There have been several times in my life that I have sworn off worry. Yep, I went cold turkey. It was usually in the “heat of the moment” when I’m tired of the energy suck of worrying about- whatever! On more than one occasion, I thought to myself- what is today’s day? Then out loud, I would proclaim: Today, January 9, 2021, I will no longer worry! I’m done!
And it would work, and I would feel better… for about 5 minutes, until when the next worry would pop up.
Then I’d be all back in it- worrying and now additionally mad because I just swore off it!
Here’s the thing. Worrying doesn’t just go away. Our brains are wired to worry- it’s what has kept us alive this long.
Quick story, taken from Buddha’s Brain by Rick Hansen.
Picture this: it’s 100K years ago, back in caveman days. It’s time to go out hunting and gathering; time to eat. We’re walking in the woods, we round the corner, and then there’s this curvy thing on the ground. Our brains quickly process the visual information and categorize it as either a threat or an opportunity. The amygdala, or the primitive part of our brains, where our fight, flight, or freeze comes from- quickly determines that it’s a potential threat, so we stop walking. It’s vital to be safe while taking the time to process this information through a more sophisticated part of our brains- the pre-frontal cortex (PFC). The PFC is now further sorting it out: well, it’s not moving; everyone else has walked by and been OK. They haven’t said anything; I don’t hear a rattle, etc. The PFC determines that it is a stick and not a snake- we’re safe to pass by, so we continue.
Our brains are vigilant- constantly scanning for danger. Those of us who have survived to this day and age have brains that look for danger first. Today, we’re not going to get taken out by a wooly mammoth, so danger shows up as anxiety, fear, and worry.
These are totally normal reactions. And tomorrow, I’ll offer some solutions because trying to ‘swear off’ them alone does not work.
