Our world is in the midst of an emotional meltdown. As a psychiatrist, I’ve seen that many people are addicted to the adrenaline rush of anxiety, known as the “fight or flight” response, and they don’t know how to defuse it. An example of this is obsessively watching the news about natural disasters, trauma, economic stress and violence, and then not being able to turn bad news off. Also, people are prone to “techno-despair” — a term I coined in my book, “Emotional Freedom.” This is a state of high anxiety that results from information overload and Internet addiction. Being addicted to worry can lead to insomnia, nightmares, restless sleep and ongoing angst. Take this quiz to determine the role that worry is playing in your life.
1. Do I worry about many things every day?
Yes
No
2. Do I make problems larger, not smaller?
Yes
No
3. Do I worry about things that no one around me worries about?
Yes
No
4. Do I worry even during happy times?
Yes
No
5. Do I find I can’t stop worrying, though I try?
Yes
No
6. When one worry is solved, do I immediately focus on another?
Yes
No
How to interpret this quiz
If you had 0 to 1 yeses – You are more warrior than worrier!
If you had 2 to 3 yeses – Worry plays a moderate role in your life.
If you had 4 to 5 yeses – Worry plays a large role in your life.
If you had 6 yeses – Worry plays a very large role in your life.
(Learn more about transforming worry with inner calm in Chapter 9)
Judith Orloff, MD is a New York Times bestselling author with the upcoming book The Genius of Empathy: Practical Skills to Heal Yourself, Your Relationships and the World (Foreword by the Dalai Lama). She has also written The Empath’s Survival Guide and Thriving as an Empath, which offers daily self-care tools for sensitive people. She integrates the pearls of conventional medicine with cutting edge knowledge of intuition, empathy, energy medicine, and spirituality. Dr. Orloff specializes in treating empaths and highly sensitive people in her private practice and online internationally. Her work has been featured on The Today Show, CNN, Oprah Magazine, the New York Times and USA Today. Dr. Orloff has spoken at Google-LA, TEDx U.S. and TEDx Asia. More information about Dr. Orloff’s Empathy Training Programs for businesses, The Empath Survival Guide Online Courseand speaking schedule at www.drjudithorloff.com.
