Welcome to another exciting episode of the Coal Face! This month, we’re diving into the topic of anxiety. This is the first part of a three-part series aimed at helping you understand anxiety better. In the second episode, we’ll explore potential causes and contributors to anxiety, and in the third, we’ll share tools to help you manage it.

Anxiety often gets a bad reputation, associated with failure and breakdowns. However, it’s important to recognise that anxiety is a natural part of life. What you can achieve without anxiety, you can also achieve with it. Anxiety can sometimes be confused with fear, anticipation or stress.

Let’s break it down:

- **Short-term anxiety** is often referred to as stress. It’s a natural response that helps our bodies prepare for challenges.
- **Anxiety**, on the other hand, is a longer-term reaction to the ongoing anticipation of threats or failures. It can lead to overthinking and 

If we care deeply about an outcome, it can create stress. Anticipation, however, is simply waiting for something expected to happen. Our bodies are wired to make decisions under stress and in the face of fear. Fear triggers a strong response to immediate threats, leading to the "fight, flight, or freeze" reaction.

1. **Cognitive Processing**: When faced with stress, our thoughts are processed in the orbitofrontal cortex, which influences our emotions through the limbic system and amygdala.
2. **Amygdala's Role**: The amygdala is linked to fear and anxiety, receiving input from our senses (sight, sound, smell, etc.).
3. **Defensive Behaviour**: Our brain stem activates defensive behaviours (fight, flight, or freeze) based on the stressful situation.

So, if our bodies are hardwired to respond to stress, is it beneficial? The answer is both yes and no.

- **Short-term stress** can be good for us. It helps our immune system fight infections and prepares our bodies to react quickly by sharpening our focus and cognition.
- However, **long-term stress** can lead to anxiety, which may have negative effects on both our physical and mental health if not addressed.

Research shows that people who are good at relating to others, open to new experiences, and extroverted tend to have more positive outcomes than those who are neurotic. This is because they are more willing to learn and adapt rather than withdraw or avoid challenges. Remember, you have survived 100% of your tough days, and you will continue to do so!

In our next edition, we’ll explore the potential causes of anxiety in detail. You may find that some causes are part of your daily routine, and reducing or eliminating them could help manage your anxiety and stress levels.

Until next time, take care and remember it’s yippee-ki-yay!