The Little Worms of Worry

First published on February 24, 2017

Small things can make a large difference. A slight feeling of anxiety can start anywhere. A single thought about the day ahead. An ache in the tooth. An itchy eye. An email, half read. There is an underlying anxiety, which these little things can tap into. Or, at least, there is for me. 

If you let them, if they get in there, then they can become bigger. Like a little worm, which once inside, grows and winds around your insides. It can rule for hours, until reason, in the end, usually wins out. But before then it can have all sorts of untold effects. Not necessarily practical ones, although for me this anxiety leads to less patience with people, at the very least. But inside, it sucks the joy out of life. 

Worry does that. Broadly, worry is something that used to be useful to us at earlier ages, or in different eras of the human race. But we're safe now. Or at least most of us are. We can thank the worry for trying to help, and send it on its way. Thanks, worry, but not now. Sometimes it helps us with preparing for an interview, or making sure we're wearing the right clothes for a first day in a new job, but mainly it just makes us miserable, and these little worms are insidious. 

They affect me particularly in the morning. Perhaps it's just the fragility I have when I haven't had my coffee yet, but I think it's more. I get more resilient throughout the day. In the morning, these things seem big, and if I let them into my day too far, they take over. But if they come to me later, when I'm firmly planted, when I'm rooted, they don't have that affect. 

So my phone is on do not disturb now, until 9am. That takes some of the worms of worry away. There's not much I can do about the physical ones, except remind myself that wherever in your body you put your attention you feel more. 

But here's my advice. Take care of yourself, particularly in the morning. Look after yourself there, and give yourself some joy there, some relaxation. Give yourself a chance to get into the day before you face the worries and the strife.