W is for Worry

W is for Worry. 

I have a tendency from my mom to project the outcome of any endeavor.   I believe my mother uses it as a coping mechanism.  This way she is  prepared for the worst outcome.  It saddens me to think of all the time and emotion wasted on worry.  I do it, too. 

 My daughter is in college and  called the other day telling me about this dreaded project with a partner.   "What if.... and what if so n' so doesn't do his half of the project?"    "We are using google doc and if he doesn't do his work-I will have to."  

"YOU are projecting the worst outcome." 

The project hadn't started-yet, but my girl was already in a sea of turmoil.  

The sea of worry building on a rogue wave that may not appear.

I reminded her,  "You are wasting time-none of this may happen." "You could be getting your other work done, laughing, or exercising instead of worrying.  Go, do something you enJOY-for a few minutes.

Sad thing is-it did happen.  

Her partner wouldn't text her back, didn't do his work and left her with  the burden of  finishing the project, but both parties had to turn in their own references for the work, quoted research and individual assignments.   The professor emailed my daughter and knows-what is going on. 

Worry is like the common cold-there is no cure.  

We can visualize and use small escapes to downsize our anxiety-hobbies we enjoy, music, writing, movement-like walking.  

Drumming helps me.  Funny thing is I don't own a drum.  So, I pound and tap what I have around me.  It puts me into the now, I get to pound the heck out of something,  and no one gets hurt.  

Do we need a medicine cabinet shelf with ideas for anxiety and worry?  Nah,  but maybe we can make list of distractions that can help us worry less-like those over the counter meds we get when we are fighting a cold: cough drops, tissues, nasal spray and cough syrup.

How do you manage worry?