From my own personal experience anxiety is a motivator, like fear, it just has a much slower burning fuse toward action. A lot of people treat their anxiety with drugs and alcohol, momentary fixes that if kept up, lead to poor outcomes. Bird songs and lavender are temporary fixes too, they just don't lead to poor outcomes. I believe anxiety, like fear, must be addressed with action also, it just must get to the heart of the matter. Since the re-election of Trump, my anxiety levels are through the roof. I have stopped listening/watching cable news. I have only recently allowed myself to read the news (magazine form, not my cell phone) and I am participating in local protests and donating my time to like-minded causes. To quote Ralph Waldo Emerson (also): "The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well."
Martha's words resonate deeply with me. Thank you, Big Think & Martha Beck!
Thank you for sharing!
From my own personal experience anxiety is a motivator, like fear, it just has a much slower burning fuse toward action. A lot of people treat their anxiety with drugs and alcohol, momentary fixes that if kept up, lead to poor outcomes. Bird songs and lavender are temporary fixes too, they just don't lead to poor outcomes. I believe anxiety, like fear, must be addressed with action also, it just must get to the heart of the matter. Since the re-election of Trump, my anxiety levels are through the roof. I have stopped listening/watching cable news. I have only recently allowed myself to read the news (magazine form, not my cell phone) and I am participating in local protests and donating my time to like-minded causes. To quote Ralph Waldo Emerson (also): "The purpose of life is not to be happy. It is to be useful, to be honorable, to be compassionate, to have it make some difference that you have lived and lived well."