When It’s Difficult Not To Worry

Just try not to think about it and live your life.

Oh, how I wish I could follow this advice. It’s so easy to say, yet so difficult to do.

This past weekend I experienced sharp abdominal pains. My husband rushed me to the doctor, who couldn’t tell me with confidence what caused my suffering. “You’ll need to visit your regular doctor on Monday,” he said, not seeming very worried about my condition.

While you would think visiting the doctor would have put my mind at ease, it did not. In fact, it caused me to worry even more. Why? Because while the doctor didn’t seem to think I had much to worry about, he was not 100 percent sure about what was causing my pain. With no definite answer, “what ifs” plagued my mind. What if it’s cancer? What if it really is my appendix? It’s very difficult not to worry when there are pains telling you otherwise.

I tried to concentrate on other things like writing this blog entry, talking with friends, and reading. In fact, I’ve been reading “Chicken Soup for the Soul: Think Positive,” which encourages positive thoughts over worrying. Unfortunately, these things did not help; the pain was a constant reminder that there was something wrong.

If I could just think positive, as the book suggests, then maybe I can help out my body. The mind is very powerful, more powerful than we may ever know. If thinking positive can have positive affects on the body, then surely negative thoughts can have negative affects, as well. My worrying may be causing my body more harm than good, so I must replace negative thoughts with positive ones.

Like the doctor had suggested, I visited my regular doctor today. Turns out, I shouldn’t have been worrying as much as I had been (thank goodness!).

So the next time I start worrying, I should keep in mind this quote by Norman Vincent Peale (it’s quoted in “Chicken Soup for the Soul: Think Positive”): “Change your thoughts and you change your world.”