Anxiety can be the ruin or the salvation of our relationships. It is an alarm mechanism. It alerts us to potential danger. But sometimes it goes off too often or quickly. Sometimes we do not seem able to regulate it. Shocked, we lash out, hold our ground, or retreat. However, anxiety can be our deliverance. It has motivational power. Anxiety provokes change, it prods and pushes us towards innovation or transformation. If, however, it reaches a certain intensity, it prevents the very change it provokes. What is stimulus becomes restraint. We "lose our head" or "cool," as we say, essentially our awareness and composure; we are too reactive to be responsive.
Peter L Steinke - How Your Church Family Works (2006) Page 16