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> IMHO anxiety isn't a defense mechanism, it's a leak, an inefficiency. Given the association of anxiety with "worrier" genes and further association of those with higher cognitive capacity, as well as the possibility that worrying about a thing makes it easier to remember, I find it highly likely that it's simply the expression of a cognitive style, not even a defense mechanism. The defense mechanism is likely to be depression. Anxiety needs to be assessed for its full benefit across the board, not merely whether or not it's obviously productive in a given, often artificial, situation. For one, it's an emotion, emotions are a method of direct informational processing and are meant to modify your behavior among other things. The purpose of anxiety around someone that could harm you may be to generate a negative association with the area/situation/certain persons so that you stop going there/creating that situation/conversing with those persons. Whereas a non-anxious person would be much better at handling these situations but could also end up in them too often. For the most part, "warriors" are more popular in society and media, so it's not too surprising that their style of disposition is considered normal and the other is considered a disorder. But being able to hold things in your head for a while (what leads to anxiety) is fairly useful and seems rather common among people who have a lot of responsibilities, especially mental ones, and need to keep track of and plan a lot of things. On the other hand, I met people who have very little anxiety, but are really poor at planning, remembering schedules, etc., because the information leaves their brain really quickly. Pick your poison, I guess, but I'm at least familiar with mine. The flawed assumption here perhaps is that humans were meant to be happy. |
For starters, it's using the word "anxiety" for completely different things.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anxiety
> Anxiety is an emotion characterized by an unpleasant state of inner turmoil, often accompanied by nervous behavior, such as pacing back and forth, somatic complaints, and rumination. It is the subjectively unpleasant feelings of dread over anticipated events, such as the feeling of imminent death. Anxiety is not the same as fear, which is a response to a real or perceived immediate threat, whereas anxiety is the expectation of future threat. Anxiety is a feeling of fear, uneasiness, and worry, usually generalized and unfocused as an overreaction to a situation that is only subjectively seen as menacing. It is often accompanied by muscular tension, restlessness, fatigue and problems in concentration. Anxiety can be appropriate, but when experienced regularly the individual may suffer from an anxiety disorder.
And if anything, I'd say humans are happier when they are productive in a way. There is a difference between pacing back and forth because you're in deep thought, and between pacing back and forth just to release stress.
> The purpose of anxiety around someone that could harm you may be to generate a negative association with the area/situation/certain persons
So does simply noticing it. What noticing it doesn't necessarily do is cloud your judgement, emit fear smell both figuratively and literally, worsen your health, and a bunch of other things.
You're not "either a warrior or a thinker", I see no basis for that dichotomy. There is being confident, and there is being intelligent, there is having empathy, and there is being responsible to your best abilities -- and they're all pretty much orthogonal.
> For the most part, "warriors" are more popular in society and media, so it's not too surprising that their style of disposition is considered normal and the other is considered a disorder.
For me it's simply whether it's goal-oriented or going in circles. If something worries you and you consider the trade-offs you're willing to make to make you less worried, that's not anxiety, that's doing something. Eating your fingernails isn't really, or sweating like crazy. Stuff like that achieves nothing, it's not helping with thinking or paying attention.
> Don't worry about the future. Or worry, but know that worrying is as effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing bubble gum.
-- Mary Schmich