It’s interesting how many times the anticipatory anxiety is worse then whatever event I am worrying about. Of course the baby blessing and family BBQ were just fine. The baby slept through the whole thing and was a delight afterward. The food was yummy and we had a great time. I was able to manage any little bits of anxiety that arose. The worst was beforehand when I couldn’t stop thinking about all the What ifs!
Do you consider yourself a worrywart? I know I am. If you are then you might be plagued by "The Worrier" as well. Any fears that we can write down that start with "What if..." is a horrible waste of our time and energy. However its probably what effects me the most. I am always worrying about things that haven't even happened yet. And how many times like the example above do I need to show myself that they are empty, worthless thoughts. They rarely come to pass and in the mean time all I have done is added a few more wrinkles and grey hairs.
Imagine all that you or I could accomplish if we could channel all the time and energy we use worrying into something positive. Easier said than done, but still an interesting thought.
6 comments:
I knew it!! Like you say it's the worry beforehand that is the problem. But build on your experiences.... the real thing is never as bad as you fear it will be.
Hi my name is Kristen. I've just been put on medication for GAD. It runs in my family but I've never had problems until about a year ago when I gave birth to twin girls. I think just the stress of that triggered something. I've had problems sleeping and in august I started having muscle twitches every where but mostly in my legs. So i'm unable to fall asleep because they bother me. I'm just looking for people going through the same thing. I'm L.D.S too, so i thought it was cool that i found your blog!
So true. Worry, anxiety, and stress suck the life energy right out of you. In my opinion it also leaves us more vulnerable to more of the same too.
This is me. I can't even enjoy going out to lunch with my friends:
"what if i die"
"what if i get sick"
"what if i pass out and they find out i have a brain tumor"
"what if i get dizzy"
"what if i panic and have to leave"
This is truly hell.
Good point about anticipatory anxiety often being worse than the actual event...
In reading the post though I sensed an underlying self critical judgement about having the anticipatory anxiety thoughts in the first place. In my experience, this unrecognized negative inner dialogue just feeds the anxiety. A more helpful approach is to simply see that it is occurring and allow it to be there. As soon as we try to “get rid” of it we are feeding it again.
Go and get a copy of a song called, My Worried Mind, by Daniel Moore. It's av anywhere you can buy music, and you can go to www.9livesrecords.com.
This song helped me through hard times and I hope it does for you as well. I was going through a divorce, and facing all kinds of problems with money. Daniel's song really helped me and I hope it does for you as well.
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