I was reading a blog recently that listed many quotes on worry.
Worry – this can be so insidious and so irrational! How many nights can you
count in the past year when you tossed and turned with worry thoughts? How many
times, on the next day, did you find that your worry did nothing to help the
impending doom you were worrying about? This is what we call a “Mental Mishap”
or general irrationalization called Magical Worry.
What is it about worry…..it infests our thoughts, it infests
our actions and basically creates more anxiety.
The word insidious is a perfect definition for worry – this is the
definition of insidious: causing harm in a way that is gradual or not easily
noticed; treacherous, seductive. Worry does creep up on us, invades our brain
and creates anxiety. Yes, it CREATES anxiety. Or, at the very least, feeds
anxiety. It is also exhausting.
Why worry? I believe we worry because we are very
uncomfortable with situations we cannot control. Yes, most of us are control
freaks. Some worries seem reasonable: Will I be able to pay my bills? Will my
kids turn out all right? Will I be able to retire someday? Most are
unreasonable: What if I make a mistake? What if they don’t like me? Will my
hair look okay? What will they say to me tomorrow? Can we actually control any
of these things? There is only one way to control that which we cannot control.
Here is it: Change your thinking and tell your brain to LET
IT GO. (Okay, stop it fans of Frozen and those who are sick of the song)! Worrying
is irrational! It does
nothing except raise your blood pressure, make you sick to your stomach and
contributes to lost sleep. When those worry thoughts start to plague you
challenge them and come up with calming thoughts such as, “worry is wasted
energy”, “whatever happens, I can cope” or “I can face my future without
struggling against the winds of worry”. Nelson DeMille states, “Somehow our
devils are never quite what we expect when we meet them face to face”. Isn’t
that true?
Bonnie Lillis, LPC
Clinical Director, NECBT
