Worry & Over-Thinking

For decades I was the queen of worry.

I could worry at any time, day or night, consciously or unconsciously, standing up or sitting down.

Truth be told, worry and its buddy ‘over-thinking’, had eaten away at my energy for decades. What I want to do here is to teach you how I got myself out of that cycle, how I regained my health AND my zest for life so that, perhaps, you can do the same.

For a decade now, I have been studying the brilliance of Chinese Medicine (C.M.) I love the way C.M. sees us as a whole: body, mind and spirit. How it understands what heavy and constant emotions do to our long-term well-being.

I am privileged to be taught by some of the greatest teachers in the field. I then share that knowledge with my clients. Truth be told, I am more of a skill-sharer than anything else. I really do believe that it takes a team to thrive in this life.

For some, worry/over-thinking becomes a full-time job. You might know someone like that. Who just can’t thrive. Who gets stuck in dark places. Who gets obsessed with thinking and thinking and thinking about …(fill in the blanks).

So let’s look at what happens physically when I worry/over-think from a Chinese Medicine perspective. First the meridians (the lines of energy in my body) get messed up. The energy can’t flow through the meridian pathways easily. The body’s energy gets stuck or stagnates or simply slows down.

How does my clever body respond?

It creates heat/inflammation to deal with excessive worry/over-thinking. Think of a little hamster running faster and faster on a wheel. Worry and over-thinking become my hamster-brain in crazy mode. And yes, it generates a lot of heat.

In order to handle this Worry/ Over-Thinking-generated “heat”, the body (always trying to balance and protect itself) develops dampness* in the stomach meridian. If this goes on for decades, the heat will affect other parts of the body and mightier health issues can result.

So this heat in the stomach (known as dampness*) does a number of things:

First it slows down digestion, then it starts to stagnate elimination, often breathing gets difficult or shallower, some gain weight easily (usually around the middle) as the body’s whole alimentary/breathing channels are affected, not to mention the fact that the body cannot rid itself of toxins. And then the cycle repeats itself, generating more and more heat and stagnation (physically and mentally).

Emotionally you feel “off” or “sluggish” or experience heaviness in the limbs. And forget about good decision-making. That’s impossible!

Some will have sleep issues or simply have less energy or “brightness” or focus than before AND they don’t know why! But we do know why: it is hamster-brain in worry/over-thinking creating havoc.

The beauty of Chinese Medicine and the Five Elements Theory is that it takes into account the whole body. That’s why I love mentoring people through these lenses of wisdom. As I share with my clients the physical happenings in their bodies (due to worry/over-thinking), then they can understand the “why” and then take steps to change the “how”.

So how to start shifting out of worry/over-thinking?

First start living in the present moment. Stop and breathe in the air around you. See it as your life-force. Stay with your breath. Feel it entering your body: follow its trajectory through the lungs, the diaphragm, the stomach, then gently let it go.

In that moment, while you were breathing you stopped worry/over-thinking. It’s that simple. Now attempt to fill more and more seconds being present in this way.

Another suggestion to deepen this life-giving mode is to find a creative outlet. Here is an image that I recently took with my I-Phone.

I played with it in my digital arts studio (I teach digital arts in my “spare” time). When I am deeply immersed in any creative work, I am fully in the present moment (just as I was when following the breath). It automatically turns off the worry/over-thinking mode. This instantly adds to my longevity and “brightens” the spirit.

That’s why I call this painted floral image, “Heaven Rushing In” which I dedicate my one of my great teachers, Ann Cecil-Sterman.

In closing, know that the shift takes place over time from worry and over-thinking to well-being by realizing that there is a greater life-force out there that knows all will be well in your world. It knows the way. Trust in it.

Please let me know if I can teach you how to lighten your load and brighten your Spirit. BTW I teach a one-on-one masterclass called, “Kicking the Worry/Over-Thinking Habit” – details here: http://www.heleneannefortin.thinkific.com

Wishing you well-being always,

Helene Anne Fortin

*Dampness: phlegm in the body – Note: long-term heightened emotions and certain foods create dampness (taxing and stealing the body’s limited energy.)