As someone who experiences anxiety often, I can tell you it’s a battle I fight every day. Some days, it feels like a heavy weight on my chest, making it hard to breathe. On other days, it’s a constant hum in the background, never fully gone. I’ve learned to cope with it — through mindfulness, talking to loved ones, or simply taking things one step at a time. But it’s always there, shaping how I see and navigate the world.
Recently, someone showed me a new perspective, changing my mind. Josie Balka said this:
“Anxiety is beautiful because it’s just you wanting things to go right so badly.
It’s just you care so much that it’s debilitating.
Anxiety shows up because you want the most out of every single day.
So you worry that isn’t gonna happen.
Being an anxious person is being so thoughtful it makes you sick.
It’s fearing the worst because you want the best.
It’s sweating the small things because everything matters to you.
Do you know how special it is to care as much as you do?
Anxiety is beautiful, but it is exhausting.
It’s like playing tug of war constantly with what’s in your control and what isn’t.
And even on the days that you let go of the rope, your hands are still burning.
It’s losing sleep over your health because you love life so much,
You want it to go on for as long as possible.
It’s worrying about other people because you love them so much,
You want them to be as happy as they possibly can
It’s knowing how deeply you want things to work out so you try to eliminate every way that it could possibly not work out.
And I know you’re tired of caring this much.
I know it’s hard to see the beauty in a storm when it won’t let up.
And it’s ruining things and keeping you inside.
And it’s dark and it’s beyond your control.
But in the same way, it has to rain sometimes, you have to feel.
There is nothing wrong with you.
You just want everything to work out so badly.
And that’s what your anxiety really is.
And there’s beauty in that.
I’m sure of it.
After hearing this, I felt a wave of relief. It felt as if someone had finally articulated how it feels when anxiety fills my veins.
Anxiety has always felt like a burden, something I needed to hide or fix. But to hear it described as “beautiful” was something new that made me pause and reconsider my relationship with it.
Anxiety isn’t just a flaw or a weakness; it’s a sign of how deeply we care about the world around us. It’s about wanting things to go right so desperately that the mere thought of them going wrong can be paralyzing. I’ve always known I’m someone who cares, perhaps too much at times. But I never connected that care to my anxiety in such a positive light.
When you think about it, anxiety is a reflection of love, hope, and the desire for things to be good. We fear the absolute worst because we want the absolute best. It’s why we double-check the locks at night, review our work multiple times before submitting it, or lose sleep over a loved one’s well-being.
We care, sometimes so much that it physically hurts.
This perspective shift made me realize that, while exhausting, anxiety is also a form of passion. It’s the passion to see things through, ensure everything is as it should be, and make the most of every day. It’s about sweating the small stuff because, in our eyes, it’s not small, and everything matters. And while that can be overwhelming, it’s also what makes us who we are — thoughtful, meticulous, and deeply invested in the people and things we love.
I’m not here to glamourize anxiety, not at all. I wish I didn’t care this much, but I do.
As the poem states, it’s like playing tug of war with what’s in our control and what isn’t. The constant battle between wanting to make everything perfect and accepting we can’t control everything is draining. Even when we manage to let go of the rope, the burns on our hands linger, reminding us of the struggle.
But there’s something profoundly human about this struggle. Anxiety keeps us awake at night because we want to live fully and ensure that those we care about do the same. The fear of the unknown and the uncertainty of what’s to come make us hold on so tightly. But it’s also this fear that drives us to keep trying, to keep hoping, and to keep caring.
In the darkest moments of anxiety, when it feels like the storm won’t let up, it’s easy to lose sight of this beauty. The overwhelming dread, the constant worrying, and the inability to relax can make it hard to see anything positive. But just as storms eventually pass, there’s always a way to find calm within ourselves. It may be challenging and require constant effort, but it’s possible.
There’s no denying that anxiety can be debilitating. It can keep us from enjoying the present, trap us in a cycle of overthinking, and prevent us from taking risks. But it’s also a sign we care. We’re alive and engaged with the world around us. It’s a reminder we want the best out of life. It reminds us we’re willing to fight for it, even if that fight is within our minds.
Featured image via Rachel Claire on Pexels
