I AM AN ANXIOUS TRAVELER. I arrive at airports and train stations extra early. I triple-check all my documents, and feel a tightness in my jaw, a slight clench in my stomach, until I've arrived where I'm going. Non-anxious people tease me for being a nervous Nellie.
I used to feel bad about my anxiety, seeing it as irrational, weak. But not anymore. I could write a book on this subject-actually, I did: A Brief History of Anxiety (Yours and Mine). I've learned to respect my tendency to be hypervigilant.
Recently, I was driving along a country road at the start of a long trip that would mainly be on a major highway. I began feeling that something could go wrong. What if I run out of gas? I worried, even though I still had plenty. So when I spied a gas station just before the on-ramp I was going to take onto the highway, I gave in to my angst and decided to fill up. Just in case.
And that's when I discovered that one of my front tires was badly deflated. If I'd overpowered my sense of unease, talked down my anxiety, the tire would have blown out at high speed on the highway. My nagging urge to plan ahead even though it wasn't strictly necessary saved me from a potentially catastrophic scenario.
A GROWING NUMBER of psychologists and neuroscientists are getting out the message that anxiety and other negative feelings have a positive role to play in our lives. Tracy Dennis-Tiwary, who recently published Future Tense: Why Anxiety Is Good for You (Even Though It Feels Bad), thinks our culture goes overboard in demonizing difficult emotions.
She knows what it's like to get swamped from time to time by anxiety.
Esta historia es de la edición September 2023 de Reader's Digest US.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 8500 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor ? Conectar
Esta historia es de la edición September 2023 de Reader's Digest US.
Comience su prueba gratuita de Magzter GOLD de 7 días para acceder a miles de historias premium seleccionadas y a más de 8500 revistas y periódicos.
Ya eres suscriptor? Conectar
GOTCHA!
We asked for it: What's the best prank you ever pulled?
KITT THE COURAGEOUS K-9
Officer Bill Cushing needed a partner. His dog needed a purpose. Together, they rescued each other.
Let's Dance!
It's good for your body, soul and even your brain
DISASTER ON THE RIVER
Two canoeists struggle to keep themselves and their friendship-afloat
WHAT HAPPENS TO ALL THE STUFF WE RETURN
Think your rejects go back on the shelves? Think again.
Words to Live By
Poems offered me an anchor as I lost my son, so I shared them
LOST, FOUND, HOMEWARD BOUND
A collection of heart-thumping, tail-wagging, zoomies-inducing pet reunion tales
Paging Dr. AI
IF YOU'VE EVER Googled symptoms (and who hasn't?), you've probably scared yourself with a dire diagnosis, with no doctor there to vet the source and put the information in context. But we can't help ourselves. So can AI help?
The HEALTHY WELLNESS FROM THEHEALTHY.COM
A vaccine is finally on the way. In the meantime, here's how to protect yourself from ticks.
How to Speak Like a Midwesterner
FROM THE BOOK A GUIDE TO MIDWESTERN CONVERSATION