Worry: Do We Have A Choice? As Montaigne said,”he fears he will suffer, already suffers because of his fears.” We pay a massive price for fretting, physically, mentally and emotionally; yet research indicates that it affects nearly all of us somehow. So what’s it? From its original meaning of’to strangle’, stress has developed over the centuries to our contemporary definition’psychological distress or agitation, leading to concern, usually from something impending or expected’.
Let’s understand it
It’s constantly dwelling on and assessing possible consequences and outcomes of previous or future bad events. Is it a good thing to do? The rule of thumb should be that if stressing is not getting us anywhere, we’re worrying too much. There are lots of negative effects stressing can have on us. If we worry all of the time, our life is uncertainty. Worry destroys our peace of mind as disagreeable thoughts and images constantly intrude, impacting our ability to focus and think clearly.
It contributes to doubt and indecision, leaving us feeling paralysed and unable to act. Worried thoughts create tension within the body. They affect our ability to maneuver. Physical problems associated with worry include headaches, digestive troubles, higher blood pressure, illness and asthma. Extreme worry may result in panic attacks.
Immune System
It reduces the effectiveness of our immune system, making us look older too! So why do we do it? Our minds are extraordinary instruments, able to take advantage of what we’ve learned through experience in addition to imagine what may potentially occur in the future to help us determine what to do. Worry was described as creativity gone awry. Because worry is a sort of mental stimulation, it may become a habit and addiction. Once we understand that stress is a habitual reaction, we can alter it.
The first step to breaking the stress routine, therefore, is consciousness. Noticing the impact worry has on our bodies helps us recognise the causes and identify our anxieties. It’s then possible to consciously challenge those worrying thoughts and change our mindset. However much we may want to, we’ll never have the ability to control everything. So ask yourself if you are able to do anything about anything it’s causing you worry. If you can, then do itif you can not then accept that worrying is not going to help at all.
Positive Action
Taking any type of positive action is a better use of our energy, and only physically doing something can divert us from our stress. Taking a small step towards solving a problem can make us realise it is not so large after all and help break that cycle of indecision, so helping us feel more in control. Keep stress in outlook and give yourself permission to have fun.
Laughter increases our immune cells and releases the endorphins in our mind, so let us use our imaginations in a more favorably creative manner. There’s not any certainty in life as we can’t predict the future. Therefore worry will always be with us. But wasting time and energy on stress means we’re just living half a life. Therefore let us CHOOSE to stress less and live longer.
