Stacy Robertson
Stacy Robertson
February 4, 2020 ·  6 min read

Stop Focusing On Things That Are Beyond Your Control, Instead Focus On Your Mental And Physical Health

Nothing is more frustrating than driving yourself nuts with worry over something you have no control over. It’s like you’re wasting your time for no reason. 

However, regardless of that fact, some people have refused to accept that certain things are simply beyond their control. 

Control Freaks 

This might seem a bit harsh, but some people can only be described as control freaks. They not only micromanage and try to force any situation to go their way, but although they realize that they cannot change everything,they worry themselves about it. 

Perhaps this act of worrying makes them feel they are at least doing something worthwhile. 

How the stress of worrying affects the mind and body

It is sometimes helpful to ‘worry’, but that is only in some cases and under certain conditions. It helps a person to sit down and carefully consider the possible outcomes of a situation and probably how to prepare for them. 

However, it is a double-edged sword because when it consumes a person, it destroys them. It doesn’t stop at interfering with their decision-making, the constant second-guessing, and ‘what ifs’ is truly unhealthy for anybody. 

Below are four ways worrying can negatively affect the body 

1.Insomnia 

This should probably be in the very definition of ‘worry’. After all, you do have to be awake to get worried sick. Unfortunately for these people, sleep isn’t for fancy; it’s not something you can decide to skip. Losing a lot of sleep over a long period eventually creates actual negative physical symptoms.. 

2. Damage to the skin and hair 

It’s no joke that being stressed out can cause your skin to breakout. This is because worry and stress causes the body to release cortisol, causing breakouts of acne. Another hormone that is released is adrenaline which could cause hair loss. 

These are not the only ways worrying can negatively impact a person’s appearance. It can also lead to chewing of lips, biting of nails, tugging on hair, and picking of spots. All this contributes to damage to skin and hair. This will only increase stress because the person becomes worried about their looks. It’s a vicious cycle. 

3.It affects your digestive system

Several people can attest to the fact that being stressed comes with a feeling of having a tight knot in their stomach. Excessive worry and anxiety can affect the digestive system and cause heartburn and even ulcers. [1]

4. A cascade of other medical issues 

According to the National Institute of Health (NIH), chronic emotional stress can affect virtually all of the organ systems negatively. This has been shown to lead to health problems including weakening of the immune system, high blood pressure, acid reflux, panic attacks, backaches, migraines, and respiratory problems. It’s simply not worth the stress. [2]

Professor Ad Kerhof, author of the book Stop Worrying, believes people can learn to break the habit of worrying.

Worrying is a form of self-torture. Our own thoughts often make us suffer a great deal,” he said. He referred to that as torturer l’espirit, a French term for worrying that means “torturing the mind.” 

Worry is something that many people experience. It’s not the same as thinking. Thinking leads to solutions. Worrying leads nowhere. Thinking leads to action. Worrying leads to nothing. Thinking leads to relief. Excessive worrying leads only to powerlessness, tiredness, and exhaustion,” said Professor Kerhof. [3]

Here’s a quote to keep in mind: “Stop worrying about what can go wrong, and get excited about what can go right.

How to reduce stress and live a better life 

Easier said than done right? Well, a little positive affirmation never did anybody any harm. Most times, the things that stress you are things that happened in the past. Why fret over things that have passed when you can only influence the things happening in your life that very moment?

That being said, you should stop stressing and instead start coming up with solutions to your problems. Spend less time worrying and more time being proactive. Only you can make a noticeable difference in your life. [4]

Below are 5 ways you can adjust your lifestyle and cut out the stress-inducing moments and acts

1.Accept that you have a problem 

This is usually the first step to getting better in any problems you have, be it psychological or otherwise. You’re not going to put any actual effort to get better if you are in denial about having a problem in the first place. Therefore, you need to make peace with the fact that you have a problem. 

2. Figure out what you can control 

Once you realize that you’re about to go down that rabbit hole of worrying yourself sick, then you should quickly take a minute to go over the situation and determine if there’s anything about it that you can control. At the end of the day, you might not be able to stop the storm from coming, but you sure as hell can prepare for it. This is as opposed to those who will let the fear of the storm kill them before the actual storm even comes. 

3. Pay attention to the things you can influence 

Don’t try to force a square peg into a round hole. While you can certainly influence people and probably some circumstances, you cannot force a situation to go the way you want. However, to have the most influence, you need to change your mindset and attitude. 

Whatever you do, set healthy goals and boundaries for yourself. As for influencing other people, don’t try to fix people who don’t want it or who didn’t ask for it; you will only end up hurting yourself. 

4. Understand the difference between worrying and thinking of ways to solve your problems

Some people think using fancy terms such as ‘meditation’ to describe their chronic worrying states isn’t going to change anything. However, getting yourself worked up by replaying conversations in your head and imagining the worst possible outcome is unhealthy. It also doesn’t help that it’s especially useless in the long run. 

Is your thinking yielding fruits? That is the question you need to ask yourself. Your answer will determine the next course of action. If yes, then by all means continue. But if not, then you need to get up and do something else that will create a positive change in the situation. 

5. Build a stress management plan 

There are basic things you can do to help yourself relieve stress. Exercising, healthy eating, getting enough sleep, and meditating are a few of them. You can also figure out more things that you believe will help you and tailor them to fit your lifestyle, or better still, change your lifestyle and implement new healthy living policies. [5]

You can also take a page from Professor Kerhof’s book and distract yourself. So, if you find yourself relapsing into your worrying ways, then take a shower, read a book, watch a movie, go for a walk, or call a friend. Whatever you do, try not to begin worrying. Once you start, you may not be able to stop. 

If you need any more reasons not to worry, then remember that the default look for worrying is wearing a frown on your face with a deep crease on your forehead. One word: wrinkles. There’s no need to get give yourself that; hyaluronic acid can only do so much. The best way to fix wrinkles is to not get them, and there is no better way to do that than to not worry. 

Here’s wishing you clear skin and happiness. 

Hakuna Matata 

References

  1. Constant Worrying: 6 Ways It Can Damage Your Body And Mind.” Little Things. Laura Caseley. Accessed January 27, 2020.
  2. How Worrying Affects the Body.” WebMD. Joseph Goldberg, MD. Accessed January 27, 2020.
  3. 8 Successful Mental Habits to Defeat Fear, Worry, and Anxiety.Inc. Marcel Schwantes. Accessed January 27, 2020.
  4. Life Gets (A Lot) Better When You Stop Giving A F**k.Huffpost. Thomas Oppong. December 2, 2016.
  5. How to Stop Worrying About Things You Can’t Change. Psychology Today. Amy Morin. May 09, 2017