Explain the Difference Between Useful and Useless Anxiety

Not all anxiety is the same. Some anxiety is information: it is pointing at a real risk and prompting useful action. Some anxiety is noise: it is producing a threat response to something that does not warrant one. Treating all anxiety the same way, with either suppression or full attention, is the wrong approach. The three diagnostic questions here give you a way to tell one from the other before deciding how to respond.

I experience anxiety and want to understand whether what I am feeling is doing anything useful. My situation: {ANXIETY_CONTEXT}.

Explain the distinction between useful and useless anxiety:
1. The functional definition: what anxiety is designed to do and when it works as intended
2. The diagnostic questions: [three] specific questions I can ask about a particular anxiety episode to determine whether it is serving a purpose or not
3. What useful anxiety looks like in my context: a specific example of anxiety in my situation that would be functional and worth attending to
4. What useless anxiety looks like in my context: a specific example of anxiety in my situation that would not be serving a function and is worth interrupting
5. The one evidence-based interruption: the single most evidence-supported technique for interrupting anxiety that is not serving a function, and what 'not serving a function' means as a specific criterion for applying it

Note: this is general information. If anxiety is significantly affecting your daily life, please speak to a healthcare professional.