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Anxiety is an inescapable and existential part of the human condition.

Rather than avoiding anxiety we must learn to tolerate, savor, and learn from it.

Creativity and productivity can come from liberating the energy of anxiety.

This is Part 3 of a series on anxiety. See Part 2 here.

In much the same way that someone can become a connoisseur of fine wines, foods, or art, we not only can but, practically speaking, must all learn to become connoisseurs of anxiety. Anxiety is an inextricable thread running through the fabric of human existence. According to philosopher Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855), anxiety (Angst) can be our 'best teacher," further asserting that "Whoever has learned to be anxious in the right way has learned the ultimate." What does learning to be anxious "in the right way" really look like? A century later, existential psychotherapist Rollo May reminded us that, "In running from anxiety, you lose your most precious opportunities for the emergence of yourself." What did these astute students and distinguished connoisseurs of human anxiety mean by such enigmatic comments?

I call Kierkegaard and May connoisseurs of anxiety because they, like each of us to some extent, struggled with anxiety all their lives. Kierkegaard was brought up in a strictly religious household in Denmark, resulting in profound feelings of Christian guilt and anxiety. He encountered death and death anxiety after losing both of his parents and five of six siblings prior to turning 25 and, soon after, the profound pain and anxiety of lost romantic love following a broken engagement. Later, Kierkegaard studied theology and was ordained as a Lutheran minister before deciding to become a philosopher instead, authoring his books Fear and Trembling (1843) and The Concept of Anxiety (1844) exploring the phenomenon and experience of anxiety, dread, or Angst.

Rollo May's early life took a somewhat similar trajectory to that of Kierkegaard, having been raised in a devoutly religious environment and eventually attending Union Theological Seminary, becoming an ordained minister. Unlike Kierkegaard, however, May served briefly as a pastor at a........

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