Don’t worry be happy!

 

Do you worry? If so, what about?  The sources of worry can be many, our families, our health, finances, school grades etc…  But 96% of the things we worry about are irrelevant as they never end up happening- and the things we worry about that actually end up happening are usually not as bad as we imagined.  Even more importantly, the bad things that do happen usually end up making us better and stronger.  Adversity makes us stronger, patient, able to persevere, it builds character and gives us the experience to be able to help others with their afflictions.

I can think of no better example than the story of Lance Armstrong.  A 2006 article claims that Armstrong’s testicular cancer actually helped him during the Tour de France.  The article outlines that surgical removal of testicles (even one) re-positions the body’s hormonal system, playing with the feedback system of normal testosterone production. Consequently, a cascade of events which allegedly favor or enhance endurance performance is proposed by the authors. They suggest that the increase in LH to testosterone ratio and the increase in free fatty acid (FFA) to glycogen utilization ratio which resulted in an increase in power-to-weight ratio (a favorable characteristic for mountain climbing) and a remodeling of type I and type II muscle fibers in Armstrong’s physiology all contributed to him becoming the super-athlete that he was.  Another mechanism by which the authors propose that Armstrong obtained and maintained his super physiology was that the altered hormonal state induced an increase in the production of red blood cells.  Also, had Lance Armstrong never gotten cancer he never would have set up his www.livestrong.org foundation which to date has raised $181 Mil. to support cancer survivorship programs and initiatives.

So even the things we worry about that actually end up happening are usually not all that bad, even beneficial.  By mulling over a problem often time a solution can appear.  To worry is to be vigilant for potential danger and come up with positive solutions for life’s dangers by anticipating those dangers before they arise.  Problems arise however when our worry is chronic, repetitive worry.  The worries that linger without ever getting to the positive resolution stage.  We need to be able to distinguish between the risks likeliest to do us in from the ones that are statistical long shots.

Worry also brings stress as it is well documented that chronic long-term stress suppresses the immune system.  Perceived mood also seems to play a role in immune system effectiveness. Having a positive attitude (not worrying so much about things) seems to correlate with an increased ability of the immune system in fighting diseases. In cases where patients have exhibited fear (worry) before a surgery, they have had a longer healing time afterwards.

Clearly we all have plenty of reasons to worry, even before we wake every morning, as falling out of bed is said to kill 600 Americans every year.  In summary however, the more we worry, the worse we feel; and the worse we feel, the more we think in a worried and anxious way.  We lose our joy worrying about things that may never happen, or that turn out not to be as bad as we had imagined, or even turn out to actually make us better.  Worry rarely helps so laugh insanely, love truly and forgive quickly!

Adriano

Losing myself in a cause greater than myself

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