worry Guide
From Worry To Adaptive Action
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Worry can spark action if you worry and realize a plan of action needs to be initiated– and you act. Under those circumstance worry is serving you well.
Worry can spark your imagination
Sometimes having a cerebral cortex is not much fun. Imagination can litter our internal environment with every manner of fearful possibility. Many fearful possibilities do not exist outside of our fertile imaginations. Nonetheless, they trigger the same damaging chemical and physical changes as a genuine emergency.
Physical and Chemical Changes
Your body starts pumping out an array of chemicals (such as adrenaline) that increase the flow of blood and oxygen to your brain and skeletal muscles. Your blood also clots faster, ready to repair any injuries you sustain in your fight or flight reaction.
Possible Consequences of Worry and Stress
You may be all keyed up with nothing to fight or flee and no way to turn off the stress chemicals. You become a ticking bomb that is not allowed to explodeso you may implode. If this happens frequently, it can have a serious, even deadly, effect on your health.
Every system in your body is affected by worry. In addition to raising blood pressure and increasing blood clotting, worry can prompt your liver to produce more cholesterol, all of which can raise your risk of heart attack and stroke. Muscle tension can give rise to headaches, back pain, and other body aches. Worry can also trigger an increase in stomach acid and either slow or speed up muscle contractions in your intestines, which can lead to stomach aches, constipation, diarrhea, gas or heartburn. Worry can affect your skin (rash or itch). It can impact your respiratory system by aggravating asthma. Growing evidence even suggests that chronic worry can compromise your immune system, making you more vulnerable to bacteria, viruses, perhaps even cancer.
What should you do? Talk to someone. Talking to someone about your fears or concerns can shine the light of reason on the products of your imagination. Take action! When nature gave us an imagination to identify potential threats, it also gave us fear to spur us to take protective action. Make a plan and follow it through. Learn to let go. Sometimes knowing the difference between a situation over which you have control and one over which you have no control can help. If there is nothing you can do acceptancemay be the answer.
Switch gears
Think of something over which you have control or a least something more pleasant. Do something you enjoy, perhaps with a friend. You can also test reality with a friend. Work those muscles. Exercise is a fantastic way to relieve stress, burn calories, decrease depression and work toward wellness. Stop the worry before if has the opportunity to take control of your emotions and thoughts. You must work quickly and strike when you first become aware of the negative thoughts that fuel worry. Do something: exercise, splash cold water on your face, snap a rubber band, call a friend, or see a big flashing stop sign in your minds eye. You may want to listen to a relaxation CD or go on a mini vacation in your mind. Whatever you choose should channel your thoughts in another more positive direction.
Practice, Practice, Practice. It will soon become second nature to relax, exercise, or change thoughts, rather than doing the old counter-productive worrying.
Caution:
You may want to avoid eating or drinking alcoholic beverages to medicate the discomfort of anxiety. They can be very dangerous ways to cope and as one could predict– they do not work. The original problems are still there–they simply have company.
About the Author Dr. Dorothy McCoy, Columbia, SC USA Learn more at http://www.police-stress.com Dr.McCoy is an author, psychotherapist and police consultant. Two of her books (The Ultimate Book of Personality Tests and From Shyness to Social Butterfly)have been published and three other books will be released in the next few months. She can be reached at drmccoy86@aol.com
More infomation at WikipediaDon’t Be A Worry Wort!
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Everyone worries. As bothersome as it is, worry isn’t all bad, and can actually work for you. Worry can give you a jolt of energy, spark your creative thinking, and help you to meet deadlines. The trick is to keep worry under control and these tips will help you do that.
1. Identify the source. Though it can take days, weeks, or even months, identifying the source of your worry is time well spent. You may feel anxious all the time, for example, constantly looking over your shoulder, and thinking something awful is about to happen. Once you’e identified these feelings as anticipatory grief you can do something about them.
2. See the big picture. Or as author Richard Carlson, PhD puts it, Don’t sweat the small stuff . . . and it’s all small stuff. Carlson says we let ourselves get worked up over things that, upon closer examination, aren’t really that big a deal. Getting a flat tire on the way to work is nothing compared to chronic disease, famine, or terrorirm. Sometimes it’s hard to see the big picture, so you may have to consciously de-clutter your mind to bring it into focus.
3. Catch the laughs. According to a University of Maryland Medical Center study, humor is good medicine. Michael Miller, MD, Director for the Center for Prventive Cardiology at the Center, says regular exercise and healthy eating can reduce the risk of heart disease, adding, Perhaps regular, hearty laughter should be added to the list. Miller thinks we should incorporate laughter into our daily lives by reading funny stuff, watching funny videos, and not taking ourselves so seriously.
4. Start a solutions list. Keep your list on a computer or on a notepad. Every time you think of a solution jot it down. Maintain your list for a week and put it away for a few days. Then take it out, pick the best solution, and start working on it. The solution may not produce dramatic results, but you’ve taken a proactive step and are moving forward with life.
5. Take care of yourself. Poor eating hbits and lack of sleep can make worry worse. So eat a balanced diet and try to get eight hours of sleep a night. If you haven’t had a physical exam in a while this may be the time to get one. And even though you’re worried, make time for your friends and social activities.
6. Get moving. Mayo Clinic psychologist Kristen Vickers-Douglas, PhD, in an article on www.MayoClinic.com, says there’s substantial evidence that exercise can enhance mood. You don’t have to run a marathon or lift weights to boost your spirits, a daily walk will do it. Others find spritual comfort in meditation.
7. Appreciate nauture. Life is more beautiful when you take the time to appreciate birds and flowers and trees. Recognizing this fact, five Wisconsin towns got together and crafted the Leaf Your Worries Behind tourism campign, a relaxing autumn getaway in the Northwoods. No matter where you live, take the time to appreciate nature.
8. Watch fewer newscasts. In the era of 24-hour television newscasts the same stories are aired again and again. Often these newscasts contain horrific images, images that are stored in your mind. For peace of mind you may wish to watch one newscast and skip the rest.
9. Get help if you need it. According to Treatment of Specific Anxiety-Based problems, a chapter posted on the Psychological Self-Help Website, chronic worriers fret for several hours a day. What a waste! If you’re a chronic worrier you may want to take a stress management course or talk with a trained counselor.
10. Credit yourself. You’ve taken steps to keep worry under control and that’s a huge accomplishment. Applaud yourslf, cheer, or dance around the kitchen. Instead of being a worry wort you’re making worry work for you. Good job!
Harriet Hodgson has been a nonfiction writer for 27 years and is a member of the Association of Health Care Journalists. Her latest book, Smiling Through Your Tears: Anticipating Grief, written with Lois Krahn, MD, is available from http;//http://www.amazon.com
Copyright 2005 by Harriet Hodgson. To learn more about her work go to http://www.harriethodgson.com.
More infomation at WikipediaStress Managment: Worry Is The Prescription For An Ulcer
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Have you ever listened to someone, perhaps even to your self, talk about being worried? Youll hear things like, Im so worried, Im worried sick, or as my mom used to tell me, You worry me to death!
Certainly makes worry sound like a very powerful force, doesnt it? And as a matter of fact, it is. Worry can make us sick, and in its most extreme form, it can kill us.
Then why in the world do we do this thing called worry? For some people, its simply become an emotional habit that they no longer think about. I come from a family of worriers, as if its a genetic feature like eye color. For others, its how to show you care about someone. If I didnt care about you, I wouldnt worry, as if worry is a form of love someone would want to receive.
Heres what happens when we worry: because our brain cannot tell the difference between reality and a vividly imagined picture (worry), we respond the same way emotionally. So when we worry, our brains have gone into the future and created a vivid living color picture of our worry, and then our emotions, and even our physiology, rush up to match the picture.
Heres a little experiment that will clearly show what I mean. Picture yourself at home in your kitchen, and then walking over to the refrigerator and pulling out a great big juicy lemon. Take it over to the counter, cut it in half, smell the juice and feel the juice on your fingers. Now cut one of the halves in half. More juice, more smell. Now cut a slice from one of the sections. More juice, more smell. Now bring that slice up to your nose and take a sniff. Then, finally, take a big bite of the lemon.
If your are like most folks, your mouth is watering now, and you may even be puckering up a bit too. Heres the important thing to notice for our purposes: there is no lemon. You vividly imagined, with my guidance, a picture that caused a physiological response in your body. Remember, there is no lemon.
And so it is when we worry.
So that leaves us with a couple of choices when we worry: we can get an ulcer or we can get moving. Lets take a closer look at each of these options.
How to Get an Ulcer
Worry. A lot. Raise it to an art form. Make sure to worry about things you can do nothing about. Or if you are worried about things you can do something about, be sure not to do anything about it. Let your worry cause you to live all your moments in the future, missing the present of the present. Become a what-if person: you know, what if this happens, what if that happens…..
How to Get Moving
Make a distinction between worry and concern. Worry freezes you, concern motivates you. Allow your worry and concern to motivate you to plan for the future. Remember, the best way to predict the future is to create as much of it as you can.
Pray. A lot.
Since worry is really nothing more than using our imagination in a negative way, turn the process on its head. Instead of vividly imagining the worst possible outcome, switch to vividly imagining the best possible outcome, and/or the outcome you would like to have happen.
Ive saved the best for last. The best cure that I know for worry is to TAKE ACTION! Create a plan, plan for the future, do every thing you can to prevent the negative outcomes you dont want and do every thing you can to get the positive outcomes you do want.
The neat thing here is that if you do all the above suggestions to get moving, you wont have time or space in your brain to worry. And my guess is you will enjoy life much more.
Thanks for reading, and keep the change.
Visit SecretsofGreatRelationships.com for tips and tools for creating and growing a great relationship. You can also subscribe to our f*r*e*e 10 day e-program on how to enrich your relationship today, from relationship coach and expert Jeff Herring.
More infomation at Wikipedia