In the last few years there has been a great interest amongst doctors, researchers, and people in the field of psychology concerning the effect worry has on health. Worry is one of the causes of stress that can, in turn, create stress-related illnesses. It is interesting that the word “worry” comes from old English and originally means to choke or strangle. If we think about the original meaning of the word “worry”, we find that it accurately describes what worrying does to us.
When we choke or are strangled, we cannot breathe. Our air supply is cut off and we struggle for life. While we may not associate choking with worry, if we think about it, when we worry we are actually cutting off our life. We may not show signs of physical distress right away, but slowly over time, our body exhibits some form of deterioration.
The next time we start to worry, we can consider whether it is worth the time of our precious lives to engage in thoughts about things that may or may not ever happen. If there is really a danger, then instead of worrying, we should make specific plans to avert the threat.
If we take actions, we have done all we can do. We do not need to supplement those actions with worry. In this way, we can eliminate one-third of our worries. Another cause for worry is events that happened in the past that we cannot change. Once the event is gone, it does no one any good to worry about it. What has happened has happened. Worrying about it will not change it; worry will only make us sick.
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