Guiding Your Way Through Anxiety

“It’s like an out-of-body experience,” YouBeauty reader Paige* says of her anxiety. “Part of you is paralyzed in a panic, and part of you is smiling at a party or writing up that lab report.”

Even when everything looks fine from the outside, that uneasy, fearful feeling may be creeping up inside.

Anxiety is our body’s way of preparing for (what we perceive to be) a looming threat. Sensing impending danger is a skill that helped our ancestors survive. 

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“If you’re stressed or anxious, look at your world. There are emotional dangers. Relationships or chronic illness are legitimately stressful situations. Your body engages in a stress reaction,” says Psychology Advisor Art Markman, Ph.D. 

QUIZ: How Much Stress Are You Experiencing?

Anxiety is a natural response to our concerns, from family and health to work and finances. So why does anxiety get a bad rap?

*Names have been changed.