We’re a nation of worriers, but it’s not always such a bad thing. Kate Whiting reveals why worrying could actually be good for you
Hands up if it feels as though you spend a large chunk of your time fretting and worrying? When I was growing up, I used to lie awake at night worrying that a mad axeman was going to climb through my bedroom window and kill me. To assuage my fears, I had come up with a cunning plan: ’If someone breaks in, I’ll pretend to be dead’. Because clearly, there was a chance that a previous burglar/mad axeman had already got to me first, so the second one would leave me alone.
Now, it turns out, there was method in my madness, according to researchers from Canada, who have found advantages to being a worrier. The scientists at Lakehead University, Ontario, found those who admitted being worriers scored more highly on verbal intelligence tests and said worrying could have helped our ancestors survive. “From an evolutionary standpoint,” they explained in their report, “there are fewer costs associated with worrying about a threatening event that does not occur than failing to anticipate, plan for and avoid one that does.”
My younger self was evidently just trying to keep me alive and brainy. The flip side, of course, is that excessive worrying can have a bad impact on your health, making you age quicker, feel stressed and tired, and can even lead to depression. But for now, we’re not going to worry about that, we’re going to focus on the positive – how worrying can potentially help you …
You’ll achieve your goals
American economist Robert H Frank once said: “The anxiety we feel about whether we’ll succeed is evolution’s way of motivating us. Worry about success causes students to study harder, film-makers to strive harder to create that perfect scene, and songwriters to dig deeper for the most pleasing melody. In every domain, people who work harder are more likely to succeed professionally and make a difference.”
You’ll write a bestseller
In the Canadian study mentioned above, those who worried more scored higher for verbal intelligence, and verbally intelligent people are better at reading and writing. So if you’re lying awake at night worrying you haven’t started that novel yet, at least you can rest assured that when you do get round to it, it’s more likely to fly off the shelves at Waterstones.
You’ll win more arguments
Next time you score points off your partner in a verbal battle of wills, you can thank your inner worrywart. Worriers have stronger verbal reasoning skills, in other words – understanding and explaining concepts through listening and speaking. Aka, making your point and winning!
You’ll boost your memory
Reliving past failures in minute detail might not be a great way to spend a Friday night, but if you do, chances are you’ll have a sharper memory. Worriers spend more time playing out past and future events in their minds, so they’re more likely to remember conversations and details better.
You’ll help your immune system
Psychotherapist and author of How To Stay Sane, Philippa Perry says getting into the “good stress zone” allows our brains to adapt, grow and survive – and that studies on rats have shown those in a more stimulating environment coped better with lead poisoning than those who weren’t. She urges us to think of worries as “stimuli for learning, growth and socialising”, so we can embrace new challenges. “Worry well by analysing problems, breaking them down into manageable chunks, and chewing them over with others to come up with workable solutions. You may also get the added bonus of boosting your immune system.”