ending the meeting early, Ms. W sends Marta on her way, no doubt assuming that she is apathetic, lazy, or worse. Marta leaves school irritable, tired, tense, and feeling like a big loser.

Manageable Worry vs. Generalized Anxiety Disorder

So what differentiates “good” anxiety from “bad” anxiety?

Psychological research suggests that anxiety occurring within a normal range (“eustress”) benefit us. It keeps us motivated and excited about our life plans (Star, 2020). It serves as an internal calibrator, letting us know when something is “off” in our lives and needs attention (Star, 2020). Essentially, eustress is the security alarm that alerts us to danger and keeps us on a safe, functional path.

What does it mean when our security alarm becomes defective? What if it goes off 24/7, alerting us to minor or non-existent problems, keeping us on constant high alert? What if it is so loud and overwhelming, we simply cannot focus on anything else? This dysfunction is what distinguishes eustress from disordered stress.

Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) affects 6.8 million adults, or 3.1% of the U.S. population (“Understanding the Facts: Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD),” n.d.). According to the DSM-5, GAD is marked by excessive anxiety and worry occurring in multiple areas of a person’s life for at least six months, causing significant distress or impairment (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). The anxiety is not attributable to substance use or another medical condition, nor is it better explained by another mental health disorder (American Psychiatric Association, 2013).

Individuals suffering from GAD struggle with at least three (only one for children) of the following symptoms:

  1. Restlessness or feeling keyed up or on edge.
  2. Being easily fatigued.
  3. Difficulty concentrating or mind going blank.
  4. Irritability.
  5. Muscle tension.
  6. Sleep disturbance (American Psychiatric Association, 2013).

The illustration of Megan and Marta offers a realistic representation of what manageable stress looks like, compared to the symptoms of GAD. In Megan’s case, her “good” anxiety (eustress) motivates her to plan and organize. It incentivizes her to manage her life (arranging transportation, college planning), yet she is able to shut it off when it is no longer helpful (when she studies or takes a quiz). Marta, in contrast, finds that her anxiety sabotages her. Instead of controlling worry, worry controls her. The alarm system in her mind is so defective, its noise prevents her from planning and focusing, which results in life dysfunction. This, in turn, impacts her relationships and self-esteem.

In Conclusion…

All of us deal with anxiety. The question is, how does anxiety impact us? Does it help us plan and organize or does it paralyze us? Do we control anxiety or does anxiety control us? How pervasive is anxiety in our daily activities?

If anxiety reaches an unmanageable level, it is helpful to seek mental health treatment. In addition to offering medication options for anxiety treatment (SSRIs have proven highly effective), clinicians teach clients practical ways of coping with the emotional and physiological symptoms of dysfunctional anxiety. This, in turn, brings anxiety back into the functional realm, where it helps rather than hinders us.

In summary, try not to devalue your anxiety. In many ways, it serves you well. But if an alarm system is going off inside of you all hours of the day and is no longer helpful, why not find a way to adjust its settings?

Courtesy: Gwendolyn Brown, M.S..

Resources:


Ready to find your therapist? Search the Jax Therapy Network and find the right therapist for you.