Posts Tagged With: worry

Day 4942: Too Much

Lately, I’ve had too much to do at work because we are understaffed.

I’ve been worrying too much because of that, because I’ve felt stuck moving forward with my music, because there is too much noise in my head whenever I talk, and because of too much buyers regret.

When I was younger, I used to worry that my feelings, thoughts, and difficult experiences might be too much for someone else to deal with. I don’t worry too much about that now.

I have so many images to share with you today that I hope it’s not too much!

Too much?

Here’s what I find when I look for “too much” on YouTube.

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Thanks to all who have made it to the end of this too much post!

You can never share too much gratitude!

Categories: personal growth, photojournalism | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | 6 Comments

Day 4088: Exhausting

As a therapist these days, I find that responding “that must be exhausting” is almost always the correct, empathic thing to say.

I also notice that asking people on Twitter “what’s exhausting?” gets twice as many responses as “what’s awesome?”

What’s exhausting in my images for today?

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As if all that weren’t exhausting enough, here’s what I find when I search for “exhausting” on YouTube.

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If it’s not too exhausting, please leave a comment below.

Thanks to all who are here for this exhausting post, including YOU!

Categories: personal growth, photojournalism, Psychotherapy | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | 7 Comments

Day 2872: What we dwell on

Yesterday, when I was dwelling on Donald Trump, Donald Trump’s supporters, and angry people, I found this quote by Oprah Winfrey:

Oh no! Oprah knows for sure that I will become Donald Trump, a Donald Trump supporter, and/or an angry person unless I dwell on something else. Luckily, there are many other things to dwell on in my other photos from yesterday.

Uh-oh. Now I’m dwelling on the fact that we just lost our internet connection. Also, it’s taking forever for me to upload any more photos that are dwelling on my phone by using cellular data.

Now I’m dwelling on the possibility that if Donald Trump, Donald Trump supporters, and angry people want to take over my country with a coup, knocking out the internet of people dwelling in liberal parts of the USA is probably a great way to do that.

Now I’m dwelling on this: a coup in the USA is highly unlikely. Also, the photo I am trying to upload in this precious moment says “Worry does not empty tomorrow of its sorrow; it empties today of its strength.”

Rather than dwelling on worry, I choose to dwell on

  • hope,
  • quotes from wise people,
  • people I love,
  • people I trust,
  • cats,
  • dogs,
  • the ocean,
  • things that make me think,
  • things that make me feel,
  • things that make me laugh,
  • delicious nutritious food,
  • my health and the health of others,
  • staying safe,
  • music, and
  • taking a walk on a beautiful morning.

Therefore, I am going to take a masked walk on this beautiful morning after sharing this one other photo which uploaded successfully:

Dwell on this: In 2019 I bet people cookies that Donald Trump would not win re-election. That box of Mallomars is part of my winnings, with more cookies on the way.

Because it helps me to dwell on music, I’m going to search YouTube for music that dwells there, as I peacefully accept that I can always share my other temporarily unload-able photos tomorrow.

Strangely enough, when I search YouTube for “what we dwell on”, I find another Game of Thrones video.

Now I’m dwelling on synchronicity and gratitude for all who help me dwell on blogging every day, including YOU!

Categories: 2020 U.S. Election, 2020 U.S. Presidential election, blogging, life during the pandemic, personal growth, photojournalism, politics, technical problems | Tags: , , , , , , , | 39 Comments

Day 2592: Keeping it together

Where are you on the scale of keeping it together?

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According to that scale I drew in my office, if you’ve got 100% worry, you’re a wreck;  if you’ve got 0% worry you’re

  • a Zen Master,
  • a robot, or
  • dead.

My best guess is that I’m at 51% worry and I’m keeping it together by blogging and sharing photos like these:

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Michael was keeping it together yesterday as he filleted and cooked a goby for the very first time, together with fried ginger, string beans, and polenta.  When we were eating together, he said, “It will be quite some time before we have goby again.”

There are many “Keeping it Together” songs on YouTube.  Here‘s one of them:

Your comments help me keep it together so keep them coming!

I’m keeping expressions of gratitude together at the end of every blog post.

Categories: group therapy, personal growth, photojournalism | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

Day 2292: A Year of No Worry

Yesterday, when I was at Home Depot with Michael, we had a conversation about worry. Don’t worry, I’m going to share it.

Michael:You know,  I’m always happy when I’m at Home Depot. So I’ve decided to not worry about anything for a year. I’m not going to worry about the repair to the plumbing  I’ll be doing with these supplies and all the other home projects I’m planning.  And no matter what’s going on in the news, I’m just not going to worry. I’ll worry about everything a year from now.

Me:  That’s great! I’m going to join you in that pledge.  So no more worrying until a year from today.  That will be easy to remember, too, because it’s National Sibling Day.

When we were at the cash register buying the plumbing supplies, I told a a helpful employee about our year of no worry and invited her to join us.  She said, “Gee. I don’t know. It’s my job to worry.”  I invited her to realize that there’s a difference between worry and planning ( as well as a difference between worry and helping).  She said, “You’ve given me a lot to think about.”

I’m not going to worry about that interaction or any other personal interaction for a year.  Yay!

Does anybody reading this want to join Michael and me in A Year of No Worry? I unworriedly recommend it. For example, I have no worries about the photos I have to share with you today.

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I’m not going to worry about anything in those photos including that black hole, especially since worry can be a black hole.

Here’s a song about not worrying:

I’m not gonna let anything bother or worry me until April 10, 2020. And don’t worry, I’ll keep you updated on my and Michael’s progress in this blog.

Thanks to all who helped me create this “A Year of No Worry”  post and — of course! — YOU.

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Categories: group therapy, personal growth, photojournalism | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | 29 Comments

Day 1724: Pre-existing conditions

I have a pre-existing condition of worrying whenever there’s news about health care  changes to laws protecting people with pre-existing conditions.  That’s because I had a pre-existing heart condition immediately after I was born.

Besides the pre-existing conditions of worrying and congenitally corrected transposition of the great arteries (cctga) I also have pre-existing conditions of being …

  • a neighbor,
  • a mother,
  • a daughter,
  • a sister,
  • a friend,
  • a girlfriend,
  • a group therapist,
  • a caregiver,
  • a patient, and
  • a photographer.

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I also have a pre-existing condition of loving cats, even ones who have the pre-existing condition of peeing where they’re not supposed to.

Whether you have the pre-existing condition of commenting on this blog or you’ll have that pre-existing condition soon, feel free to leave your pre-existing thoughts and feelings  in a comment below.

This song has been pre-existing for a long time:

 

I also have a pre-existing condition of expressing gratitude to all who help me create my existing blog posts and — of course! —  to you, no matter what pre-existing conditions you have.

 

Categories: personal growth, photojournalism | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | 15 Comments

Day 1629: What helps and what doesn’t help

When I help people join my therapy groups, I tell them we will work on doing more of what helps and less of what doesn’t help. I help people understand that by saying, “What helps and what doesn’t help  might include thoughts, behaviors,  and other people.”  Because it helps to change old habits by writing things down, I helpfully suggest they keep track of what helps and what doesn’t help them.

Because it helps to know you’re not alone, I explain that I also keep track of what helps and what doesn’t help me.

What helps me?

  • Acceptance.
  • Love.
  • Creativity.
  • Flexibility.
  • Peace.
  • Connection.
  • Nature.
  • Forgiveness.
  • Blogging.
  • My work.
  • Family.
  • Friends.
  • Groups.
  • Mutual healing.
  • Curiosity.
  • Openness.
  • Authenticity.
  • Music.

 

What doesn’t help me?

Does it help to look at these photos?

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What also helps me is gratitude, so thanks to all who helped me create today’s post and — of course! — to YOU.

Categories: group therapy, personal growth, photojournalism | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | 24 Comments

Day 1550: Worrying and Planning

Earlier this week, I spoke to somebody in therapy who believed  worrying was a necessary part of planning.

I replied, without worrying about it, “No, no, no, no. Worrying is never helpful.  Never.”

While I rarely plan to use all-or-nothing statements like that, I do believe that worrying never helps. People often believe that worrying helps motivate planning. Actually, worrying wastes valuable time and energy while you’re planning.  Planning is much more productive and fun without the burden of worrying.

Even though we weren’t planning on it, we had a good discussion about the uselessness of worrying.  At the end of the therapy session, we both said, “No worries.”

Right now, I’m planning

  • to sing “The Lion Sleeps Tonight,” accompanying myself on a Kalimba and
  • to see a house by the water, which we might make an offer on.

I’ve been planning to write today’s blog post in order to let go of any worrying about all that.

I’m planning on sharing all the photos I took yesterday, without any worrying.

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Are you worrying about what music I’m planning to include here?

If you’re planning on leaving a comment, I’m not worrying about that, either.

I’m always planning to end each post with gratitude to all who helped me create it and to you — of course! — no matter what you’re planning today.

Categories: personal growth, photojournalism, Psychotherapy | Tags: , , , , , , , , , | 26 Comments

Day 231: Back to work

I feel ready to go back to work, although I continue to have some trouble sleeping The Night Before Something Important.

Of course, every day is important, but my brain seems to think that some days are more important than others. (For a great joke about the human brain, by Emo Philips, see this short post.) (And while we’re at it,  here‘s another great Emo Philips joke, in another end-of-vacation post, no less.)

Before I went to sleep, a few hours ago, I tried taking a half-dose of  an over-the-counter, “traditional” herbal sleep aid I bought in the UK last week.  Usually I avoid any kind of sleep aid medicine, just because I haven’t had good experiences with them. And it’s not working (yet).

So I’m going to try another sleep aid, which HAS worked for me before: doing a quick blog post in the middle of the night.

Yesterday afternoon, on my Last Day Before Returning to Work After My Unusually Long, Two-Week Vacation, I went for a long walk, listening to lots of favorite tunes.

As I often do, I found that a joyful experience.

Here are some shots I snapped along the way:

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The weather, on that walk yesterday, was “gloomier” than it had been days before, when I took these photos, nearby:

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The point I wanted to make, right now, was there was beauty to be seen, no matter what the weather, no matter where I was walking.

I saw beauty in London and Edinburgh, of course, last week.  In those places, it was impossible to miss.

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But beauty is everywhere, if I’m open to it.

When I return to work tomorrow, there’ll be beauty there, too. My own worries, tiredness, expectations, and “cognitive distortions” might obscure that beauty, for moments.  But it’s always there.

I look forward to seeing it, in the days ahead.

Thanks for reading, everybody.

Categories: personal growth, photojournalism | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , | 13 Comments

Day 192: Random thoughts at 4:17 AM, July 11, 2013

Insomnia is in the house.

I’ve had trouble sleeping, two nights in a row.

I get into patterns like this, every once in a while.

So I’m going to jot down some random thoughts, to try to help me get a wee bit of sleep before I need to go to work. (Every little bit counts!)

Here are a couple of “Cures for Insomnia”  YouTube videos I found tonight, which I think will be helpful during nights when the insomnia isn’t quite so stubborn:

I really like the fish in the second one.

My calf muscles are really sore tonight.  I’m wondering if that’s because:

  1. The new walking shoes I bought for my upcoming trip to London and Edinburgh need to be returned and/or
  2. anxiety and fear sometimes make me want to RUN!

Here are some things I want to do, right after I publish this post:

  1. Breathe naturally but more deeply than usual.
  2. Remember that lack of sleep won’t kill me.
  3. Imagine a big, beautiful box. Then, open the lid of that box, put worried thoughts and feelings into that box, and gently close the lid.

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Okay!

Thanks for reading. And sweet dreams for all of us.

Categories: personal growth | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , | 10 Comments

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