“Anxiety serves a purpose in life,” said Justin E. Fichtner, MD, with Sandhills Family Medicine. “It motivates us to check off our to-do list. It helps us keep ourselves safe and protect ourselves in dangerous situations.” 

When anxiety starts getting in the way

Anxiety can affect everyone differently. For some people, it may make it difficult to concentrate at work. For others, it can interfere with relationships, sleep, responsibilities at home or simply getting through the day.

The important distinction isn't necessarily whether you experience anxiety, but whether anxiety is becoming overwhelming or keeping you from functioning the way you want to.

“Anxiety itself serves a purpose in life but it can become detrimental when it begins interfering with your daily life and impacts your relationships at home or work. You don't have to wait until anxiety becomes debilitating before talking with a health care provider. If a person feels comfortable kind of navigating stress and crossing the finish line every day, then they're probably managing their anxiety well. If they’re feeling overwhelmed and it's a struggle to cross that finish line each day, it’s probably time to think about asking for help. I think it's appropriate to reach out at the earliest signs that you feel like that anxiety is really starting to have a negative impact in your life,” Dr. Fichtner said.

What to expect when you seek help

Talking with your primary care provider about anxiety can be a good place to start. Your doctor can have a conversation with you about what's causing your anxiety, how it's affecting your life and what treatment options may be appropriate.

Treatment can take different forms depending on the individual. Two common approaches are therapy (also known as counseling) and medication.

Therapy can help people better understand the sources of their anxiety and develop strategies for managing it. Your doctor may also recommend medication. 

“There's pretty good data that combining the two arms of treatment, both therapy and medication, provides the best results. People who are both in therapy and taking medication often get the most relief from anxiety,” Dr. Fichtner said. "The most important thing is finding an approach that works for you. Your primary care provider can help you understand your options and determine whether a referral to a mental health professional may be beneficial."

Seeking help for anxiety isn't a sign of weakness. In fact, recognizing that anxiety is affecting your life and doing something about it can be an important step toward feeling better.

Dr. Fichtner has seen firsthand how treatment can help people move from debilitating anxiety to a point where they feel more capable of managing their daily lives.

“Even if it's marginal improvement, that can make a big difference, or sometimes it's major improvement,” he said. “We get to meet the patient where they're at and walk them through a journey of improvement.”