Your world/country/neighborhood is dangerous! Those insidious messages are rampant. No wonder over forty million adults have a diagnosis of an anxiety or depression disorder—or both. Researchers say a third of us will experience this at some point in our lives. Children are not immune; seven percent of kids under eighteen are also saddled with these mental health challenges. And these are just the people who sought medical advice.
We take a lot of medications and substances to alleviate the psychological and physical symptoms. You don’t have to have chronic anxiety to experience moments of fear that produce digestive ailments, insomnia or a racing heart. This literally makes us sick.
My mother had an advanced degree in anxiety. Her contribution to solving world and local problems was incessant worry fanned by her favorite broadcasts. If the yet to be realized issue was about her (or me) and I tried to counter with what I thought was a rational response, her reply was, “Oh, I hope so,” in a tremulous voice. She claimed she was a realist while inferring I was not.
The Greeks identified anxiety as a medical condition back in BCE times. Millennia ago, ancient Stoic and Epicurean philosophers recommended remedies that resemble today’s cognitive therapy. While this is not a novel ailment to be blamed on the internet, I do wonder if wayward fretfulness has become more common.
Excessive worry is an anticipation of the worst, that something bad is going to happen. It’s an overblown response to a stimulus prompted by anything: a news story, a random thought or another person’s worry, to name a few. In an astonishingly short time, other dreadful thoughts muscle their way in. Before long you’re in full-fledged catastrophizing mode, conjuring up any number of horrors while feeling powerless.
We share our anxiety on social media, with family and friends, in writing, and in affinity groups. We feel more secure when others have their eyes on the problem too so we know we’re not alone. While these attempts to soothe ourselves might not give us any power, they do prove that misery loves company.
Anxiety is not the same as giving attention to current difficulties. You see something, you do something. That’s life in the present tense. But anxiety is a future tense sensation. It’s a worry about what might happen to impact you, it’s not in your immediate sphere. Do you really want to put your mental and emotional capacity there? If you find yourself stuck in hellscape prognostications, c’mon back to the present. Here are some tips:
The 3-3-3 rule recommended by psychologists for anxiety is useful. Rapidly identify three objects in your environment, listen for three sounds, and move three body parts. It breaks the worry pattern by focusing on the here and now.
Stop spreading speculation about threats that could potentially occur. You don’t have a crystal ball; you don’t know what will actually happen. (And if you do have a fortunetelling device that shows only doom, please clean it or toss it!)
Consciously choose your words, they matter. Notice if you have a tendency to initiate downer topics as a way of bonding with others. If so, it’s time to expand your conversational horizons.
In parts of the northern hemisphere, it remains dark and cold and we could use a boost. Don’t settle for fearing the worst. Rein yourself in and edit your thoughts. Choose the ones that feel good, you deserve it. Once you put on your oxygen mask, help others. There is reason for hope—spring is coming!
Comments