Is Anxiety Healthy?

Check out this answer from Consensus:

Anxiety is a complex emotional response with both beneficial and detrimental effects on health. While it can enhance emotional processing and promote disease avoidance, chronic anxiety poses significant risks, including increased susceptibility to chronic diseases, poor cardiovascular health, and chronic inflammation. Understanding the dual nature of anxiety is crucial for developing effective interventions that maximize its protective benefits while mitigating its harmful impacts.

Anxiety is a common emotional response characterized by feelings of tension, worried thoughts, and physical changes like increased blood pressure. While it is often perceived negatively, anxiety can have both beneficial and detrimental effects on health. This article explores the dual nature of anxiety, examining its potential health benefits and risks, supported by recent research findings.

The Beneficial Aspects of Anxiety

Anxiety, in moderate amounts, can serve as a protective mechanism. It prepares the body to respond to threats, enhancing alertness and readiness to act. This response is rooted in the evolutionary “fight or flight” mechanism, which has historically helped humans survive dangerous situations.

Enhanced Emotional Processing

Research indicates that anxiety can enhance emotional processing, which is crucial for recognizing and responding to potential threats. A meta-analysis of functional neuroimaging studies found that individuals with anxiety disorders, such as PTSD, social anxiety disorder, and specific phobia, exhibit greater activity in the amygdala and insula—brain structures linked to negative emotional responses. This heightened activity is also observed during fear conditioning in healthy subjects, suggesting that anxiety can improve the ability to detect and react to danger1.

Disease Avoidance

Anxiety can also play a role in disease avoidance. Individuals with high levels of health anxiety tend to perceive others as sicker and more contagious, which can lead to behaviors that reduce the risk of infection. This heightened sensitivity to potential health threats may have been beneficial throughout evolution, allowing for better disease avoidance7 9.

The Detrimental Effects of Anxiety

While anxiety can be beneficial in certain contexts, chronic or excessive anxiety can have significant negative impacts on health.

Risk of Chronic Diseases

Chronic anxiety is associated with an increased risk of various chronic diseases. For instance, anxiety has been identified as a risk factor for Alzheimer’s disease and vascular dementia. Longitudinal studies have shown that individuals with high levels of anxiety are more likely to develop these forms of dementia, highlighting the long-term cognitive risks associated with chronic anxiety2.

Cardiovascular Health

Anxiety disorders are also linked to poor cardiovascular health. Patients with cardiovascular disease often experience higher levels of anxiety, which can exacerbate their condition. Anxiety can lead to autonomic dysfunction, inflammation, and changes in platelet aggregation, all of which contribute to adverse cardiovascular outcomes, including increased mortality6.

Chronic Inflammation

Anxiety is characterized by prolonged psychological and physiological activation, which can lead to chronic inflammation. Elevated levels of inflammatory cytokines and C-reactive protein have been observed in individuals with anxiety disorders, PTSD, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Chronic inflammation is a known risk factor for various health issues, including cardiovascular diseases and metabolic disorders3.

 

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Is anxiety healthy?

Bethany Teachman has answered Near Certain

An expert from University of Virginia in Psychology

It is time to stop dreading anxiety.

Few things motivate escape and avoidance more than the feeling of anxiety, the sense of apprehension and worry that a catastrophic outcome may lie ahead. Sometimes we can name it – tomorrow is the big test, the first online date, a telemedicine check-up by Zoom. Other times, we are unsure of the source of our unease. Of course, few words promote anxiety more than “coronavirus.”

Should we fear anxiety?

What we know is we want anxiety to go away, and we’ll do almost anything to get rid of the feeling – avoid studying for the test, cancel the date, skip the check-up. This desire to escape or avoid anxiety is very natural. After all, anxiety is meant to function as an alarm or warning signal to let us know that dangers lurk ahead so we can protect ourselves. It is a tremendously adaptive system and the associated bodily responses do a fantastic job at helping us manage objective dangers. So, if a bear is chasing us in the woods, then an acute fear response with a racing heart and shortness of breath that prepares the body to flee, fight or freeze is just what we want to help escape the danger.

The problem is, many people have come to fear the anxiety response itself; when we routinely have “false alarms” going off, then situations that are not objectively dangerous – but make us feel anxious – come to be feared and avoided. When we become intolerant of uncertainty and risk, and come to fear the experience of anxiety itself, our world becomes smaller. It is true we don’t know for sure how the test, the date, or the check-up will turn out, but rarely is our life better by avoiding or not preparing for these events.

The Benefits of Anxiety

As a clinical psychologist, I teach my clients that anxiety is uncomfortable but not dangerous. In fact, moderate levels of anxious arousal can improve our performance, when we think about the arousal in a healthy way – it’s hard to give a good, lively speech when we feel absolutely no arousal, and some anxiety about the coronavirus can remind us to take needed precautions. Even high levels of anxiety are not themselves imminently harmful; a panic attack does not cause a heart attack. Rather, it is the sustained experience of anxiety and stress over time that can contribute to coronary heart disease and other negative health outcomes. And one of the significant risk factors for developing chronic anxiety is fearing the experience of anxiety, termed anxiety sensitivity, and repeatedly avoiding situations that trigger those feelings.

In contrast, when we come to see anxiety as signaling a challenge instead of a threat, our world gets bigger. We try new things, we surprise ourselves with what we can do, and we learn that failing is not actually the end of the world.

Of course, when an objective danger is present, it makes sense to escape that situation, but usually there is no bear chasing us in the woods – we just feel that way. Certainly, it makes sense to minimize risks in ways that don’t interfere with us living a full life; I always wear my seatbelt to reduce risks associated with driving. But what doesn’t make sense is to avoid driving altogether because I might have a car accident one day. There are so many places to see and go.

Don’t stop living, just wear a ‘Coronavirus Seatbelt’

What does this mean for managing our anxiety about the coronavirus? It means we wear the equivalent of a “coronavirus seatbelt” – we do the recommended hand washing, physical distancing, wearing masks in public, and other recommended healthy precautions from reliable sources like the Centers for Disease Control. But we don’t stop living; we get creative about how to meet our goals as much as possible while still physical distancing (virtual dates are an option!) and we don’t make decisions based on panic (you probably don’t need 50 rolls of toilet paper for just your household). Of course, this is a confusing time and it can be hard to know which advice to follow. The key is to ask yourself what factors you want to guide your decisions (e.g., What is the evidence to support the advice? Is it consistent with my values and the person I want to be? How will it affect others?). Anxiety is not a good decision-maker – it’s too inflexible.

Too many people are letting anxiety make decisions for them. Approximately one in four Americans will have an anxiety disorder in their lifetime, and still more experience clinically significant anxiety symptoms that lead them to turn down opportunities and undermine their own potential. Even for those who do not struggle with clinical levels of anxiety, the messages about fear and anxiety in our society are not healthy ones. Long before coronavirus, the repeated message has been that the world is a dangerous place and we are vulnerable. And more than that, we are fragile and can’t handle feelings of anxiety.

The risk of coronavirus infection is objectively dangerous, and we need to take the appropriate steps to mitigate that specific vulnerability, but that shouldn’t generalize to a belief that the world more generally is dangerous or that we are perpetually vulnerable and weak. Managing the insidious consequences of coronavirus, in terms of jobs and lives lost, is going to require all of our strength and resilience, as individuals and communities; this is not the time to overestimate threat and underestimate ourselves.

Anxiety is uncomfortable, but not dangerous

We need to change this narrative and embrace anxiety as the signal that a challenge lies ahead. We can shift the thinking pattern that screams in our heads that the situation portends a threat we cannot manage to a quieter voice that empowers us to handle a challenge and recognize that we can get back up even when something doesn’t go well. It is time to develop a new mantra: Anxiety is uncomfortable, but not dangerous. Anxiety can be tolerated, so we don’t need to escape or avoid situations that make us anxious when no objective danger is present.

We can shift these patterns through cognitive behavior therapy or other evidence-based approaches to treat anxiety or, for those who want to try shifting their anxious thinking on their own, try one of the online approaches. For instance, our lab is testing free, new web-based programs to train less anxious thinking.

Ironically, when we stop dreading anxiety, it’s amazing how much calmer we feel!

This answer comes from my original article published on UVA ‘On Words’ – you can read it here.

 

Is anxiety healthy?

Ivor Ebenezer has answered Uncertain

An expert from University of Portsmouth in Neuroscience

There are many different definitions of anxiety. More than half a century ago, Lewis (1) reviewed the etymology of the word ‘anxiety’ and described anxiety as an emotional state with the subjectively experienced quality of fear, or a closely related emotion, which is unpleasant in nature, is directed towards the future, in which there is no recognisable threat, or the threat is, by reasonable standards, out of proportion to the emotion it seemingly evokes’. He went on to state that anxiety may (i) be accompanied by subjective bodily discomforts or disturbances, (ii) be considered as normal, mild, severe, episodic or persistent, (iii) be due to physical disease, (iv) be accompanied by other features of mental disorders, (v) exist on its own and (vi) may affect perception and memory for the duration of the attack. The core symptoms of anxiety are fear and worry. Although Lewis’s description does not explicitly use the term worry, it is implicit in his description. Anxiety may be considered as a normal evolutionary emotional response to threat. So, it is normal to feel a little bit anxious before an examination or an interview for a job. However, in excess, anxiety is considered as a psychiatric disorder and is termed ‘clinical anxiety’. Qualitatively, there is no difference between ‘normal anxiety’ and ‘clinical anxiety’. The distinction is based largely on the degree of emotion elicited by the threat. Thus, if a student feels a little bit anxious before an examination, it may give him the impetus and motivation to read his recommended textbooks and study the material necessary for the impending test. On the other hand, if the student becomes excessively anxious about his examination, it may result in an intelligent person becoming a nervous wreck being unable function effectively. So, while mild anxiety can be beneficial to an individual and be the driving force behind many of his or her achievements, excessive anxiety can lead to a clinical situation in which the person cannot function adequately. It should be noted that what is meant by the term “excessive” will vary from person. While some individuals may be able to deal adequately with stressful situations without major problems, others may find the same situations excessive and display symptoms of clinical anxiety. Anxiety can manifest itself in many forms, collectively termed anxiety disorders, and these have been categorised, based on clinical presentation and symptoms, into different subtypes (2).

Thus, anxiety can be considered a normal emotional response to imminent or a perceived threat and is characterised by fear and worry? While anxiety can be beneficial in some circumstances, in excess it can be devastating to the individual.

(1) Lewis, A. (1967) Problems presented by the ambiguous word ‘anxiety’ as used in psychopathology. Israel Annals of Psychiatry and Related Disciplines, 5, 105–121.

(2) Ebenezer, I.S (2015) Neuropsychopharmacology and Therapeutics, (Anxiety Disorders, Chapter 8, pp 211 – 235), John Wiley and Sons Ltd., Chichester, U.K.

 

Is anxiety healthy?

Jerome Palazzolo has answered Near Certain

An expert from Université Côte d’Azur in Psychology, Psychiatry

Anxiety is a protective mechanism and scanning the body for an illness seems like the right thing to do to protect ourselves. However, when we are preoccupied with something, we tend to notice it. Looking for symptoms makes you notice subtle sensations you might otherwise ignore. When you become preoccupied with bodily sensations, those sensations become amplified and last longer. 

It’s normal to feel anxious about moving to a new place, starting a new job, or taking a test. This type of anxiety is unpleasant, but it may motivate you to work harder and to do a better job. Ordinary anxiety is a feeling that comes and goes, but does not interfere with your everyday life.

In the case of an anxiety disorder, the feeling of fear may be with you all the time. It is intense and sometimes debilitating.

This type of anxiety may cause you to stop doing things you enjoy. In extreme cases, it may prevent you from entering an elevator, crossing the street, or even leaving your home. If left untreated, the anxiety will keep getting worse.

 

Is anxiety healthy?

Jordan Davis has answered Near Certain

An expert from Temple University in Anxiety

Yes, a certain amount of anxiety is healthy! In working with youth, I tend to use the example of a lion. If a lion walks into a room we’re in, we will likely react intensely. We might jump up, run, hide, try to get out of the room. In this example, anxiety helps to protect us. If we just sat in the room, the lion might attack us. Similarly, in daily life, some amount of anxiety helps to protect us and to drive us. If we aren’t nervous for a test, we might not study. Anxiety becomes a problem when it begins to interfere with our daily lives.

 

Is anxiety healthy?

Ronald Rapee has answered Uncertain

An expert from Macquarie University in Psychology, Mental Health, Child Development

Yes and no.

Anxiety is a fundamental emotion experienced by all organisms. It’s primary purpose is to protect the organism from harm.

Therefore, the typical level of anxiety that most people experience is healthy. In fact it is more than that – it is critical to our survival.

However, when anxiety levels become higher than usual and they last longer than usual, it is no longer healthy.

In other words, excessive and chronic anxiety can be harmful in two major ways: first, it can affect quality of life and interfere with functioning, and second, long term and very high levels of anxiety can actually begin to affect physical health and have been linked to problems such as heart disease, high blood pressure, and gastrointestinal problems.

 

Is anxiety healthy?

Adam Heenan has answered Likely

An expert from Independent in Psychology

Anxiety helps us adapt to situations, so in a sense, yes, it is healthy. However, anxiety can also get in our way. When anxiety is too high for a given situation, it’s considered “maladaptive” (e.g., being too anxious to give a public speech).

 

Is anxiety healthy?

Laura Schrader has answered Likely

An expert from Tulane University in Molecular Biology, Neurobiology, Neuroimaging, Neuroscience

Anxiety is the brain’s response to stress that generally occurs when events and occurrences do not meet expectations. That response depends on an individual’s perception and reaction to that stressor. A low level of anxiety is reasonable and can be motivating, an excessive amount is unhealthy and can be crippling. Prolonged or chronic stress can lead to depression and cardiovascular or metabolic diseases.

 

Is anxiety healthy?

Edwin de Beurs has answered Likely

An expert from Leiden University in Psychology, Mental Health

Anxiety is like pain, unpleasant, but a necessary protective emotion and helpful as it makes us refrain from overly risky or dangerous behavior; complete fearlessness is probably unhealthy. On the other hand, excessive anxiety is a symptom of anxiety disorders.