Do you find yourself more connected to the world and things beyond but can't explain why? Well, here is your answer.
Editor's note: This article was originally published on April 4, 2020. It has since been updated.
"Don't worry" "Calm down" "Why are you getting so worked up?" These are some of the common terms that people with anxiety get to hear all the time. To most of us, anxiety is a part of our daily lives. If it's your first day at a new job or a crucial examination or even a confrontation with a loved one about a bitter truth, anxiety is our body's response to stress, quotes Healthline. But when this sense of fear and apprehension constantly bothers you for a long period of time and starts hindering your lifestyle you might have an anxiety disorder. It is a crippling mental disorder that keeps you worried and stressed all the time, even about things that do not require deep thinking. And according to the American Psychiatric Association, women are more likely than men to have anxiety disorders.
Over-thinking, over-analyzing, and stressing about things that are not in one's control are some of the glaring features of anxiety disorder and one of the ways to deal with it is to surround yourself with people who fill you with positivity and of course, seek professional help.
However, while people suffering from an anxiety disorder feel emotionally weak and vulnerable a lot of times, they do not really pay attention to the superpowers that it bestows on them. It makes one more receptive and emotionally open at the same time. According to Awareness Act, with anxiety comes a heightened sense of perception. The following are a few of them.
Has it ever happened to you that you have not felt good about a person in the first meeting and they really turn out to be nasty but you could never figure out how you knew it and others couldn't see it?
A study published on NCBI has shown that people with anxiety are smarter and more intelligent than people who do not have it. This could be because of all the over-analysis you do for almost everything. You tend to find out every possible outcome of a situation. The same goes for people; you judge them by their vibes. Any person who does not have a positive vibe automatically makes you uncomfortable whereas you easily mingle with people who have a positive vibe. Therefore, you know what people's actions mean and what they could manifest.
A study published in the European Journal of Psychology called Scared saviors: Evidence that people high in attachment anxiety are more effective found that if you are going through anxiety you are better at alerting others to threat. This means that you could be more aware of your surroundings than other people and are good at sensing a bad situation. You are quicker in detecting danger and your intuitions don't fail you when it comes to evaluating a situation. However, there may be times when you could ask yourself how could you do it because you are used to listening to people saying anxiety is a weakness.
A 2005 study found out that anxiety comes with a heightened sense of emotions. If you are going through anxiety it is likely that all your emotions are more magnified now than what they used to be. You, therefore, feel more and react more. While at times, you might have difficulties reading some of your emotions because you are raging with them all the time, it also means that you are now more sensitive and receptive. You not only feel your emotions in a more elaborate manner, but you also tend to relate to others' emotions.
By now you know that you are better at detecting negative people, bad situations, and others' emotions. It, therefore, indicates your urge to help people when you see them in pain. Your sensitive self cannot endure the pain of others. You want to do your best to provide them ease because you know how it feels to suffer through worries and stress. You feel more connected with them and are brave enough to open yourself to the feelings of others.
As you are used to analyzing every situation until everything starts making sense, it is not easy to fool you. You keep thinking and calculating until you find the missing link in a conversation or circumstance. However, owing to your sensitive self, confrontation is not really your strong suit as you do not want to hurt anyone. But that does not mean that you do not want to show that lying to you and expecting to get away is not going to work.
References:
https://www.healthline.com/health/anxiety
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10608-005-1651-1
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3269637/
http://portal.idc.ac.il/he/schools/psychology/homepage/documents/tsachi-scared%20saviors.pdf
Source: Getty Images | Photo by Science Photo Library
Disclaimer: This article is based on insights collated from various sources. The views expressed here belong to the writer.
