Dr. Don WoodResolving Your Trauma-Based Challenges So You Can Unlock Peak Performance

Anxiety is a necessary human emotion. In the moment. #anxiety

15 Sept 2026 · 1 min

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In this brief monologue, Dr. Don Wood explains that anxiety is a natural, moment‑specific emotional signal that urges us to take action. He argues that when anxiety arises, it indicates a perceived threat and a need for a response; remaining still or paralyzed only intensifies the feeling. By acting— even in small ways— we can alleviate anxiety and restore a sense of control. The speaker emphasizes that anxiety is appropriate when it occurs in the present and should be used as a motivator rather than a source of rumination.

Chapters

So that emotion of anxiety is a call for action. When those things are happening and you feel fear, you feel anxiety, that's a natural response. You should be afraid, right? Something's happening. You need to do something. So that emotion of anxiety is a call for action. Your mind is saying, do something, do something. It just wants something done, right? If you just sit and you're paralyzed, that just creates more anxiety. So when you act, you then start relieving some of that anxiety by doing something. And we actually did. We felt better that we had him home, right? And everybody— we knew where everybody was. But if you don't act and you— and then you continue to worry, right? That's just going to make anxiety even worse. So that is when anxiety and the emotions are appropriate, when they're in the moment. You have to do something. The emotion is a call for an action.