Anxiety and the Internet

We live in a scary world and although it is hard for everyone it can be debilitating for people with anxiety.  Think of anxiety the same way you think of other Chronic conditions, like diabetes or high blood pressure.  When you are managing these diseases there are things that you do and things that you don’t do.  For example, when you are a diabetic you watch carefully what you eat, you know that too many carbs are not good for you.  When you have high blood pressure you do to the same.  You watch what you consume.  Anxiety is much the same.  Anxious people learn what they can and cannot consume.  

When my middle son was in elementary, he came down with an awful discoloration on his lower legs.  It was scary.  I called the Dr. and made an appointment with the on-call physician on a Sunday morning, something I had never done.  Because there were a couple hours until our appointment, I got online and basically scared myself to death.  By the time we reached the office for the appointment I had convinced myself my child had a very rare form of cancer.

I was fairly frantic when we entered the exam room.  This young Doctor who was on call that day said something I will always remember.  He said, “it is best to not search the internet for answers because it will scare you, if you must look for answers go to one site, and I recommend WebMD.  Then do not visit any other sites.”  He went on to say, “Wait until your appointment to worry.”  

I have found this to be very good advice.  When we are anxious, we have to be careful.  Begin to recognize what causes you to feel more anxious and stay away from it.  If watching news 24/7 makes you worry, try reading an article or listening to the radio.  Or just take a break from it altogether until you are feeling less anxious.  The world will not end.

Research is now telling us the things we worry about rarely occur but if they do occur when we worry we deplete our resources leaving us less able to deal with the event.

We cannot live our lives in a bubble and stay away from everything that causes us anxiety. That is not healthy.  Do I need to push through my fear of talking to people to go to a job interview?  Yes, do I need to know every detail of a tragedy that occurred miles away?  Probably not.  Ask yourself, is there something I can do?  If there is then do it, if not focus on something else.