Functional Anxiety

I've been noodling through the concept of "functional anxiety" lately. Basically, the idea is that stress isn't inherently a "problem." Stress is simply our bodies preparing us for something big. And anxiety likewise isn't a problem; anxiety is stress about the future. And both stress and anxiety can, if managed well, used well, and not overwhelming, be helpful focusers for our energy and preparation. Can it all go sideways and dominate our lives? Yes, yes it can. But both stress and anxiety can also help us notice and focus on big things ahead. 

I was thinking through "functional anxiety" in the context of my daughter. My daughter recently made the US Paraclimbing Team and competed in her first worlds event last month. On her first climb, the anxiety was not functional. She got jittery, started too fast, and ran out of steam too quickly. She recognized that she wasn't using her anxiety to her advantage; instead, it was taking over. On her second climb, she used her breathing exercises to slow herself down a little, and her performance really improved. 

It was astounding to see the performance difference between non-functional anxiety and functional anxiety. At first, the stress was running her. But she learned to use the stress rather than let it run the show. 

When functional, her anxiety helped her focus, feel the gravity of the moment, and prepare well. She had to find the balance between caring (wanting to improve, to do well, to learn) and caring too much (descending into harsh self-criticism or over-indexing on this one moment in this one competition). It's a fine line and a tricky one to find. But the stress and anxiety are going to be there either way, so we might as well learn to use them well for their intended purposes in our bodies!

By the way, if you want to watch my daughter's comp or learn more about her story, check out https://www.gofundme.com/f/paraclimbing-worlds-for-wanying - there's a cool video, and she also wrote a bit about her background and love for climbing.