Kim’s Message: Are You Feeling Anxious or Excited?

One of my friends recently made the decision to sell her home of 20 years, and downsize into a smaller home in a beautiful new retirement community. Before making the decision she was consumed with anxiety, fearful that she might not be making the right decision. After ruminating for several weeks, listing all of the pros and cons, consulting with her financial advisor, and processing with family and friends, she was finally able to make a decision, drop off a check, and turn her anxiety into excitement.

According to ComPsych, a mental health provider, my friend is not alone. Nearly a quarter of the 300,000 people who reached out for mental health assistance in 2023 did so to get help with anxiety. Richard Chaifetz, founder of ComPsych, said the rise of anxiety isn’t particularly surprising considering the series of stressful occurrences over the past few years.  “From the pandemic to ongoing conflicts in Gaza and Ukraine, civil unrest, an unpredictable economy and increasingly polarized political rhetoric surrounding elections, there is a persistent underlying feeling of apprehension and worry,” he said.

ComPsych also reported that employee leaves of absence for mental health issues are up a staggering 300% from 2017 to 2023. We all have to make thousands of decisions each day, at work and at home, so it’s important that we find ways to reduce anxiety for ourselves and our employees.

Tips to Relabel Anxiety As Excitement

An article in Forbes suggests one solution that may help out some of the time. The article, which I will briefly recap, explains how feelings of anxiety are nearly the same, physiologically, as the feelings of excitement. These feelings are different, however, they both produce an elevated heart rate and butterflies in your stomach, because your body is readying itself for action. However, excitement is connected to the emotion of joy, while anxiety stems from fear. When we feel stressed out, or out of control, it’s important to distinguish what we are feeling and why. It’s not healthy to operate our life from a place of fear and survival, if we can instead operate from a place that allows us to take advantage of opportunities and possibilities, such as when we are excited.

Our emotional intelligence can identify the triggers of excitement versus anxiety and allow us to determine how to respond to a situation. Instead of living life on automatic, we can use our feelings for positive change. And, good news, in many instances, we can turn our anxiety into excitement!

In a recent study conducted by Alison Wood Brooks, a Harvard professor, people who tried to convert their anxiety into excitement performed better than those who didn’t. The study asked people to speak out loud before having to perform or speak in public. They were asked to announce whether they felt anxious or that they felt excited or they said nothing at all. The study found that those who said they were excited performed better than the others. Thus, positive self-talk is good for us. By changing the way we think, we can change the way we feel. Here’s how:

Practical Steps  

• Take a moment to think about your situation.
• Tell yourself out loud that you are excited.
• Focus on positive outcomes.
• Alter your diet.
• Don't calm down.
• Take time out to relax.

Check out the full article to dive deeper on these bullet points. If you found this information interesting, CEA has an Emotional Intelligence workshop that will heighten your awareness and allow you to identify the feelings that lead to anxiety and excitement. By relabeling anxiety as excitement, you access a source of energy that you can harness to achieve your goals and further your personal and professional development.

Here’s to an exciting May for you all!