You have turned to the 3rd post in a series about managing anxiety. Anxiety affects all of us, really. It couldn’t be more common. It’s also complex. We are aiming for it to become a more balanced and helpful part of our lives instead of taking over.

In my first post on anxiety, I painted a picture of anxiety as a potentially helpful signal that something is wrong. I suggested that anxiety is a critical part of daily functioning that we don’t want to get rid of. The goal is to keep it in balance and to pay attention to what it has to say to us. This post is a full confession that sometimes there’s more to it than that.

Anxiety is unsettling by definition. It changes everything from how you digest food, the quality of your sleep, your ability to think clearly and freely, and how you relate to others. It strongly influences the decisions you make and can so easily shut down whole areas of your life.

Have you had an injury that just doesn’t seem to be healing? Sometimes there’s more going on than just tissue damage or things out of place. Here’s what can happen.