Worry Work

Picture by Brian Rosen

I'm a bit of a worrywart. I try to be carefree and casual, but in the end I can't stop myself from imagining worst case scenarios. The hubby is 20 minutes late? He must have gotten hit by a bus (not an unlikely scenario in China), and of course, if he didn't get killed instantly, he doesn't have a phone and speaks no Chinese, so he's probably in a coma and in a hospital somewhere in the city where I will never find him.
I've gotten better over the years, but it's still difficult to quiet those voices in my head. So I've stopped trying. Now, I just try to calm myself by using my worrying to my advantage.

I know I'm going to worry, there's no going around it. But why do we do it? Maybe because we're afraid of something that is so devastating and unexpected, it would destroy our life. Completely. If something would ever happen to my hubby, I can't imagine what I would do!


Or wait ... . Maybe that's the problem. What if I use this worrying impulse to find out what I would do in case something did happen.
You can use your worst case scenarios in your mind to plan for possible emergencies. Using your worrying instinct this way makes sure that it isn't a complete waste of energy. And you get the reassurance of realizing that, just in case, life wouldn't come to an end if the unthinkable happened.


WARNING: In case you're not someone to worry much, and imagining these scenarios completely freaks you out, take it in small steps (or don't do this at all). It's much less stressing to imagine your undies turning pink due to a red sock in your machine than your house catching fire. But it's good to have a plan in either case.

We worry because we care. And that is all the more reason to make sure we're prepared for any situation that may arise. Doesn't knowing what you should do when the plane goes down make you feel safer already?
What is something you worry about? What would you do if the worst possible scenario came true?