Its 5Am and you are awake--palms sweaty, mind racing. You're worried about your life, your kids, your parents, your promotion. Ever though what are people thinking about you?
The sad truth about modern life is: We are becoming worrywarts! We worry about everything! We worry about what the 'what-ifs' in life.
In an all-India survey across 8 Indian cities, worriers were asked to write down everything that bothered them; 80 percent people worried most about their family, 75 per cent about relationships. All Indians were worried about losing their self esteem!
Risking one's self respect is sure to result in tense moments. Says actor Zulfi Sayed, "When we were inside Bigg Boss in a confinement, we worried about our image. How are we being shown, what are people thinking about us? It became an obsession."
Top worries are personal health, money, relationships, money followed by crime, the cost of living, terrorism and children's future. But silly worries count too: A teenager worries that her mom may find her secret diary, another schoolgirl worries about her dog being fat.
Interestingly, 80 percent people in Mumbai worry about moneyover family or relationships. They are also concerned about what people think about them. While 80 percent Delhites and Bangaloreans worry mainly about relationships, people in Ahmedabad really worry about losing their self-respect.
Interestingly, in his book, The Worry Cure, author Robert Leahy writes, worriers respond differently to frightening situations than other people. They stay upset, rather than becoming less anxious overtime, According to Psychology Today, worry is often like a rocking chair: It gives you something to do, but doesn’t necessarily get you anywhere. Says a spiritual guru Ma Naina, from Osho Delhi, "To put an end to worries, you have to live in the present--then, there's no past and no future.
Another Spiritual Guru says, "We spend spirit energy when we worry. It saturates us."
So, we are wired to worry? In these terror times, we're all worried about our security. Says a vice chairman of a company, "I've had women wanting to know how to safeguard themselves, how to use weapons, men wanting to know if sniffer dogs can protect them, parents wanting to train kids to deal with panic. Corporates are worried about bomb threats."
There are different kind of worriers too. Jackie, 24, a mountaineering instructor says, " I worry about small things that I can't control!"
The good thing about worrying is that it can mobilize us into action. Like Anju Chauhan, author of Zoya Factor, who worries about whether her kids are eating right. "I don’t worry about long term stuff," she says.
Most worry today is about everyday things rather than long term threats. Says a classical dancer, "I worry about old age. Small, daily irritants can be bothersome. Right now, the economic downturn is occupying a lot of my mind space. I think also about how there's lack of sensitivity today.
Evolution may have given us the opportunity to worry, but that doesn’t mean we should take the bait. It seems people also worry a lot before they make big, life-changing decisions. But there's no need to kill yourself with worry. The website reallyworried.com logs 853 health worries, 580 current affairs worries, 333 money worries. That's a lot of worrying going around the world.
Bosnian fitness expert wants to help create a worry-free world. "Indians worry about small things. We waste our lives worrying, but it can't change anything. So why worry?"
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