I too have been a worrywort all my life (and that's awhile as I'm now 53). Stress too is my enemy. And although I understand there are things not in my control, that doesn't make it any easier.

I put myself in "timeout" to force myself to calm down and b-r-e-a-t-h-e. I'm an avid reader; I've found this helps me too. Normally, the computer - web surfing is beneficial. However, I need to purchase a new mouse as mine is sticking and STRESSING me out! :Flame-On:

I hope things go better for you

Hi Dickons,

Another worry wart here!

This may sound corny. I've never been a new age kind of person, but I found that yoga helped me relax. I hate the fact that anxiety sometimes gets the better of me. I was a very 'in control' person pre-stroke, but afterward I couldn't sleep because my mind would race uncontrollably. A nice little stretch before bed has done wonders for me.

Hope it helps!

:hug:

Carol

Dickons,

I don't know much about it, but I have read about and seen machines that help you regulate your breathing and allegedly thus relieve stress. I do believe that a proper breathing rate will help, there are probably some therapists that can help. Regulating and cleaning the mind is every bit as difficult as the other therapies we go thru. Practice, practice, practice, just like everything else. Just like we practice to get our brain to do physical acts, we must practice mind control the same way. Start with a very simple thing, like maybe what you will have for supper, don't expect instant results anymore than you would from PT, then graduate up to bigger things as you can.

Thanks Donna, Carol and George,

Donna and Carol - it's nice to know I am not the only worrier.

George - I believe you are onto something, I will have to check it out. I did the deep breathing that I learned for labor when I had my heart attack and it helped. I think I will try the breathing each morning and evening. I will also research on-line.

Thanks,

Dickons

Dear Dickons--I understand worry. When I coordianted conferences, there were so many details to worry about. The night before a conference, if I spent all my time worrying about all the details and were people going to do their jobs, I wouldn't be any good to anyone the next day. So, here are some things I did to make myself more effective.

My premise was, if I worried about the big picture but didn't do anything, it wouldn't help anyone. So I pictured a big mountain and then I pictured a lot of trees on the mountain. Each tree represented a task. I pictured taking one tree at a time. In real time, I made sure every task was completed (a tree chopped down in the imaginery forest).

Another trick I learned is really a relaxing exercise. This needs practice, as does the above. Since I am from a sailing background, I used the following scenario. You can use any scenario that involves taking you down as this helps you gauge going down your body and commanding your muscle groups to relax. The countdown helps your mind to relax and get rid of the garbage noise in your head.

I am in a low flying small plane (I have acrophobia but this is imaginery and doesn't affect my phobia). The day is beautiful, sunny and warm and the water is placid. I go from the plane to the top of the sailboat mast. I start at #10 and as I imagine going down the mast, I count down 9, 8, 7... As I count down, I start at my head and neck. I relax my neck muscles, then my shoulders, then my upper arms, torso, lower arms, hips, legs, ankles, feet. I countdown to one. I get down to the cockpit of the boat and I read a book. I fill in and concentrate on the details of my surroundings. The water is a beautiful shade of blue, its placid. I can hear the wavelets lapping up against the hull, etc... This takes a lot of practice. It also is a great aid to help you go to sleep. Many times, I don't make it to one because I do go to sleep.

I think the best thing I do to get rid of worry is to find solutions to every problem. One of my homilies I told my staff was for every problem there is a solution, like an algebraic equation: problem=solution.

I hope some of this helps. Stress is a bad thing so you need to find solution(s) to keep it at bay. I know I am preaching to the choir. Good Luck. Take Care. LK