Trauma preoccupies us with past threats, fear is concerned with the imminent, and anxiety anticipates. You have likely thought about all the potential and unfortunate consequences that could happen…if and when something else happens. That cycle is anxiety.

When anxiety becomes severe, it often manifests as:

• Excessive, difficult-to-control worry over assorted topics or activities

• Difficulty concentrating

• Irritability

• Increased aches or soreness

• Increased fatigue and/or irregular sleep

• Restlessness or feeling on-edge

The essence of anxiety is a feeling of unsafety; one can never feel fully safe under the prevailing threat of things unseen. Psychological safety is gone when we forfeit agency, letting life’s future uncertainties dictate our present behavior. We are left guarding ourselves against what might happen rather than asserting what we endeavor to have happen.

Anxiety can thus be considered an issue of values: Am I working toward what is important to me? We should concern ourselves with whether we are doing the “right” things and if those will pan out, but that concern can seldom be overwhelming if we believe in our actions. At the very least, we avoid the guilt of living a resigned, passive, or fearful life.

I will encourage you to be resilient and active in your life, tackling anxiety and fear as they come. Hopefully, the work of managing anxiety transforms into the work of seeking fulfillment.