I’m thankful for your glance at my writings. Always, I want to be some sort of hope that you can look up to. I thought of writing about this upon reading quite a bit about the ramping prevalence of anxiety among many young people. Everyone, me, you at some point would have experienced some level of anxiety. I’m hoping that these notes would enhance your perspective to face it better. Anxiety can be described as a feeling of dread, unease, or apprehension associated with a threat that is not present in the current moment. This emotion is likely familiar to many, as it often underpins our interest in productivity methods and personal growth. Anxiety is characterized by the fear that something very negative might occur, despite the lack of concrete evidence to support this belief. This paradox is worth exploring, as living with constant anxiety is not a healthy way to experience life.
One approach to managing anxiety involves envisioning the genuine worst-case scenario in any given situation in detail. For instance, if you are anxious about attending a job interview, imagine the experience of stumbling through your responses, feeling embarrassed, and not getting the job offer. While this scenario is undoubtedly uncomfortable, it is also manageable. This exercise helps to reduce anxiety by addressing the fear of a danger with which you couldn’t cope. However, this method has its limitations, as it may imply that nothing catastrophically bad could ever truly happen, whereas the anxious person knows, deep down, that it could.
Anxiety is not an irrational reaction to how bad things could get; it is a logical response to the human condition. We are thrown into the stream of time, unable to know or control what’s coming, yet expected to build a meaningful and fulfilling life despite our total vulnerability to events. This understanding is part of what makes anxiety an inherent part of the human experience.
In this predicament, the deepest comfort cannot be found in compulsive planning or visualizing worst-case scenarios. Instead, it comes from acknowledging that there is nothing you could ever do to change this state of affairs, so you might as well relax into it if you can. It also helps to recognize that everyone is in the same situation, so you need not worry that others are more in control of their lives than you are.
Another source of comfort and strength can be found in the concept of divine timing. Trusting that events will unfold as they are meant to, even when they seem out of our control, can help alleviate anxiety. By surrendering to the natural flow of life and believing in the will of Almighty without feeling resistance over it through efforts on deepening faith, we can find solace and resilience in the face of uncertainty.