Analyzing everything....well sometimes a worm is just a worm.

I think I have spent my entire life analyzing things. Part of my work...part of my education...and partly because my mind just works that way. However, it would seem sometimes...a worm is just a worm. And that analyzing the worm...is of no use...and actually gives no information.

So...am I the only one who does this? No??? you say?...read on:

When it comes to differences between men and women, some are, as the French have always known, highly worthy of celebration. Others, however, are more often a source of confusion and downright misunderstanding between the sexes.

Among the latter, one of the most distinctive is invisible to the eye. Men and women differ dramatically in their approach to negative emotions such as sadness. Specifically, men avoid them, and women don't.

And therein lies a problem, says psychologist Susan Nolen-Hoeksema, Ph.D. Unfortunately, women can get stuck in negative emotions, caught in a downward spiral of hopelessness and immobility. And that, she finds, is a major reason women are twice as likely to develop depression as men are.

Over the past decade, Nolen-Hoeksema, professor of psychology at the University of Michigan, has found that women are far more inclined to ruminate about the stressors and disappointments they encounter—and get stuck there. They focus on symptoms of distress and the possible causes and consequences of them, repetitively and passively.

They go over and over their negative thoughts and feelings, examining them, questioning them, kneading them like dough. And like dough, their problems swell in size.

At the very least, such rumination makes life harder. And it damages relationships along the way.

"When there is any pause in our daily activities, many of us are flooded with worries, thoughts and emotions that swirl out of control, sucking our emotions and energy down, down, down. We are suffering from an epidemic of overthinking—caught in torrents of negative thoughts and emotions that overwhelm us and interfere with our functioning and well-being."

We are, in short, experiencing an epidemic of morbid meditation, the Michigan psychologist contends in a new book Women Who Think Too Much: How to Break Free of Overthinking and Reclaim Your Life (Henry Holt).

What is it that women ruminate about? The short answer is, almost everything: their appearance, their families, their career, their health. But most of all they ruminate about their relationships and about their body.

They might begin thinking about a recent conflict with a friend: How could she have said that to me? What does she really mean by that? How should I react?

But such questions just lead to more questions, what Nolen-Hoeksema calls "the yeast effect." Negative thoughts might start out about a specific event or situation but they expand and grow, spreading to more situations and leading to big questions about one's life. And—here's the kicker—they get more negative with time.

Of course, some rumination is natural, even necessary. But people who ruminate a lot amplify negative events. They dredge up more negative memories from the past, are more pessimistic about the present and more fatalistic about the future. That tilts them more towards despair, and renders them less likely to take positive action to either dispel the negativity or resolve underlying problems.

Their ruminations often center on relationships, because relationships are very important to women. Yet the social support that ruminators seek from their intimates often eludes them.

For one thing, they wind up torturing those closest to them with their oversize need for reassurance. Plus, the very hopelessness of ruminators makes them unpleasant to be around. So while they seek out others more, they actually get less of what they want from them.


Oops...that sounds familiar...all too familiar. That is why I have decided...if I have a question...then I am going to ask it. I tend to try to figure it out...and thus become one of those women...haha

Now...let's see. I see a worm...the worm looks distinterested in me...Actually I have no use for the worm...other than bait on a hook. The worm doesn't want to be bait...I don't feel like fishing...well...everything is good with the world. The worm is a worm...not a metaphor...and I am just a person...who doesn't want to ruminate...analyze...and waste my time on foolish speculation.

A friend once said..."see what speculation gets you?" To that I would reply..."yep...and I think that is one road...I don't want to travel down."

I should have had a V-8...stop over thinking...a worm is just a worm...



haha

We are a strange breed don't you think???? Well one thing is sure...I won't be thinking about it....Right...haha




Yep...sometimes a worm is just a worm...and not a metaphor for something else...and sometimes...we just think too much...so what to do now?

Go fishing...

Love,
The Lass