Anxiety is good for you - helps you avoid negative situations over time

Anxiety can be your friend, study shows at Scientific Blogging. Seems that being anxious can be a good thing. Well, to use the wise witty of my no-nonsense grandmother - "Be smart enough to scared. It'll keep you out of trouble." Having the good sense to be nervous just might be our mind's and body's way of tapping us on the shoulder before making a potentially bad decisions. And over time, it's a good a thing. It keeps us safe and secure.

Again, using anecdotal evidence from my daily life, I have relatives and people I've met through service activities from lower SES. Why this might matter? Well, perhaps this is why some continue to make what might seem to be obvious mistakes. e.g. spending bill money at the casino, going on trips to All-Star Weekend instead of buying car insurance, getting into fist fights in public, dating mean-tough mean who hit women, going on a 'run' with Pooky and you know he's riding dirty or has warrants out, smoking weed in public around complete stragers...Crazy stuff like that.

And when I ask, "Hey, have you thought about not doing blah, blah, blah, since the outcome is never as great as you hope?"

Response " ", yep. Silence or hem-hawing.

That last one - smoking weed in public - actually happened to me. I was ordering food at a ghetto restaurant (you know, a walk-up counter with bullet-proof glass, no table or chairs) and I smelled smoke. I thought, "is that weed I smell?" I notices a guy with a blunt in his fingers. Well, blunts are legal, so I brushed it off. I guess they just smell like that. Then another guy walked in and made that face. Smoker offered him a hit. Other guy said, "no, not inside, let me take it outside". Smoker said, "You's a scary N***a. Nah main, hit it here." How did Smoker not know I (or anyone else in the restaurant) wasn't a Narc or cop? He didn't and he didn't care. Smoker got his food and departed. Other guy shook his head in disgust and said "That's why I'm trying to get my own. Cause he is crazy and don't care about getting locked up."
Anxiety = good. Low anxiety = stupid


But being anxious is a good thing...Really? Okay it makes sense if I'm spending money or cliff diving. But what about my everyday anxieties because I'm an anxious mess. Everything seems so unresolved, unfinished.

I haven't made ANY progress on my dissertation in MONTHS. I'm running out of time and MUST defend before summer's end. I hate this. I should have walked in December.
I hate my job, but thankfully that's almost over. I submitted my resignation Monday. I am relieved. Already my partner has noticed a dramatic improvement in my behavior and attitude. But I haven't told my employees yet. And actually I'm anxious about leaving them - stranded. Though far from perfect pupils, they don't deserve the mess they'll gain by being merged with the other team.
Oh, I don't have another job to go to. WHAT!! yes, you read right. I'm actually scared to take another job. I've got to finish that damn dissertation. That job sucked the life, energy and innovative brain cells out of me.