Jason L:
How is anxiety in a social situation, not useful/silly?
Say you're at a party with people you don't know.
Here's my short list:
1) It's not appropriate to the situation (there isn't actually anything to be afraid of)
2) It's uncomfortable
3) It inhibits one's ability to interact with others (through tense breathing, hazy thoughts, etc.)
4) It often makes other people feel anxious or uncomfortable as well
5) It's harmful to your physical body (tension is known to cause all sorts of health problems)
6) It may cause one to perform silly actions (such as saying something silly, etc.)
7) It's based on false and imaginary beliefs about what is actually going on. (ie. there is some danger or something at risk)
8) It can be harmful to others (for example by projecting on to others that they are dangerous, etc.)
9) It does nothing to solve the problem of anxiety within the human condition which is so prevalent in our society and the cause of so much sorrow for so many people.
Edit: (one more)... 10) It's a party for god's sake! Is that any way to celebrate?
Another question to ask: How is it useful? Is there anything about it that is useful?
Edit 2: I think the above list pretty much hold true for any emotion you could investigate, or just for the plain silliness of getting emotional at all. Fortunately, this makes the whole process much easier, because you don't have to investigate the silliness each time of each trigger, you can just accept that emotional instinctual responses are silly and outdated human software, and then you can get back to the business at hand - being happy and harmless! (and enjoying the party)