Worry Cure Seven Steps to Stop Worry from Stopping You

1: Understanding Worry Worry is everywhere. All of us worry, including me. You are not alone. In fact, 38 percent of people worry every day. And many people describe themselves as chronic worriersthey say, "I've been a worrier all my life." But that's only a modest indication of how worry has come to impact every aspect of our lives, limiting our enjoyment and satisfaction. Worry is the central component of all the anxiety disorders and depression. Research shows that worry precedes the onset of depressionyou literally worry yourself into depression. Fifty percent of the people in the United States have had serious problems with depression, anxiety, or substance abuse at some time.1 Depression, anxiety, and substance abuse have increased during the past fifty years.2 The problem of worry is one that urgently needs a solution. To find one, we first need to understand it. The Different Kinds of Worry Let's consider three people who worry. Jane is thirty-two years old and single. She and Roger just broke up after a two-year relationship. They had been talking about getting married, but Roger got cold feet, and Jane got fed up with him. She felt she didn't want to wait forever for Roger to get his act together, so she broke it off. She knows she did the right thing, but now she worries: "Will I ever find a guy who can make a commitment?" and "Will I ever be able to have kids?" She sits in her apartment at night eating cookies and watching sitcoms. Brian is forty-five. He hasn't filed his taxes for two years. He is sitting at home alonejust like Janethinking that he's a loser for being so stupid not to file his taxes. He imagines the feds coming to his home and taking him away in handcuffs. Brian knows, in his rational mind, that he hasn't committed a crimehis employer withheld the taxes, and he's only late in filing. The worst case would probably be some kind of fine. But every time he sits down to start his taxes, his stomach clenches, his mind races, and he's overcome by an overwhelming sense of dread. To avoid this feeling, he turns on ESPN and thinks, "I'll wait for a better time." Diane turns forty next month. She just had a complete medical exam two weeks ago, and everything is fine. But she feels a slight irregularity in her breast and begins to think, "Is this cancer?" Even though the doctor assured her she is healthy, Diane knows you can never be too careful. Just six months ago she thought she had Lou Gehrig's disease. Diane was relieved to learn she didn't have a serious neurological problemonly a bad case of nerves. Diane knows her fears are realeven though everyone else tells her to see a therapist. I could fill several volumes with stories about people who worry. One of the volumes could probably be written by you! We worry about everythinggetting rejected, ending up alone, doing badly on an exam, not looking that good, what someone thinks of us, getting sick, falling off cliffs, crashing in airplanes, losing our money, being late, going crazy, having weird thoughts and feelings, being humiliated. You find yourself puzzled with thoughts like these: I know that I keep predicting the worst, but I can't help myself. Even when people tell me it's going to be OK, I still can't stop worrying. I try to put these thoughts out of my mind, but they just keep coming back. I know it's not likely to happen, but what if I'm the one? [read more]