Worry & Anxiety

Years ago, I did worry, a lot - About my job as a headteacher, about whether I was a good enough mother, about what people thought of me, about how I looked, about whether we had enough money, probably about almost everything in my life.

I would wake in the middle of the night in a complete panic about something. I would obsessively write "to do" lists in case I forgot something - (I never featured on any list). Worry & anxiety led to a complete breakdown & early medical retirement at 46, which necessitated a psychiatric consultant & strong medication.

Then I read lots of books about stress & life skills. I read a book written in 1944 by Dale Carnegie called "How to stop worrying & start living". Putting aside the very American style & repetitiveness, the basic message was simple - whatever you are worrying about, think about the worst case scenario, accept that it might happen, but understand that statistically the probability is that it won't. It works - Trust me. In the 29 years since, I have proved time and again, that the worst case scenario hardly ever happens.

In addition, all the books I read taught me that whatever worry & anxiety you have can be dealt with if you face it. You have no choice but to face it, because it probably isn't going to go away of it's own accord. Each time I operated in the way I've outlined, I dealt with whatever the problem was & each time I did my confidence in my own capacity to deal with life's ups & downs increased.

Worry & anxiety are very negative & harmful emotions. They affect your physical as well as mental health, sometimes severely. https://www.mind.org.uk/information-support/types-of-mental-health-problems/anxiety-and-panic-attacks/anxiety-disorders/#.Xgx_Wvzgr7A

They prevent you from living well - But there are ways to cope.
https://www.nhs.uk/oneyou/every-mind-matters/anxiety/

Now I'm almost 75 I know that I can cope with almost anything, which is just as well because life has not been easy, far from it. You need to develop confidence in yourself & your own ability to cope - You have no choice.