It’s Natural To Be Anxious But Don’t Let Anxiety Create Fear Of Living To The Fullest

By Zile Singh

Ambassador(Retd.)

Anxiety – The Perfect is the enemy of the Good  – Voltaire

Anxiety is an apprehensive  feeling of worry, nervousness and unease about the outcome of an action or incident.   The outcome is unknown, it  might be beneficial or harmful.  It is but natural that every human being is anxious to have  good result of his actions done for the betterment of his or others’  lives.  A constant state of  anxiety of an individual slowly becomes his  psychological/medical condition.  Cambridge  Dictionary’s word of the year 2016 lists  ‘Anxiety’  at number 2 after the word  ‘Paranoid’.  Searches for word like paranoid and anxiety have risen hugely in 2016 over four times more than in 2015.  It is not known exactly why users are  searching for a certain word, but it suggests perhaps a feeling that the institutions or systems that have kept us safe can no longer be trusted.  Uncertainty and mistrust give rise to anxiety.  Uncontrolled anxiety leads to depression.  Anxiety and depression share many similarities.  It is difficult to identify the causes of anxiety.  Many different factors can contribute to anxiety, like failure, grief, financial and  relationship problems, abuse, environmental disasters, major illness  and other social requirements in the form of do’s and dont’s.   Anxiety can also be attributed to stress in the form of planning a wedding, getting married, having a baby and starting a new job.  Intense anxiety can cause headaches, dizziness, trembling, nausea etc.

Here is an anxiety scenario: “The thing about an anxiety disorder is that you know it is stupid.  You know with all your heart that it was not a big deal and that it should roll off of  you.  But that is where the disorder kicks in; Suddenly the small thing becomes very big and it keeps growing in your head, flooding your chest and trying to escape from under your skin.  You know with all of  your heart that you are being ridiculous and you hate every minute of it.  The fact that many people do not recognize or have patience for your illness only makes everything worse.”

There are various methods to  get rid of anxiety.  Getting medical help is the foremost. In addition to this, proper physical exercise, listening and playing music, relaxation,  meditation, reading  spiritual books and  listening to inspirational talks  are some  effective methods to get relief.  If you find somebody in anxiety, try to help him.  Do not make fun of him. A smile and a hug can go a long way.

It is okay to be anxious.  Being anxious means that you are going to do something really good.    When you have a Queen in your hands then you play the cards very carefully and anxiously.  When someone fails  in love, then God wants to protect him by breaking that relationship with that person.  Therefore do not chase or blame that person because he is acting under the guidance of God.  Anxiety wears darkness and strength equally well at the same time.  It is half heaven and half hell.  Having a little bit of anxiety once in a while is normal and it is healthy.  It allows us to make good decisions. “Whoever has learned to be anxious in the right way has learned the ultimate.”- Soren Kierkegaard.

To quote Osho, “ Anxiety is a tug-of-war.  It is a situation man finds himself in on its own.  The most fundamental dilemma of man is: To be or not To be?  To be this or to be that.  Where to go?  Man is stuck on  crossroads with several possibilities open.  But if you choose, you have to choose against other possibilities – hence the fear and anxiety. Man is paralyzed standing on the crossroads, listening to all sorts of people.  How to be certain that you are going on the right path? Great suspicion, great doubt, great anxiety.”

Osho has given a simple method to get rid of anxiety.  “ Do not try to solve it.  Because the solving process will create a bigger mess.  Anxiety cannot be solved by thinking.  “ Don’t do anything with anxiety.  Just be Alert.”  Awareness and mindfulness kill anxiety.

Rapid technological advances,  rat race for wealth,  breaking relationships, the twenty first century?  No, in sixth century BC with all these conditions in place,   Buddha coined the phrase “ Monkey-Mind” and discovered step by step method of mental training to achieve contentment. He also realized the impermanence of everything in the universe.  The popular word he gave to this impermanence is “Anicha” means ‘nothing is permanent’.  Even our body cells are changing millions of time per second.

Relief is possible if you let the light of mindfulness and wisdom of impermanence guide you.

“ I met a boy whose eyes showed me that the past, present and future were all the same thing.” – Jennifer Elisabeth.

Zile Singh is a former Ambassador(Retd.) of India and a Vipassana Meditator. He can be reached at [email protected] .