I guess the thing missing from the chart is “can you do something about it?” -> “do something” -> “don’t worry.” Worry is only useful in that it prompts us to go “this thing could be a problem” and take action to address it. If we can’t do anything about it (or aren’t deciding to do something) then devoting energy and thought cycles to worrying doesn’t benefit us.
I mean, that’s how my ADHD and anxiety combo works: every waking moment is either
A: really thinking about everything, including completely inconsequential stuff, my brain making me super worried about most of it
Or
B: trying with various degrees of success to distract myself away from doing A. This in turn often tends to make me forget things that I DO need to be aware of, such as appointments etc, worsening A.
Replace “Then don’t worry” with “If you really think about it you should definitely be worried” and this is my life.
I guess the thing missing from the chart is “can you do something about it?” -> “do something” -> “don’t worry.” Worry is only useful in that it prompts us to go “this thing could be a problem” and take action to address it. If we can’t do anything about it (or aren’t deciding to do something) then devoting energy and thought cycles to worrying doesn’t benefit us.
I mean, that’s how my ADHD and anxiety combo works: every waking moment is either
A: really thinking about everything, including completely inconsequential stuff, my brain making me super worried about most of it
Or
B: trying with various degrees of success to distract myself away from doing A. This in turn often tends to make me forget things that I DO need to be aware of, such as appointments etc, worsening A.
It’s so fucking exhausting tbh 😮💨