How to Stop Worrying and Start Living
In my many years of coaching, consulting and hypnotherapy, I found that most people live today as if it were yesterday. That worry is a negative hypnotic suggestion of something that the person has no control over. I am very surprised at how many people actually look for things to worry about.
Worry is simply a form of stress. Thomas Carlyle stated, “Our main business is not to see what lies dimly at a distance, but to do what lies clearly at hand.” Therefore, we can live and enjoy today without worrying about what we did in the past and concerns of what might happen in the future.
This is the day which the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it. This verse was found on a plaque on the desk of the renowned newscaster Lowell Thomas.
What does worry do to you? Many died from ulcers just because of worry. Worry decreases the effect of the immune system. Worry is known to cause high blood pressure and heart disease. Worry can cause panic attacks, anxiety attacks and depression.
What can you do to decrease or stop your worrying?
When you find that you’re tempted or started worrying about a problem write down the following four questions.
- What is the problem?
- What is the cause of the problem?
- What are all possible solutions?
- What is the best solution?
When you answer these questions you’re in a position to determine if the problem is worth worrying about or not. If that problem is not in the present but is something from the past or something maybe in the future you can crowd out or dilute the worry by actively doing some of the things mentioned below.
A person can worry and be miserable or he can make the decision to change his current thinking. Changing your thinking will change the way the brain sends out signals to the body and which changes the worry behavior. There is a part of the brain called the limbic system which is that part of the mind that responses to your thoughts. An example might be thinking of something sad that happened in the past, that thought will make you experience sadness again. The brain does not know the difference from a thought and what is actually happening. Thinking of something happy from the past will make you
happy. Thinking about eating a lemon can create salivation and discomfort in your mouth. Thinking about something that’s exciting to do in the future will create excitement and anticipation. Most of these are very positive situations, however, worry or a negative thought creates biological changes in the body and it’s these changes that create ulcers, high blood pressure, heart disease, fibromyalgia and many other gastrointestinal and dermatological medical conditions.
You can take control of your health by controlling your worry. Abraham Lincoln said,“We are only as happy as we make up our mind to be.” When we worry about something that is out of our control, we are wasting our thoughts, our time and our health.
What can you do to crowd out, dilute or diffuse worry? Simple, stop the thought and do things that you like to do with people you like to do them with and simply enjoying life. Smile, research says that a smile is just as effective if it’s fake as it is if real. A smile, fake or real, boosts the immune system, changes our outlook and even affects those that are around us.
Other things you can do include listening to relaxing music, taking a walk with nature, eating, drinking, exercising, meditating, sleeping and playing in appropriate ways will increase the anti-stress hormones in your body such as endorphin, our natural morphine, serotonin our natural Prozac and melatonin our natural Ambient.
Take control of your life, stop worrying and live.