Are you like me? Do you worry too much? I am fully aware that the Bible calls worrying a sin, that worrying implies my lack of trust in God and that I am commanded in all things with prayer to bring my burdens to God.
Yes, I still worry...like all the time. The kind of worry that makes your stomach hurt and makes it difficult to feel happy about anything. The kind of worry that almost invokes paranoia that more things are wrong than the small issue that I'm worrying about.
Unfortunately, despite my efforts to be proactive or make amends this past week, things just went terribly wrong like they can do once in a while. Because of these vents, I've found myself worrying so much this week and along with it has come the stomach knots that rival the already present nausea.
So my question and reason for posting...what do you do? For those of you who are prone to worrying like me, what do you do to make it stop or manage it?
As you know, I am not prone to worry, but reading your post reminded me of an article in this month's Self magazine about dealing with stress (thanks, again for the subscription!). In case you missed it, the article says it's good to freak out sometimes. "Experts say one trick for quieting those thoughts is catastrophizing: choosing to go to the darkest part of the dark side and fully entertain your deepest fears no matter how improbable they are."
ReplyDelete1 - find a quiet 10 min., sit in a comfy chair, settle in
2 - start with the big, scary, looming worry and imagine all the terrible stuff that might come after
3- at some point logic may try to override but keep going, the darker the better
4 - Done!
Of course it isn't Biblically based advice, and I haven't tried it myself, but the PhD in the article seems to believe it helps. Check out the pg. 146 of the April issue for the full details and keep praying!