You've heard it before. . .

Anxiety is a normal response, and we need it to live, otherwise we'd be walking into traffic and touching hot stoves.

But when you have anxiety about work, it might be hard to tell if it's a normal response or if your anxiety is on overdrive.

After all, neither one feels good, and while we don't force ourselves to walk into traffic every day, we do force ourselves to go to work.

So it makes sense that feeling bad would be present in either situation ("normal" or overactive anxiety.)

Determining which variety of anxiety you have can help you know the best course of action to correct it.

Introducing, The "Reasonable Person" standard.

Imagine you had 100 "reasonable" people in a room. If you put them in the situation you're experiencing and then asked how many of them would be anxious in that situation, it can give you a pretty good idea of what's going on.

Let's say, for example, your situation is that you're walking on a tightrope, high above the street.

A reasonable person in this situation would be anxious.

Now, let's say your situation is sitting at your desk at work. Most people in that situation wouldn't experience anxiety from simply that situation alone.

If your anxiety isn't passing the "reasonable person" test, meaning the majority of people would find your situation distressing, then it may be that your anxiety is being unreasonable rather than (or more than) your situation.

That may mean it's time to look at therapy instead of coaching.

If the opposite is true (reasonable people would also find this situation equally upsetting) then you might need coaching.

Of course, there's also a matter of degree. Is something mildly upsetting or impairing?

If it's impairing you, especially to a greater degree than you think others might be impaired, then you might need help with the anxiety.

Or, if you think that there are other layers – maybe the situation hits differently because of who you are, how you think or how you grew up, then therapy might be the key.

I hope this analysis is helpful in your understanding of when and how to get help if you're experiencing anxiety symptoms.