Have you ever played the “what if” game? Not to brag, but I’ve reached an expert level. I can do it with almost any situation, even seemingly innocuous ones. It is a form of worrying where you catastrophize into a spiral. The rules of the game are you start with “what if this happens” and then build it into a terrifying and emotionally paralyzing conclusion.
I woke up the other day to see my cat perched on my hip, staring at me with steely-eyed judgment, as only a cat can convey. In a sleepy fog and with a mildly aching hip, I wondered if she was plotting my demise. If she doesn’t like me when I take good care of her, how many other people are out to get me? If the world is full of saboteurs, how will I survive and care for my child while walking with a limp from a stiff hip? Impressive, huh? It’s illogical, but I definitely get an “A” for worst-case-scenario effort.
In reality, we do live in an unsafe world where there are real problems and real dangers, but the spiral of anxiety becomes a distraction from making good, clear, healthy, protective choices.
We must leave the worry games behind and find peace to make the best decisions. We can’t make reasonable plans from insecurity and panicked fear.
When we are in a state of panic and constant anxiety, our minds become clouded and begin to see everything as a threat. The parts of our mind that process complex choices shut down, and we find ourselves circling. Often, we are so distracted by our anxiety that the real problem is not clear. The last thing you want in the event of a fire is a fireman wringing his hands and running in circles, screaming about the potential for the roof to fall. You want an expert that is super calm and ready to implement a plan. You want someone who can take notice of the details and take judicious action accordingly. You don’t want a fear monger; you want a stalwart of solutions.
We used to think that to drop the anxiety and come into a calm state we should soothe our overactive minds with calming activities like a round of deep breathing or a massage.
While these do have tremendous long-term health benefits and should absolutely be pursued for their extraordinary gains, they actually aren’t very good at calming down your anxious, panicked state in the present moment. The anxious mind is one that is looking for solutions. Asking it to calm down during a state of deep worry isn’t effective. The most primal parts of the mind are activated and are experiencing a heavy dose of flight or fight, so commanding “calm down” isn’t beneficial. From an evolutionary standpoint it is like asking a person in a cave with a bear to just relax and not worry about it so much! But, but the BEAR!
The anxious mind is looking for solutions.
Many of our modern problems and concerns do not have instant solutions. Climate change, nano-plastics, politics, business markets, why I have a good hair day only the day before a big haircut! These push our minds to the brink.
While there may not be ready, obvious solutions to our modern world concerns there is a way to come back to a state of peace that allows us to rebalance and gain perspective. I’m speaking about creativity!
When you are anxious, pause and look for an outlet of creating.
Maybe it is reorganizing a shelf, choosing colors for an intricate coloring book, crafting, playing a board game, going for a nature treasure hunt walk. Anything that stimulates the mind to create or develop allows the mind to move from panic to a mindset of solutions. The mind can relax because it is assured that the resolution parts of the brain are working. Practicing creativity is effective in addressing the mind’s need for finding solutions. The act of creating allows the mind to relax because it feels secure that solutions are being generated, moving us into a state of problem-solving calm. You may even be surprised that you start to have answers to what you can do about the world’s bigger problems because you are released from the spiral of panic.
Make it a regular practice to bring creativity into your daily life. You’ll have a go-to space to reset when a nasty game of “what if” begins to surface.
