I am working on thanking God for my problems, and it occurred to me today that one of the greatest gifts I’ve ever received is my anxiety.

I’ve had anxiety all my life. I have learned to treat it with a variety of remedies, including exercise, prayer and meditation, anxiety medicine, re-focusing my mind, sharing with a trustworthy friend, and rock-bottom acceptance. (My blog from earlier this year on  “Serenity: Trust God and Refuse to Worry” talks about some of these methods in greater depth.)

When I look through the lens of gratitude, however, at how my anxiety has impacted me throughout the years, I am astounded at how many gifts it has given me.  I have developed more compassion, for others and for myself. I have spent more time in prayer and meditation and have deepened my relationship with my Higher Power.  I have been given focus and the drive to improve my personal writing.  When I was in the workplace, I learned to channel the anxiety into hard work and a laser focus that brought me success, year after year.  When I became a mother, the gift of the uncertainty I felt motivated me to study mothering topics, reach out to other mothers for guidance, and work every day to be the best mother I could be.

In my daily life, I have learned to see my anxiety as my friend.  It is my early warning system, letting me know that I may be doing something that is not in my best interest, or that I am putting off something that I need to do. It tells me when I have anger or fear or other strong emotions that I am not acknowledging.  It gives me motivation to exercise regularly.  It gives me focus and energy to use the Serenity Prayer and then change the things I can (for example, packing a suitcase well in advance so I will be ready to go at a moment’s notice to babysit my grandchildren while their little sister is being born).

Lately I’ve learned that others are also looking at the positive aspects of anxiety. For example, Future Tense: Why Anxiety Is Good for You (Even Though It Feels Bad), by Dr. Tracy Dennis-Tiwary, explores this very topic.

All this reminds me of what my spiritual mentor used to tell me, about looking for the good in every situation.  Or, as Richard Bach is reported to have said, “There is no such thing as a problem without a gift for you in its hands.”