A sense of hopelessness can be a coping mechanism for anxiety and anxiety a balm for hopelessness. We don't always know which we prefer.

Perfectionists tend to fluctuate between feeling an inordinate amount of control and feeling completely despondent. They go from the mindset of "I can do anything" to "I'm completely useless," from taking on too much responsibility to taking on none.

It may be challenging to think of anxiety as a way to cope, as most of us search for ways to manage our anxiety rather than increase it. But with anxiety, itself the fear of the unknown and unpredictable, there can also be a great deal of hope.

Some even continually find reasons to be anxious, stoking the flames of their worries as they perpetuate their sense of control. Worrying only matters, and makes sense (due to how much energy it extracts), if one feels as though it's practical, even if the belief is more unconscious. Worrying is energizing, firing up the fight or flight system to facilitate decision-making. Again, the antithesis of anxiety tends to be........

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