Everyone worries at one time or another. It is an anxious state of mind brought on by a genuine problem that needs to be addressed. Worry pumps adrenaline into the system and challenges one to cope with the problem. When the problem is successively tackled, worry disappears.
Chronic Worriers
However, there are chronic or habitual worriers to whom worry has become second nature. They feel lost without something to worry about. Such worry serves no useful purpose. On the other hand, it makes a person dull and unproductive.
“They worry with nothing to worry about. Just worry, worry, worry,” says C. T. Weigle.
Consequences of chronic worry:
- Physically — Worry makes a person jumpy and nervous. The person has a melancholy demeanor from worry lines that make the face look older. Nail-biting, fidgeting, and lack of attentiveness are some of the characteristics.
- Mentally — The person is unable to think logically. Worry clogs the mind so that even routine jobs are difficult to perform. The mind is deeply troubled about something that might happen but may never happen. As Seneca said, “The mind that is anxious about the future is miserable.” In one of his bouts of worry, King David cried, “My mind is filled with apprehensions and gloom.”
