emoanal: what, me worry?

Welcome to emo anal, my blog about my increasing wisdom as i surf through life as a psychologist in private practice with an increasing number of fans and clients alike.

Tthis blog will follow my thoughts, wise and innane as they are simultaneously, on life, suffering, philosophy, excerpts-from-mainstream-psychology-magazines-cliches, and other deep and entertaining topics.

Now, i was taking a walk thru the suburbs today, and the warm breeze made my creative juices bubble. i have written this on my facebook too, so actually i dont promise to be too original in my writings... but hopefully the thoughts and ideas will be :D

This is what i thought of...

An amulet is a sort of superstitious object that superstitious folk hang on to rather nervously to ward off any ill luck. people who are chronic worriers are analagous to a superstitious person clinging on to the hope that the amulet will help them.

A (useless) worry functions like a (useless) amulet. in touching or wearing the amulet, one thinks, rather magically, that doing that will help them. in worrying, the worrier, rather magically, thinks that by worrying things will improve. things DO improve, but only momentarily, in that it gives you a false sense of security. like, you think that the skull-amulet you are wearing around your neck protects you from the sabre toothed tiger charging towards you, but eventually, you gotta do something, like run for your life. the worry, similarly, helps you for a moment, then it becomes a hindrance if you dont do something else to help yourself.

My landlady - she's got a personality disorder (a topic which shall be covered much later) has a worry-amulet that is not manifest in thought-worries but in behaviour-worries. she thinks by cleaning the house endlessly somehow her anxiety and emotional pain will go away. of course she tells US, though, that it's cos us tenants are a bunch of uncivilised dirty smack-on-the-palm-worthy bums. but behind my closed room door (in my messy room), i know the better. haha.

So, worry... it is only useful if it serves its original caveman function, that is to REALISE there's a problem (like the sabre toothed tiger is about to charge at you and you've only got a measely-looking stick of a weapon against it) then move on to problem solving, NOT obsessive worrying!!! imagine where we would be if our cavemen ancestors stopped dead in their tracks and fretted about becoming mincemeat pit with every charging sabre toothed tiger they encounter.
This is what a sabre toothed tiger's mouth looks like up close. Now imagine, WHO on earth would not problem solve (ie RUN RUN RUN!!!) when faced with this? where have our instincts gone to in these modern days?

I will leave you guys with a very cool photo of a very lovely looking amulet that my lovely sister brought for me from her travels to Bhutan. i dont know which evil spirit it is supposed to ward off, but i sure love wearing it. maybe that's why i have been lucky lately. hey i wont promote that idea here and debunk myself, but here's my lovely fashion statement piece anyway!!!
you might be interested to read more about lovely fashion statements too in my jewellery blog. here's the link.