Worry
noun
To feel anxious or troubled about actual or potential problems. [1]
An endless analysis of all the different situations that may or may not happen.
"Any feelings other than those of happiness and joy. The main cause being not mentally present in the moment and either dwelling on the past or future." – Self-Mastery
"Those who do not know how to fight worry die young" - Dr Alexis Carrel
"चिंता चिता समान है", or, "Chinta chita saman hai" translates to "Mentation and pyre are the same".
Medical research estimates that 90% of all illnesses and diseases are directly related to worry and fear. Conditions like nervous indigestion, stomach ulcers, heart disturbances, insomnia, some types of headaches, some types of paralysis, high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, heart disease, allergies, and asthma would be minimised or removed from patients if they just got rid of their worries and fears. [9]
"Worry often gives a small thing a big shadow.” – Swedish Proverb
Two-thirds of business leaders have suffered from mental health conditions. This high tension living makes anyone susceptible to heart disease, digestive-tract ulcers, and high blood pressure. These business executives who are in their forties and fifties are wrecking their health, well before they reach retirement where they should be enjoying long walks with the dog and living a healthy life of passion. At what price success?! What shall it profit a person if they lose their health? Even if one managed to own the whole world, he or she can only sleep in one bed at a time and eat 3 or 4 meals a day, something the junior graduate of the company can do with much better quality sleep and a carefree mind. Frankly, I'd rather be a carefree yogi living a life true to myself rather than wrecking my health at forty by chasing a high-paid job in the corporate world. The moral of the story; never trade years of your life for any type of success. This in itself is a type of failure.
“I think everybody should get rich and famous and do everything they ever dreamed of so they can see that it's not the answer.” - Jim Carrey
Exercise: If you became seriously ill, how would that affect your life? Who would be impacted if you fell seriously ill and were dead in the next 3-5 years?
“Rule number one is don’t sweat the small stuff, rule number two is, it’s all small stuff.” – Robert Elliot.
Worries and stress can also cause conditions that bring on arthritis. Some situations may include marital issues, financial problems, grief, loneliness, and resentments [10]. Unpleasant emotions that are caused by worry and fear may upset the body's calcium balance, resulting in tooth loss and broken bones [11].
“If you want to fly, give up everything that weighs you down.” – Toni Morrison
During the second world war, over a third of a million US soldiers were killed in combat; but during the same period, heart disease killed over two million civilians, and one million of those casualties were caused by the kind of heart disease that is brought on by worry and high tension living [12]. Despite all the medical and technological advances humans have made to improve living standards, the disease that kills most people under 45 is suicide. [13]
Worrying can trigger a response from your nervous system (sympathetic nervous system) to release "stress hormones" such as cortisol, resulting in faster heart rate, irregular breathing, raised blood sugar and triglycerides (blood fats), and increased blood flow to the arms and legs. In time, this can negatively impact the heart, blood vessels, muscles, and other systems [2]. This is in addition to anxiety and depression, headaches, heart disease, memory and concentration problems, problems with digestion, insomnia, and weight loss or gain. This is evident during testing times such as exams where people often experience a fluctuation in weight. [3]
Although this may seem bad, things actually get worse when it comes to stress and the physical body. For instance, if the blood fats that are generated by cortisol are not used by the body as fuel for physical activities, the physical consequences include the suppression of the immune system, digestive disorders, muscle tension and fatigue, short-term memory loss, coronary artery disease, and heart attacks. Ever found yourself "coincidently" falling sick before an exam? Well, that was cortisol suppressing your immune system as your body was unable to use this as fuel. The suppression of your immune system will also make it harder to fend off the flu, herpes, shingles, and the coronavirus. And if this wasn't enough to disadvantage you during times where maximum focus was required, the body reacts to stress hormones by causing dry mouth, fatigue, headaches, low concentration, irritability, muscles aches and tension, irregular breathing, sweating, trembling, and twitching. [4]
Worries not only impact the human body overall but hits every part with precision. Stress is supposed to protect you, but if it's constant it can harm us. High levels of cortisol from long-term stress can increase blood cholesterol, triglycerides, blood sugar, and blood pressure. The reason why this is dangerous is that they are common risk factors for heart disease. Furthermore, this causes changes that promote plaque deposits in arteries. This is similar to the effects of smoking. Although we've discussed long-term stress, even minor stress can trigger heart problems such as poor blood flow to the heart muscle. This makes the blood stickier and increases the risk of stroke. [7] [8]
The primary reason why cortisol gives us a burst of fuel in the form of blood sugar is to provide us with the energy to take action and move away from danger. However, over time the unused energy will result in raised blood sugar levels on a consistent basis. This can lead to heart disease, strokes, or kidney disease. [4]
Nervousness, worries, and anxieties also hit the stomach hard. For instance, the feeling of nausea, vomiting, stomach pains, and even stomach ulcers are common under conditions of high stress and worry. This may also lead to acid reflux, shooting acid up to the throat. This is of course in addition to disturbances in your bowels, leading to diarrhoea. [4]
"You do not get stomach ulcers from what you eat. You get stomach ulcers from what is eating you." - Dr Joseph F. Montague
Exercise: What goals, achievements or successes are you willing to trade your health for? Which of the following are you willing to acquire in order to keep your worrying habits:
Arthritis (painful joints and poor mobility).
Bone and tooth loss.
Poor heart health.
Poor digestive strength or vomiting (inability to eat and process food normally, leading to weakness, fatigue and ageing).
Poor brain health (low concentration and poor memory).
Insomnia (inability to sleep).
Suicide.
Unable to fight off and recover from illnesses.
Clogged arteries.
Anxiety, depression, mental isolation and exhaustion.
Below is a diagram that highlights some of the impacts that worry has on the body. [6]
Image Source: healthline [6]
“Whatever is going to happen will happen, whether we worry or not.” – Ana Monnar
Exercise: Draw a line on a piece of paper with the left end labelled 0 and the other end labelled 79 if you're a man and 83 if you're a woman (see below). These are the life expectancies of men and women respectively in the UK. According to your age, roughly mark how far along this line you are. Observing the line closely, consider whether it is worth jeopardising the time you have left with worries, anxieties, and fear?
“When I look back on all these worries, I remember the story of an old man who said on his deathbed that he had had a lot of trouble in his life, most of which never happened.” — Winston Churchill
The Legacy Project began in 2004, when Karl Pillemer, a professor of human development in the College of Human Ecology at Cornell University, and Professor of Gerontology in Medicine at the Weill Cornell Medical College started collecting the practical advice for living of America’s elders. Using a number of different methods, his research team has systematically gathered nearly 1500 responses to the question: “What are the most important lessons you have learned over the course of your life?” [14]
Although the responses were in the thousands, a common theme quickly became clear. The fact that worry wastes your life as it wastes time and multiplies suffering was a regret most emphasised. It was common to hear people say "If I could go back and change one thing in my life, I wouldn't have spent so much of my precious time worrying". [15]
"Everything you want is on the other side of fear." – Jack Canfield
Exercise: Worry has robbed most people of their mental, physical, emotional, professional and financial growth. Worry has kept most people from even trying. Therefore, worry isn't only harmful to health, it is also detrimental to your growth and success. Typical examples include not leaving a job you hate to head in a direction you wish, staying in a relationship that should have ended years ago, and the adventures you should have enjoyed.
How have worries, fears and anxieties harmed your growth and potential?
Write down all the opportunities you didn't take due to fearing any negative consequences. This could be talking to someone that could have helped you, setting up a meeting that could have changed your life, holding an open conversation with someone, putting yourself out there to meet new people or going on a spontaneous travelling experience.
Make a conscious decision about whether you should look back 20 years from now in regret, dwelling on all the opportunities you should have taken, or be proud of really living life riding the waves life had to offer. As the sayings go, "nothing ventured, nothing gained", and "you miss 100% of the shots you don't take".
Take away: Currently, we are in the midst of the Coronavirus pandemic and the whole country is in lockdown. We have all received warnings of the virus and have altered our lifestyle substantially in response to this. But no one has ever come to us to warn us of the dangers of worry. So this is my mission, to not only give you a stern warning and the reasons why worry is one of the worst things for your health but to give you practical ways to eliminate worry – so you can set yourself free. This whole section of the Self-Mastery is dedicated to equipping you with the necessary tools in eliminating worries. For some extra material, please see the Dealing With Worry booklet by the NHS below or visit the website. [5]
"The best investment you can make, is an investment in yourself... The more you learn, the more you'll earn." – Warren Buffett
“Happiness can be found even in the darkest of times, if one only remembers to turn on the light.” — Albus Dumbledore from Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
"Damn, I realize all my setbacks were inside of me
In high school I learned chemistry, biology
But not how to cope with anxiety
Or how I could feel like I'm by myself on an island
With depression on all sides of me (damn)
With a Glock 17 right on the side of me (hold up)
Look, I ain't think I had the thought of suicide in me
Until life showed me all these different sides of me
Too many times I thought the reaper was outside for me ..." - Big Sean (Deep Reverence)
References
Google Search: Worry – Link
WebMD, How Worry Affects Your Body – Link
WebMD, What Is Cortisol? – Link
WebMD, How Worrying Affects the Body – Link
NHS Borders, DEALING WITH WORRY, A Self Help Guide – Link
healthline, Effects of Anxiety on the Body – Link
University of Rochester Medical Center, Health Encyclopedia, Stress Can Increase Your Risk for Heart Disease – Link
CDC, SMOKING AND CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASE – Link
National Ag Safety Database, Stress Management for the Health of It – Link
Arthritis Foundation, How Stress Affects Arthritis – Link
Express: Calcium deficiency: Five symptoms to look out for including anxiety and heart palpitations – Link
Carnegie, Dorothy; Dale Carnegie (1948), "How to Stop Worrying and Start Living", pp. 49
BBC News: Male suicide: 'His death was the missing piece of the jigsaw' – Link
Karl Pillemer, Legacy Project, Lessons for Living from the Wisest Americans – Link
Audible, Podcast, Mel Robbins, Here's Exactly What To Do, Episode 5: How to Stop Worrying – Link
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