Dear Lisa,
Ever since I was a teenager, I’ve had trouble with excessive worrying. I worry about everything. I worry about bills getting paid on time; I worry about my car, my family, and my health. Now I’m twenty-six years old and entering my ninth month of pregnancy. Soon I’ll be a first-time single mother and I’m worried about that. The worrying has gotten much worse; when one worry is scratched off my list, another quickly takes its place. I often wake up in the middle of the night crying and am afraid to take medication because of the pregnancy. My family says that I’m driving them crazy. Please help!—Carrie
Think positive
Your worrying takes up so much of your time, and you could be using that time in more productive ways. You’re so lucky to be having a baby, and I am sure there are other blessings in your life. Take stock of what you have! What about taking up Pilates or yoga to help to channel your thoughts in a more positive way? Have confidence in yourself and your abilities. The future can be wonderful if you want it to be. It’s up to you!—Helen Watson, London
Give yourself permission
I think that worrying about worry is overrated. Lots of people worry a lot and still have great lives. Have you read The Positive Power of Negative Thinking? It’s a real eye-opener and gives people who naturally worry permission to do just that. The trick is to harness your worrying thoughts so that they don’t spin out of control and make you miserable. Learn to acknowledge and accept them and not to pay too much attention to them in a way that terrifies you. In other words, let your worry or your fear of the worst motivate you to do your best. It sounds controversial but it works for me.—Sally Haalstrom, New York City
Expert View
Ugh. It seems that worrying has become a way of life for you. Anxiety is contagious; just reading your problem is making me a bit jittery too. Deep breath for both of us. With practice and courage, you can shift your perceptions, both large and small, from worry to peace and productivity. I mean this in both a global way of understanding that all is in divine order (although it may not always look that way to you or me) and in smaller and more specific ways.
PREVIOUS PAGE
