My History of Worrying

Worry is useless, but I’m an inveterate worrier. One of my earliest memories is my first-grade teacher calling me a worrywart.  Since to me that was like warthog, I thought it was a horrible name. Probably worrying turned me into a nail biter. My mom did her best to cure me, even telling me if I swallowed a fingernail it would turn into a worm in my stomach! I quit the habit, but worry can still make me waste hours at night tossing and turning.

Ill Effects of Worrying

Worry has some negative consequences. It harms our physical and mental health. It causes depression, fatigue, digestive issues, headaches, and muscle tension. Stress hormones affect the heart, blood vessels, and other systems. Worry causes problems with appetite, sleep, relationships and job performance. Extreme anxiety may lead to overeating, weight gain, problems with memory and concentration, smoking, or alcohol and drug use. It can cause ulcers and a heart attack.

Quotations about Worrying

Here is what wise people said about worrying:

“Worrying is carrying tomorrow’s load with today’s strength—carrying two days at once. Worry doesn’t empty tomorrow of its sorrow. It empties today of its strength.” —Corrie Ten Boom

“I am an old man have known a great many troubles, but most of them never happened.” —Mark Twain

“Worry is like a rocking chair. It gives you something to do but never gets you anywhere.” —Erma Bombeck

“Do not worry about whether or not the sun will rise. Be prepared to enjoy it.” —Pearl Bailey

“A great many worries can be diminished by realizing the unimportance of the matter which is causing anxiety.”  —Bertrand Russell

“Do you remember the things you were worrying about a year ago? … Didn’t most of them turn out all right after all? “ —Dale Carnegie

“Worrying is like paying on a debt that my never come due. “ —Will Rogers

“Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring worries its own. Today’s trouble is enough for today” (Matt. 6:34). —Jesus Christ.

How to Quell Worrying

Exercise, eat right foods, meditate.

Keep a journal.

Relax through yoga, deep breathing, massage.

Record good things in your journal.

Talk with family and friends.

Put a rubber band on your wrist and pop it when you go into a worry mode.

Trusting in God to Lessen Worrying

You may be watching the amazing ten-part series The Americas narrated by Tom Hanks. It’s Sunday evenings on channel 3. Accompanied by stunning videos made with the help of drones, Hanks tells the stories of the lands, animals, birds, and insects in America. What impressed me is the care God took in designing everything, for example, the instinct that compels monarch butterflies to fly south. God’s providence is nothing less than fantastic.

Jesus employed the physical world in his lesson on trust. He said, “Do not worry about your life” and then pointed out that birds don’t work, but our heavenly Father feeds them. Lilies don’t work either, but God clothes them elegantly. Jesus asks, “Can worrying add a single hour to your lifespan?”

Henry Ford had the right idea. He said, “With God in charge, I believe everything will work out for the best in the end. So what is there to worry about?”

So take Saint Padre Pio of Pietrelcino’s  advice: “Pray, hope, and don’t worry.”

Here is a song about trusting in God:

• When has something you worried about not happened after all?

• How do you combat worry?