Worry, Why?

“Worry is like a rocking chair - it gives you something to do but it doesn't get you anywhere.” - Anonymous

Why do you worry? What makes you worry? Who makes you worry?

Let us explore this topic.

According to Merriam-Webster dictionary, worry is a "mental distress or agitation resulting from concern usually for something impending or anticipated." I would agree with this definition.

In order to understand what makes you worry, you must look into what is making you feel and act the way you do. And who is responsible for making you worry? You.

When we speak of our emotions and actions, it is inevitable not to mention the source of it all - the brain. To some degree, environmental influences are responsible for our "reactions" but our "pro-actions" are produced by our own ability to respond to environmental stimuli.

The Brain

Our brain is a very powerful organ. It is literally responsible for our physical reactions, both inward and outward. Brain produces over 100,000 chemical reactions every second. Yes, every second.

Here’s another cool fact that relates to the brain’s natural signals. MRI scans have shown that when you spend money with cash instead of your card, the brain signals a pain. Yes, it’s painful to spend $20 in cash than $20 with your debit card. That’s the beauty of our brain. Although your brain may seem affected by outside influences, it’s up to you to produce certain chemicals that your body will react to.

Would you believe me if I said that you are your own chemist? Your brain produces various chemicals. These drugs are associated with memory, intelligence, but most are sedatives.

We Are All on Drugs

Here are a few drugs that your brain produces, which are certainly familiar to most of you: Endorphin is the brain’s painkiller and it is 3 times more potent than morphine. Yes, you create the most powerful sedative in existence right from your brain. Dopamine – makes you hyper active, talkative, and excitable. Serotonin – makes you feel happy, which also helps keep your moods under control by helping with sleep, calming anxiety, and relieving depression.

Mind, Body, and Soul

Our body readjusts to our way of thinking. For example, let’s talk about depression. Depression begins with a disturbance in the part of the brain that governs our moods. Most people can handle every day stresses. When stress is too great for a person and his or her adjustment mechanism is unresponsive, depression may be triggered. Remember, stress is when the demands far exceed your exhausted resources.

Needless to say, our brain has a lot to do with our worrying. Worrying is responsible for what is eating you from the inside not from the outside. When your life gets too busy, never forget to allocate some time to reflect. However, if your problems persist, here are several tips to help you.

Here is what Aristotle had to say about analyzing your problems:

1. Get the facts - most of your worries are caused by you trying to make decisions before you have sufficient knowledge on which to base your decisions.
2. After carefully weighing all the facts, come to a decision.
3. Once you reached your decision, act on it. Get busy carrying out your decision.

And if you start to worry again, write down the answers to these questions:

1. What is the problem?
2. What is the cause of the problem?
3. What are all possible solutions?
4. What is the best solution?

If you’re worrying today, you may also want to ask these questions to yourself:

• Do I tend to put off living in the present in order to worry about the future?
• Do I sometimes make bitter of the present by regretting things that happened in the past - that are over and done with?
• When shall I start to do this? Next week? Tomorrow? Today?

Do something about your worries instead of worrying about it day after day:

• What am I worrying about?
• What can I do about it?
• Here is what I am going to do about it.
• When am I going to start doing it?
  
  

Remember that you are a “response-able” individual. You are in charge for creating your own drugs. Being able to respond is an ultimate freedom that cannot be taken away from you.

Control your worries before they control you.