Just My Imagination?

You would think that having an active imagination would benefit a writer such as myself. Unfortunately, it doesn’t always benefit me. In fact, it sometimes hurts me.

When something goes wrong (or at least seems like it could go wrong), my mind goes into overdrive with so many questions. What if this happens? What if that happens? What if that person really meant this? What if this person really meant that? What is this person really thinking of me now? How will this affect my future?

Usually I come up with scenarios that you would find in Academy Award-winning films or disaster movies - depending on the situation, of course. For example, I recently hit my head on a shelf as I was standing up. The moment it happened, I began worrying that something was wrong. What if there was swelling underneath the skin? What if hitting my head had caused a concussion? What if the symptoms were delayed and then I didn’t find out until it was too late that something was wrong? What if...Okay. You get the idea.

The power of suggestion can cause much stress for worriers. Hearing just one word or feeling just one ache can create a string of possibilities and cause one’s imagination to run away with itself. This recently happened to a friend of mine. Her leg had been hurting for a while, and she began to worry about what it could be. As she was talking to me about it, her other leg began to hurt and then seconds later ceased hurting.

Obviously, the mind is very powerful and can trick you into thinking that something is wrong. I can be totally fine and not worrying about anything for most of the day, but then I’ll hear a disturbing news story or someone will ask me if I knew that, say, you can get staph infects in workout rooms. Hearing such news or random facts - that’s when my imagination begins to conjure up scary scenarios and I begin to worry.

A statue in William Shakespeare's hometown.

What’s the solution then? Turn off the TV and Internet and sit around in denial? No, denial’s probably not very healthy either. If a worrywart’s mind can be easily persuaded that there is something to worry about, maybe what I need to do is distract my mind before it lets my imagination run away from me. The next time something makes me worry, I should put on a romantic comedy or become immersed in a good book. If I’m out and about and not able to do these things, maybe I could carry a list of things that I’ve worried about but never happened.

Until then, here’s a quote by William Shakespeare that I find somewhat comforting: “Present fears are less than horrible imaginings.”