Have you ever been called a “worrywart?” I’m not too sure that word is even used anymore, but it isn’t too hard to figure out what it means anyway! Worrying is almost a hobby for some people, and sometimes circumstances can change a person from a non worrier to a worrier. Becoming a parent is a great example of this; parents never really stop worrying from the time they find out they are going to be parents to the time…well, like I said, they never stop worrying!
There have been a few scientific studies on the effects of worrying, anxiety and stress, and the outcome of these studies has not been encouraging. It seems that people who worry more have a greater risk of heart attacks, depression, panic attacks ulcers, and the list goes on. Worrying is simply not good for your health! The feeling of anxiety doesn’t exactly make us feel good emotionally and mentally either, as well as physically. So basically, worrying affects us on all levels of our being. No matter what we think, worrying and stressing over things actually makes it worse for us because we are harming our bodies as we worry.
Have you ever met someone who was an avid worrier their whole life, and still looked young for their age? It’s not likely! Worrying puts wrinkles on you faster than Father Time, and can cause you to age before your time. (Now, how many of you are starting to worry about worrying because of the effects it may have on your face?) Stop worrying!
Let’s look at worrying with a little perspective here. For a hypothetical situation, we’ll say that a family member has to go in for some tests to see if they have cancer. Now you are worried. You are worried that they will find cancer. You are worried that they will die, leaving their kids without a mother / father. You are worried about how the family will react when they find out. The list goes on… Now, I want you to think about how much your worrying can help the situation. Can your worrying make the test results sway one way or the other? Can your worrying add any time onto someone’s life? The answer I no! Worrying does not accomplish one single good thing, no matter what the situation is. Worrying can never help anybody, and it will never change anything. The only thing that worry does is make us more worried, and tax our bodies and minds.
The key is to stop worrying. This doesn’t meant that you stop caring or stop being responsible; it simply means that you have recognized that your worrying is not going to help anyone, so you have made a decision that you will choose peace over worry. Some people may think you are crazy, and still others will envy you. Pass this information on to anyone you think will listen, and little by little, we can banish anxiety from our corner of the world.