Why Worry?

We worry ourselves sick a lot of the time.  Some of us worry ourselves to death.  We worry over trivial things, as well as important things.  We worry about things that will never happen.  Why do we have to worry so much?

Worrying is a natural mental and emotional activity, an easy habit to fall into.  Our brains are designed (or evolved) to pay attention to danger.  When the lion or wolf attacks, we need to be prepared to run like hell, so fear prepares our bodies to do so by releasing hormones that direct the blood flow to the running muscles and change our breathing for the emergency state.  Our minds are also changed by the fear, so that we stay focused on the danger and the best direction to run for survival.  Memories of the dangerous circumstances become tagged with fear so that we recognize the signs of danger and become automatically alert.  When we hear the wolf howling nearby or smell the lion lurking unseen in the tall grass, some of the same fear alerts us to the possible danger and prepares us to run soon if necessary.  The fear also keeps our mind focused on the possible lion in the tall grass and keeps us awake and ready to run even if we can’t see, hear or smell the threat.  And we sometimes dream of lions or wolves and wake up in a cold sweat from a panicky run in the forests of the night....continue reading