Wellbeing
Why worry ?
“ Why worry ” worry gets you nowhere at all ”. The lyrics of this old 1950s song are indisputably true . Worry solves nothing . Yet we still continue to do it . If governments could tax it , as they do alcohol and tobacco , their fiscal problems would disappear overnight .
Worry is also a cause of health problems . It releases stress hormones such as cortisol . These boost blood sugar levels bringing on a number of physical reactions including dizziness , fast heart beat , fatigue , muscle tension and shortness of breath to mention but a few . Worry doesn ’ t solve anything and can make you ill , so why do we do it ?
It ’ s a habit from our childhood . We often felt threatened . On many occasions we didn ’ t know what to say , think or do . We were afraid , we were anxious and we worried . It had a soothing affect not unlike thumb sucking and equally productive . Bad habits are not easy to stop , as we all know . Trying to take it on as a will power exercise will be selfdefeating and we will end up worrying about the fact that we can ’ t stop worrying . The most effective way to erase the behaviour is use a diversity of strategies . Pragmatic , rational emotive and awareness .
The pragmatic approach focuses on the fact that worry is a result of fear . It makes sense to focus on the underlying fear to assess its reality . We often find that the cause of our worry is so trivial it doesn ’ t merit worry . No fear ~ no worry . We can also confront the fear . Get it sorted and get on with life . Sometimes we will find the fear is selfcentered . We are afraid of our own self-criticism . Ego bashing fear is extremely common . If we unconditionally accept our humanity with all its failures , we will end up worrying a lot less . Fears outside our control including what others think about us , the price of petrol , the rail strike , Brexit , etc , etc , shouldn ’ t ever , under any circumstances qualify as worrying material . Acknowledge our limitations and accept whatever the outcome . Much , much less useless worry .
The second strategy is the rational emotive strand . In the first instance acknowledge the truth of its futility and wastefulness . Next get emotionally involved . Feel anger and frustration when you think of all the time you have wasted , the opportunities you have missed , as a result of misplaced worry . Really feel that worry is an absolute waste of energy . Over time such concentrated distaste will lessen the worry fixation .
The third and most important strategy is awareness . How do we deal with worry when in fact we don ’ t know we are worrying ? Worry is mind stuff . Being in the NOW is the antidote . Fears are faced up to and problems are solved ONLY in the NOW . Worry is always somewhere else . Become aware of your body and you are in the NOW . Clench your right hand , feel the tension and the touch of your nails against your skin . Clench tighter and then slowly relax . Clench again and relax . Be aware of the physical sensations . Don ’ t conceptualize , just be conscious . Be aware that you are . Just be .
Doing this exercise regularly short-circuits your need to worry . Get in the NOW , enjoy life and have a worry free Christmas . Happy Christmas all .
If any one needs more information about a worry issue contact me by email on : hereondo @ gmail . com .
TONY DOWNEY M . Ed ., Dip Spec . Ed . DASE .
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