Shifting Perspectives

    

          Robert Bray, a skilled life coach that focuses on OCD recovery, wrote on his twitter, "The word 'sensitive' is often used to describe anxiety sufferers which I don't agree with, it implies a level of vulnerability which isn't reality, "in tune" describes it far better, able to see and feel things more distinctively, a deeper felt awareness." Bray's statement brings up several important points. Personally, this quote has stuck with me for months because I feel it empowers anxiety sufferers in many ways. Through this statement, Bray enforces the idea that although someone with anxiety tends to suffer in many ways, him or her can also reap some benefits that accompany this suffering.

          We often hear people speak of silver linings. This usually means that with bad, often comes good. Despite the clichés that these types of statements have become, I can truly say that one can find a silver lining through their sufferings with mental health, simply being a shift in perspective. Bray's statement that anxiety leads to "a deeper felt awareness" is absolutely valid. Someone that is often in a state of anxiousness knows what is truly feels like to be 'in the moment.' Anxiety can make us feel emotions and think thoughts so deeply that our thoughts can provoke physical reactions. Although these often have negative implications, manifesting these sensations forces us to reap deeper awareness within ourselves. In order to overcome the negativity that anxiety can bring, we must know ourselves inside and out. A person with anxiety often knows how certain situations will make them feel, in turn, this individual becomes very aware of their surroundings. Anxiety opens doors to what it is like to truly feel emotions deeply and to contemplate one's personal well-being each and every day.

          The biggest and most important benefit I personally feel someone can gain from anxiety is a deepened sense of empathy. Empathy encompasses what Bray states to be the "in tune" sense that an individual possesses. In my case, I feel I did not have half the sense of empathy that I do today, before I began to suffer with anxiety. Knowing oneself opens doors to the individual being able to know others. The deepened sense of awareness that an anxiety sufferer obtains regarding their own emotions and thoughts, allows them to be aware of another's mental state. Furthermore, anxiety sufferers, with practice, are able to pinpoint what they are feeling and when they will feel it. In turn, individuals with anxiety are able to recognize the emotions of others and can often aid others in coping with these feelings.

          Anxiety and anxiousness is a mental state that causes negative sensations in the moment, however, this mental illness leads to a more worldly perspective. This deepened empathy and sense of self awareness will be carried throughout the lifetime of the sufferer and manifest in the successes of their surrounding endeavors.