Anxiety can be devastating, both physically and psychologically. However, the funny thing is that the more you try to combat anxiety, the more its vicious cycle feeds. Therefore, a good strategy is to stop seeing it as an enemy.
Research has found that a moderate dose of anxiety can have some unexpected benefits and can even stimulate people to do their best. In fact, some artists, actors, and athletes acknowledge that anxiety allows them to be more creative and improve their performance.
Makes the person seem friendlier and more trustworthy
Anxiety usually causes a series of physiological reactions that indicate nervousness and that often generate the feeling of shame. To this is added that when the person feels anxious, they usually make more mistakes. However, it is not necessarily a negative thing. In fact, a study conducted at the University of California and published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology revealed that a moderate level of pregnancy is actually perceived as a virtue.
These psychologists affirm that people should not fight against this feeling since others perceive this shame and anxiety as something positive and qualify these people as more trustworthy and more cooperative, in addition to being more willing to approach and know them.
Help make better decisions
In an experiment carried out at Goethe University and published in the Review of Psychology, a group of people engaged in what is known as the Iowa game , specially designed to simulate decision-making in real life. The game is based on 4 virtual decks, each time a card is chosen, a little money is won or lost. The goal is to win as much as possible, but the problem is that there are very tempting “bad decks” that can represent a great reward or a great punishment.
Interestingly, these psychologists appreciated that both children and adults who were more anxious played better as they were able to more accurately predict the benefits and risks of each hand of cards. In fact, it is important to remember that anxiety has an adaptive value, its function is to protect us from risks. Therefore, in certain situations a moderate level of anxiety can help us make better decisions.
Sharpen the senses
Uncontrolled anxiety can be very unpleasant, but a small dose is beneficial. This was demonstrated by a study carried out at the National Institute of Mental Health in Bethesda, published in the journal Brain and Cognition . These researchers told the participants that if they were wrong in their answers, they would give them small electric shocks, causing them to experience some anxiety.
Thus, they appreciated that those who developed a moderate level of anxiety remained more concentrated and achieved better scores in the attention tests. This experiment shows that although anxiety reduces cognitive flexibility, it prioritizes the functions that are really essential for the task. So a small dose of anxiety can help us stay focused, sharpen our reflexes, and improve our performance to an optimal point.
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