Why Anxiety is a Superpower

Have you ever thought about using anxiety as your superpower?  

Anxiety is an imbalance of chemicals in your brain that can be caused by an amalgamation of factors. One important thing to note: Anxiety is NOT caused by lack of tenacity or something you did. Anxiety is not a result of weakness.

Yes, it’s important to be self-aware and take responsibility when we need to – but, I repeat – anxiety is NOT caused by something you did (or didn’t) do.

While lifestyle, hormones, trauma, & stress can all play a role in anxiety – whether that’s generalized anxiety disorder, panic attacks, or phobias – anxiety is our brain kicking into fight or flight mode.

Although it often feels quite the opposite, anxiety is actually trying to be helpful. It’s your brain’s way of warning you of perceived dangers and it’s trying to protect you from harm.

My therapist once made the analogy of thinking of anxiety as a firefighter – it’s there to try and put those fires out that our brains perceive.

 how can you use anxiety as a superpower?

One way is by starting to make friends with your internal firefighter. Start listening to them and understand what the fire is that they’re trying to put out.

Anxiety is our brain’s way of allowing us to protect ourselves in the way we often look to others for protection [whether we like to admit it or not]. Anxiety is saying, “hi, over here! That safe feeling you’re looking for? I gotchu! Let me help”.

Often, people with anxiety tend to be highly sensitive people. Highly sensitive people tend to be more intuitive – though our anxiety firefighters usually charge in so loudly, that it can be really difficult to try and listen to them.

So, how do your start tapping into that intuition?

The next time you start to feel anxious, ask yourself:

What is the fire that my anxiety is trying to put out?
What is my anxiety firefighter doing to try and protect me?
Is my anxiety firefighter trying to subconsciously share something that I need?

 Ie; Maybe it’s telling you that you need a night in, instead of a night out.

Maybe it’s telling you [despite the feeling of needing to be constant productive] that, in reality, you need a break so you can recharge.

Maybe it’s asking you to reevaluate a situation or relationship that opposes your core beliefs.

Although it certainly takes practice, pressing pause allows us a moment to connect with what it is that we truly need to feel safe from these perceived dangers. It allows us to tap in to that inner voice and understand how we can best take care of ourselves, and give ourselves the love we so often give freely to others.

Anxiety provides us with the superpower of consistently having the opportunity to listen to our own needs & intuition so that we can truly know, trust, & love ourselves. It allows us to understand our core beliefs and what happiness looks like for ourselves – regardless of what anyone else’s expectation of what success, the “perfect life”, or happiness “should” look like.

Often times, when we feel unsafe, we need someone to listen to us. To validate what we’re feeling. To provide comforting words.

Anxiety is a superpower that allows us to tap into all of these things that we need – and can provide for ourselves.  

Plus, how cool is it to be able to actually listen to our intuition? Maybe it’s the kid (/adult) in me that has always been fascinated by psychics, healers, & intuitives - but finding a way to start listening to our own intuition - on our own - is pretty dang cool.

Need help getting started? Check out this quick read on How to Get Into the Right Headspace with the White Room Meditation. No sales tactics or additional click-outs here, I promise 😉. What you will find is a visualization practice that you can return to whenever you’re feeling anxious so that you can give yourself exactly what you need. 💙

Note: This piece is not intended to diagnose. If you’re consistently struggling with anxiety, I encourage you to find a professional you can speak with who will offer a safe space for you to open up about your anxiety and help you find the right tools to manage it.