Step one to lessening anxiety is getting a grip on to the kinds of things over which you have control. Sure, you can sit and fret and wonder if Iran is going to bomb us. But, what is the point behind that? Personally, I don’t think they’d ever do it, because of the end consequences for them. It doesn’t serve them any positive purpose. But, even if they do, there is nothing I, personally, can do to stop them. Worrying about it just costs you much-needed sleep, without improving the situation.
I’m honest about the whole thing. There are a lot of potentially scary things going on in the world, right now. Climate change (whether global warming, cooling or some weird combination) is a concern. External disdain from other nations and powers are (and always will be) a concern. Internally, we have gang wars and poverty and drug abuse and spousal and child abuse. All of these are very real matters and are causes of great concern-in the abstract. But, worrying about things beyond your control doesn’t improve the situation. Unless the worrying, itself, somehow gives you comfort.
I’m not trying to make light of serious issues. In America, I can’t think of a real reason why anyone would go to bed hungry. But, the real reality is, there is poverty and hunger in America. Now, while I can’t feed every single hungry person in the world, I can (and do) give to charities to help alleviate the problem. Because of the work I do, I fairly frequently have to drive into neighborhoods where gangs, drugs and other less-than savory issues abound. If I sat and worried about what COULD happen, I wouldn’t be able to function at my job. When I go into a potentially unsafe neighborhood, I’m certainly aware of my surroundings, but I don’t wring my hands over possibilitites that, frankly, could happen anywhere. Anxiety just isn’t a viable option.
Again, I stress that I understand how world events can seem daunting, scary and potentially life-altering. But, we, as humans, can only do what we can do-in our immediate surroundings. I’m not a religious person, but I think actually following the guidance of the serenity prayer is a good start-if anxiety grips you to the point of being unable to function. Taking God out of it, the prayer is simply, “Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference.” Knowing the difference can save many a sleepless night.
