It starts off as a thought in the back of your mind that tugs at you. Like many people you discard it and continue on. Then through a series of events the thought comes closer to the surface more often but now, it's accompanied by this feeling of dread. It gets worse and worse. Sound familiar? Worry is one of the most pervasive emotions and at its core it's based on fear and hypothesis. If left unchecked, it can and will:
Alter your brain - When you're in a state of worry, your mind takes what I like to call an escape route. It's a defense mechanism that the mind uses which is just as much of a chemical reaction as a psychological one. In a constant state of worry, your body produces increased amounts of cortisol. Prolonged exposure to cortisol impairs your ability to retrieve memories of already stored information. Basically, your brain becomes less able to remember and learn.
Cause You Ignore Possible Solutions - In this altered state, it is easy for the brain to ignore helpful cues. It is not unusual for the solution to present itself only to be completely discarded. Friends and family may offer you legitimate solutions but in your foggy mind, those solutions won't work.
Weaken your body - Because of the increased cortisol, gastric acid production may increase possibly leading to stomach ulcers. Another harmful effect is that it causes insulin resistance which means increased blood sugar. Blood pressure, potassium levels, calcium levels are all negatively affected leaving your body vulnerable and weak.
Deplete your energy - Being in constant state of worry can be exhausting. Your mind is racing through all sorts of scenarios and you are working to find what you perceive as a solution but nothing is working. It is not unusual to feel the most common symptoms of depression at this time. This along with the weakened state of your body can result in increased tiredness.
What starts as mild can quickly spiral out of control and the next thing you know, you're in the throes of depression. So when we feel the beginnings of worry tugging at us, what can we do to stem the tide?
Here is a quick exercise you can use to help you get a handle on your worry at the beginning stages:
Close your eyes and visualize a crystal clear river running freely. You follow the river and see a dam made of pieces of wood that preventing that river from moving freely. That dam is your worry. You walk over to that dam and pull out the pieces of wood one by one. You keep pulling those pieces of wood until the dam weakens and the river overruns the remaining pieces. The river runs freely.
Do this as many times as you need to for any other dam that that gets in your way. You don't have to pull out each piece of wood; you can throw stones at it, take a longer piece of wood and beat it down, whatever you feel comfortable in doing so that you can get rid of that dam. The point of this exercise is not to get rid of all your worries all at once; it's to help you realize that worries can be weakened and dismantled to the point where they no longer obstructions. Once they are removed, then you become more open to solutions and possibilities.
As with anything, doing this exercise takes practice but after a while you will realize how much power you have over your worries and not the other way around.
Dianne Dixon is a certified professional who left the US to return to her homeland of Jamaica, WI. She is an Agribusiness owner/Entrepreneur and blogger who contributes to a variety of sites on topics such as health & wellness, personal development, life in Jamaica and more. In Jan 2012 she published her first e-book, Jamaican Foods Min-E-Book. Follow & comment on her journey in creating a life of abundance at Transitionyte.com.