Letting go of worry

I was an Olympic champion of worriers.

- Barbara Cook

Someone should have given me a medal. I worried about work, the state of the world and all the wrong things I'd done and couldn't undo. I was particularly skilled at creating multiple future scenarios and running each one through to its worst possible conclusion.

My prominent topic, and the one that can still have me lying awake at night, is worrying about my family members. If any adult or child is having a challenging issue, I go into a fretting frenzy.

What shifted?

I was so exhausted by all the worrying that I knew something had to change. My never-ending loops of thoughts were always a form of fear, which had me in a constant state of anxiety. I was stuck in my mind, unable to connect with the small daily pleasures of my life.

Worrying did not help in any way. I wasted so many days worrying about things that didn't eventuate! Mark Twain is often quoted as saying, "I've had a lot of worries in my life, most of which never happened."

How it began