Do you know that theory of drug misuse -
That states drugs like marijuana are a gateway to other harder drugs?
So you smoke marijuana and end up selling yourself on the street for your next hit of crack?
It’s a dodgy theory (at best) for MOST people,
But - here something I know for sure:
Worry IS a definite gateway drug.
A slippery slope where you indulge a little and can easily end up prostituting yourself to the harder mental habits of panic and anxiety and OCD.
I’ve been there.
I used to worry about my front door being locked (true).
So I'd get halfway down the street and would go back to check it.
But then I’d worry that I didn’t lock it properly.
So I’d unlock and relock.
“But maybe something went wrong that last time?”
So I’d check again, and relock again.
And before you know it I’d develop this nearly full blown habit of checking and locking and unlocking and reloading -
Time and time and time again.
All because of worry.
It started to infect other things and really fill up my time: light switches, the oven, my car …
It was making me crazy.
Worry is a creepy little thought pattern -
Simply because it SEEMS useful.
Yet - worry rarely is.
Someone once said: Only worry if it’s useful.
If you can do something now - do it. If you can’t? You have to just leave it.
But then -
It SEEMS useful to check and recheck that the front door is safe.
It SEEMS useful to think and rethink about that big meeting tomorrow.
It SEEMS useful to worry and re-worry about the kids and what’s happening with them.
It SEEMS useful to obsess over so many things that are uncertain,
(all while you’re trying to get to sleep - of course)
Because it feels USEFUL. It feels like you are DOING something.
But for what sacrifice of quality of life??
It’s so ironic.
It was my pursuit for security that left me more paranoid and insecure than ever before.
Worry is a slippery little character.
Indulge in it a little and like a child it will grow.
Buddha said that.
Or maybe he said that about anger, I can’t remember -
But hey! It works both ways.
It’s not just the sleeplessness and the angst and the paranoia and panic that comes from overindulging in worry …
It’s the loss of being present to that which is going on right in front of you that’s worst.
You miss out on life itself.
Being distracted from your kids, your partner, your buddies around the coffee machine …
Life slipping by.
Worry is a gateway drug.
Be careful with it.
In fact, just don’t do it … alright?
Keep the Peace,
Arjuna
PS.
Need help getting off worry?
I have just what you need: