The Snowball Effect of My Thinking

Sometimes, when I worry about something, it really seems to get the best of me. Before long, I have blown the whole situation or subject out of proportion times ten. Sometimes, I think this trait is a good one, never allowing me to let my guard down. It enables me to always think ahead, perhaps being innately aware of what may happen as a direct result. Other times, the snowball effect of my thinking leads me to places too dark, that I need not visit if it is not true. It can make me worry more and send me into a tailspin of horrible thoughts.

Mothers can benefit from seeing two steps ahead. They come to realize with some experience, that two wild maniacs wrestling on the bed most times leads to someone getting hurt. They keep in mind that four-year-olds who do not want to hold hands while crossing a busy parking lot, although so much grown up, can be in very grave danger. Mothers also use this sense to watch ever so closely for signs that an illness is perhaps on the horizon, or that something just is not quite right.

While always being aware that there is something, that causes something, then causes something, and ends with something else, we as people need to keep some grasp on what is real and what is so far down the road that it really poses little threat.

Example: Your child's sniffle does not mean the flu. An illness does not mean eventual death. And that death does not mean your suicide. Therefore, your child's sniffle does not directly lead to your suicide. Now, although I suppose it could happen, it is so far-fetched that there is really no need to work yourself up about dying whenever your child sniffs.

So, if my husband is out-of-town and he doesn't answer his phone, it doesn't mean he is at a party with naked girls hanging all over him. He is probably not getting a lap dance or collecting phone numbers for future use. And when he returns, I will not catch an STD from him that will result in my eventual demise. Rather, it could have a very simple explanation. If I allow myself to always think in those terms, everything that happens will send me into a pit of worry and despair. I oftentimes have to remind myself not to go down that road. It does me no good. And, when my husband finally calls later that night, stating that his phone was not working in ABC location, I can rest assured that I did not worry myself needlessly, jumping to conclusions, and again playing my frequent role as "Chicken Little".