Anxiety is disabling. I am sometimes a victim of it. I often compare it with deciding to work out when you are tired – you can never imagine how good it will feel once you’re done. Same with getting crossing things off your to-do list.

The truth is anxiety has real negative effects on your health. Excessive worrying can make you physically ill.

These are just a few of the symptoms:

For many people, especially overachievers, the cause of anxiety is the striving for perfection in everything they do. And you might argue that in high school or college anxiety can be the engine of progress and academic success. The older we get the more traumatic effect anxiety has on our bodies. Just like when we are 18 it’s easy to study all day, party all night, sleep a couple of hours and go back to class the next day. When you get older you body wants more attention and care. So worrying about getting things done is not the stimulating anymore but quite the opposite.

The art of letting things go is called art for a reason. At the end of the day, we are here just for a short period of time – it’s worth enjoying the ride rather than thinking how well the ride is going.