8 simple yet effectual ways to stop worrying

Worry is a feeling of anxiety especially towards what you cannot control. Worry is an unhealthy and destructive mental habit. Nobody was born with the habit of worrying, we all acquired it. If it was acquired it can be done away with. You don’t have to be a victim of worry, deal with it to its simplest form.

fear is the most disintegrating enemy of human personality, quite several physicians have asserted that worry is the most and destructive of all human diseases. Thousands of people are ill because of anxiety.

The destructive quality of worry is indicated by the fact that the word itself is derived from an old Anglo-Saxon word meaning “to choke.” If someone were to put his fingers around you and press hard, cutting off the flow of vital power, it would be a dramatic demonstration of what you do to yourself by long-held and habitual worry. (Dr. Norman Vincent Pealse, The Power of Positive Thinking)

 “We fear not only in our minds but in our hearts, brains, and viscera, that whatever the cause of fear and worry, the effect can always be noted in the cells, tissues, and organs of the body.” (Dr. George W. Crile, famous American surgeon)

Do you think you worry about a lot? then you need to meet me. Sometimes I even find myself worrying about things that haven’t even happened yet. I find myself painting the worst-case scenarios in my mind and start worrying. I wouldn’t know if you can relate but I’m sure you can. This brings us to the question of why people worry. Our major focus is meant to be tips to stop worrying but then you have to know the reason behind something to effectively tackle it don’t you think?

WHY DO PEOPLE WORRY

What is really behind the so much worrying sometimes I ask myself, why do we worry? because even without problems, we could still find ourselves worrying. Well here are a few possible reasons why people worry;

Pessimism

Pessimism is a feeling or belief that something bad is bound to happen, a feeling or belief that what you hope for will not happen. Pessimists usually see worst-case scenarios. What if it doesn’t work out? What if something bad happens? and If it doesn’t happen the way it should? They do not even allow the problem surface first, rather they create the problem. And hence, start worrying. Well, we could say I did possess some of the characteristics of a pessimist which made me worry unnecessarily and not only till I learnt how to be optimistic and shun negativity, I only kept on worrying.

Fear of the future

The term used to describe this is known as ‘chronophobia’. Chronophobia is a specific psychological phobia which manifests itself as a persistent, abnormal and unwarranted fear of time or of the passing of time. This is a very common phobia amongst us all because of so much uncertainty about what’s next and hence we find ourselves worrying even when we are not yet faced with a problem.

To control their problems

People worry in an attempt to “control” their problems. They believe that if they control their problems, they can eventually solve them. We believe that even before we are faced with problems when we worry there’s a greater tendency to be able to solve it. This could be true but then we also forget that other times we are naturally able to think of possible solutions to problems when they arrive. Sometimes our worry creates the problem that may not even occur.

Daily needs and routines

Worries, doubts, and anxieties are a normal part of life especially when everyone is trying their very best to make ends meet. It’s natural to worry about an unpaid bill, how to put food on the table, an upcoming job interview, or a first date. So we can’t be blamed for worrying so much sometimes. But “normal” worry becomes excessive when it’s persistent and uncontrollable

EFFECT OF WORRYING

Worrying is a side-effect of the highly creative mind. But still, we fail to realize that worrying never changes our situation or makes anything better especially chronic worrying, rather it only saps our energy and can trigger a host of health problem. The problem occurs when fight or flight is triggered daily by excessive worrying and anxiety. The fight or flight response causes the body’s sympathetic nervous system to release stress hormones such as cortisol. These hormones can boost blood sugar levels and triglycerides (blood fats) that can be used by the body for fuel. The hormones also cause physical reactions such as:

1. Restlessness
2. Insomnia
3. Stomach problems
4. Dizziness
5. Dry mouth
6. Fast heartbeat
7. Fatigue
8. Headaches
9. Inability to concentrate
10. Irritability
11. Muscle aches
12. Muscle tension
13. Nausea
14. Nervous energy
15. Rapid breathing
16. Shortness of breath
17. Sweating
18. Trembling and twitching

Chronic worrying can affect your daily life so much that it may interfere with your appetite, lifestyle habits, relationships, sleep, and job performance. Many people who worry excessively are so anxiety-ridden that they seek relief in harmful lifestyle habits such as overeating, cigarette smoking, or using alcohol and drugs

Chronic worrying can also be a major symptom of Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), a common anxiety disorder that involves tension, nervousness, and a general feeling of unease that colours your whole life.

8 simple yet effectual ways to stop worrying

Now we’ve gone through some of the reasons why people worry as well as the effect of constant and excessive worrying, let’s also look at ways or steps you can take to stop or reduce worrying:

Believe that you can(Be Optimistic)

I spoke earlier about pessimism and how it makes us worry. Optimism is the direct opposite. It is what I like to call seeing the light at the end of the tunnel even before getting to the end of the tunnel. Don’t be discouraged you can overcome your worries. Whatever you believe you can do, you can do. A man’s life is shaped by its belief. The procedures given in this post are so simple to adopt. Just believe that by the time you finish reading this you’ll be halfway through in living a life without worries.

Practice emptying the mind daily

This practice is preferably done at night before retiring to sleep, this avoids the retention of consciousness of worries while you sleep. The last few minutes before going to sleep are critical, because during sleep thoughts tend to sink more deeply into the subconscious. And the mind tends to absorb the last ideas that are entertained in waking consciousness.

This process of mind drainage is important in overcoming worry because fear thought can clog the mind unless drained off. To drain them utilize a process of creative imagination. Conceive of yourself as actually emptying your mind of worries and fear. This process is imaginative. Just as imagination is a source of fear, so also is it a cure for fear. This process is trying to use the same process(imagination) you used to acquire fear or worries to fight them.

Just like Thanos said in marvel Avengers endgame, “I used the stones to destroy the stone”

Therefore, hold an image of yourself as delivered from worry and the drainage process will in time eliminate abnormal fear from your thoughts. However, it is not enough to empty the mind, for the mind will not long remain empty. Hence the next key point.

Practice refilling the mind

The human mind cannot stay empty, but this time you choose what fills it. Practice refilling your mind, fill it with thoughts of faith, hope, courage and expectancy. Crowd your mind with such thoughts as these until the mind is overflowing with them. In due course, this thought of faith will overpower your worries. Faith can always overcome fear. Faith is one power against which fear cannot stand.

recommended: 3 mind-blowing similarities between faith and fear that people don’t know

The importance of freeing your mind of fear cannot be overemphasized. Fear something over a long period and there is a real possibility that by fearing you may help bring it to pass. And your testimony will be like that of job in the Christian bible “For the thing which I greatly feared is come upon me”

So, if you shift your mind from fear to faith you will stop creating the object of your fear and will instead, actualize the object of your faith.

Reduce the number of worry words in your conversation

To stop worrying, you need to reduce the number of worry words in your conversation. When a worrying thought comes to mind, immediately remove it with a faith thought and expression. Be done with the use of words like “am gone, I’m so confused, I’m f**ked, I’m frustrated”. Find a better replacement for those statements, use words like “I can deal with it, it’s just a little challenge e.t.c.”

Never participate in a worry conversation. Insert an injection of faith into all your conversations. A group of people talking pessimistically can infect every person in the group with negativism, but by talking things up rather than down you can drive off that depressing atmosphere and make everyone feel hopeful and happy.

Cultivate friendship with hopeful people. Surround yourself with friends who think positive, faith producing thoughts and who contributes to a creative atmosphere. This will keep you re-stimulated with faith attitudes.

Let the past be

Stop dwelling on the past, the present is all you have to get a better future so, don’t allow your memory to affect the present. It is wrong to wish you had a better experience it’s a waste of time. You can only learn from your experience.

Apply the simplicity strategy

Here @prettylifestylez, we believe in a simple approach in dealing with stuff. Many people fail to overcome their worries because they allow the problem to seem complicated and do not attack it with some simple technique. This is because it is not enough to know what to do about difficulties. We must also know how to do that which should be done. So, the secret is to work out a method of attack and keep working it.

Face Your fears

Of course, we all have our fears and this happens to be a major reason why we often worry. Worrying about them as I’ve earlier said never changes them, so why don’t you learn to comfortably face your fears head-on. When you do, you’d most likely be able to provide solutions to your problems or whatever it is that is making you worry. You challenge your worries when you choose to face your fears.

Embrace uncertainty

This is a way to overcome the fear of the future because often we are uncertain about what’s next. Most of the things we care about in life involve uncertainty. We can’t be sure we’ll do well in school, that people will like us, that we’ll always have our health, or that we’ll have a happy marriage. And yet we don’t have to allow this uncertainty to stop us from living the life we want. Beyond simply tolerating uncertainty, we can embrace it as an inherent part of living. We spend so much time trying to eliminate the uncertainty that it takes considerable practice to begin to embrace it. When you begin to embrace uncertainty, you would begin to worry less.

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Always remember,

YOU ARE UNIQUE