READER’S DIGEST
June• 2019 | 391 It protects you
“If you’re not at all concerned there
could be danger, you’re not going to
take precautions,” says Buhr. That
voice of worry can remind you to put
on your seat belt or check that you
turned off the stove. It keeps you safe.
2 It motivates you
Whether you have a speech to de-
liver or a home renovation to tackle,
thinking about what could go wrong
can spur you to get to work. “A little
bit of worry lets you know what’s
important a nd might actually move
you to prepare,” says Buhr.
spread thin or are overwhelmed be-
cause life is demanding too much of
your limited time, energ y or some
other personal resource. While wor-
ries are thoughts, stress is a feeling.
Anxietyis your mental and physio-
logical response to a perceived threat.
It’s lik e the body’s smoke detector – it
senses d anger and signals your body
to rev up to deal with it. While worry
takes place only in the mind, anxie-
ty can have physical effects, such as
speeding up your heart rate. Worry
can, however, trigger anxiety when
your mind perceives imagined ‘what
ifs’ as r eal threats.
While worry, stress and anxiety
are normal, intense and frequent
anxiety can become a problem. You
might have an anxiety disorder if, for
instance, you have recurring sleep
issues or you’re skipping out on your
customary activities.
Excessive anxiety c an be focused
on a fe ar of something specific,
such as social gatherings (known as
social an xiety) or a host of experi-
ences (known as generalised anxiety
disorder).3 It promotes problem solving
A 2006 study published in the journal
Anxiety, Stress & Copingtracked the
worries of university students in Aus-
tralia and found that they were often
solving problems while they were
agonising. So, while it feels unpleas-
ant, worry can be productive.WHY WORRYING CAN BE WORTH IT