When we are told to “stop worrying” it is literally a baseless statement. It is like if I told you to not think about birds, where I expect the vision of our feathered friends becomes literally unavoidable. So as worrying for most is inevitable, we should look at ways to how we can manage it instead.
We may try to escape it, plunge into our phones or overindulge, or we can look within our minds to provide some answers. Let us visualise our brains as if it were a mental toolbox with 3 drawers.
When we are defensive and hyper alert, our bottom drawer of the lower brainstem takes control in fight or flight. Alternatively, when we are fuelled with intense fear and sadness and become highly emotional, our middle drawer of the brains mid limbic sector runs the show.
We also have a top drawer that can creatively think our way through worry, which is our upper cortical region. We do this by talking through our problems, avoiding procrastination, displaying empathy, patience and reflection.
Often when we use our lower and mid mental drawers, we tend to narrow down on single occurrences. By accessing our upper cortical drawer, we can broaden our perspectives when solving problems.
So, when we consider our mind as if it were a mental toolbox, we can see different ways to how we react with worry. We no doubt need to use all our drawers to survive, but when our lower and middle compartments become overfull it can take away our mental capacity from our top drawer to think creatively and lessen our need for worry. By using our top cortical top drawer, we become better motivated, mentally integrated to allow our emotions but not be constrained by them, and believe we have control over our reactions. We are all susceptible to worry, yet we are prolonged by our perseverance.
John Zavaglia MBA, ACA, is the therapist & founder of Mind Life offering services in Mental Health counselling focusing on anxiety, depression, grief & addiction. As an experienced Toastmaster & President of the North Sydney branch, John also provides services to treat public speaking & social phobias. Mind Life Is an accredited mental health services provider under the guidance of the Australian Counselling Association. (ACA)
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