(April) 2007r. No 08 (926) - Nowy Kurier

N o 08 (926) 15-30/04/2007 Strona 15Continued from page 14of the moment. I liken it to a cat.To my knowledge, a cat doesn’tplan and plot it’s leap to a ledge.It simply believes it has the abilityand it leaps. If cats fall, they landon their feet and perhaps takemore of a running start next time.Of course...they sometimes getmowed over for some of theirdecisions...but we’ll get to thatanother time.”“I think to worry excessively isto trust with serious deficiency. Itis a belief that without properplanning and protection you aredestined to land in the middle of acatastrophe. It’s a belief that nospiritual guide or your owncommon sense or endurance willbe enough to carry you throughwhatever waits just around thecorner. I don’t know aboutyou...but I am tired of worryingabout the things that may or maynot happen. I think I’ll justcelebrate the solace of knowingno matter what comes up next, I’llhandle it - just like I always do.And if it kills me? Well thenwon’t be any sense worryingabout what happens next, causeits the end of the show.”What to do?Oh noChecking pregnancy test resultI’mworriedI listenedto her withawe andquiet astonishment.Now, sheseemed tohave calmeddown andcontinued:“As of now, I am erasing mymental hard drive of any scripts,play by play, and best defences. Ihope I am going to trust thatwhatever happens, I’ve got themental faculty and the courage todo whatever is required at thetime. Worry can kiss me goodbye.At least today...By the way, whatis this sudden turbulence andnoise?” “Nothing special, thepilot just announced that we aregoing through some weatherdisturbances” I said. “O my god, Iknew it…My mother called meyesterday, advised not to fly, shehad a dream…I don’t want to die.What shall we do now?” “Thepilot recommended to wait it outfor a while, and assured it isroutine, nothing unusual” I said.“They always say it, don’t they.How can you trust him. He is aman, and men are incapable ofworrying!”What have I doneWhatnow?Personology’s Robert WhitesideTechnically about WorryWorst worries, as totally useless,are about past mishaps andhow that could be avoided. Let’slook at the more reasonableworries of the present and thefuture.Worry or negative fantasy canruin life in the present by bringngin an imaginary negative eventfrom the future. How can we getrid of this awful anticipatoryanxiety? Firstly, let us accept thatworry disease has been withhumanity for some 50,000 yearsand we will have to wait somemore 5 years until the worrygenes will be identified and it willhopefully lead to the final solution,i.e. a permanent removal.Meanwhile, let us consider someinterim solutions to ease pains ofworry for those unfortunates whosuffer.Worry is a misuse of imagination.When we are worrying aboutsomething we are essentiallyfantasizing about bad things thatmight happen. What’s the point?It sometimes helps to plan for thefuture, but it never helps to worryabout it. Worry often accompaniesanxiety disorders. When aperson has an anxiety attack or apanic attack it can be disruptiveand even immobilizing. This canlead to a fear of similar attacks. Ifthis fear gets strong enough ititself creates anxiety, and thisitself is sometimes enough totrigger another attack.Some 20 years ago someonerecommended to me a shortcourse in “Personology”. Developedby Robert Whiteside, basedon his qualitative not scientific,statistical analysis, Personology,similarly to finding water withdivining rods, has been neveraccepted as science. But,similarly to the divining rods, itworks. Below are, borrowed frommy old Robert Whiteside’s Personologyhandouts, two picturesLess worry eyesshowing three sets of eyes in twocategories of “less” and “more”worry.”Less worry eyes” depict, fromtop down, the glassy, glaring eyesof shock, “bride’s worry” i.e.person exerting beyond limits(both belong to the first stage ofworry), and dull, tired, bloodshotand glazed eyes of the exhaustedindividual (second stage ofworry).“More worry eyes” depict,from top down, “casualty trend”showing up in the prolonged stateof tension and worry (neveraccept a ride from the persondisplaying vertical imbalance inthe position of eye pupils. Atwork, send a worker home to restrather then possibly have anaccident), “melancholy” (built upunrelieved, unresolved tensionand worry), and finally eyes ofthe person “coming out of” melancholy,where the “spirit startsshining through”, where eventuallysparkling pupils will movedown to the centre of the eyes.SolutionsWhat’s the solution? Stopworrying. Remember that it isdevil’s gift to humanity; don’tyield to the devil’s ways. This iseasier said than done, of course.There are several different‘thought-stopping” techniquesthat can help. To start, diagnoseyourself by looking at the mirrorand comparing your eyes withones in this article. Are you in theless or more worry category, andwhere? Look at the last set ofeyes and see the difference.Imagine that your eyes will startshining again. Notice an unmistakablehope coming through thoseeyes. Visualize yourself there,and later, when pupils of youreyes will wander down, reach themiddle of your eyes, and sparkswill start flying.A popular, very effective wayinvolves wearing a rubber bandaround your wrist and snapping ithard whenever you catch yourselfworrying. Feel pain and yell“stop” to yourself, and shiftmental gears to think about somethingelse. It helps to have the“something else” in mind beforehand- a relaxing, or excitingimage or fantasy, or a compellingchallenge - or best a pre-arranged“worry-removal” ritual - that yourmind will latch onto.Another effective techniqueinvolves setting aside fixed timeto worry every day. This maysound counter productive, but itactually helps you gain controlover your thinking, and limitsyour worries to the prescribedhour or so. When you go to yourKonferencja“Wspó³czesnereaktory atomowedla energetyki”More worry eyesworry time, pace yourself so youcan have a chance to worry abouteverything you want. After severalexercises like that you willlaugh at all of it, realizing howridiculous your worry was.There are also old fashionpsycho-physical ways to relievetension and worry, and I willleave them to the reader’s imagination.They have contributed tomany scandals with celebritiesand politicians, and because oftheir explicit character certainbreeds of monkeys are not publiclydisplayed in western zoos.Needles to say, those effectivemethods require certain motivationand therefore can only beused in the earlier stages of theworry syndrome.For people technically minded,building mental flowcharts ormodels can also be very effective.Draw a diagram, where an outsideevent or random thought hits youremotions and generates worry.Set and/or gates, leading eventuallyto the total conversion fromuncontrolled, emotional state ofworry to cognitive, logic-solving,“can do” schemes.If nothing of the above works,consider counselling or therapy.Extreme worry is a form of obsessivethinking, and can be a partof an obsessive-compulsive disorder,depression, or other conditionrequiring medical treatment.To end on the positive note,there is a cure for almost anydysfunctional state of humanworry. Also, the best preventionis a continuous, on-going developmentof your sense of humour;a proven, organic medicine thatcannot be overdosed.Jan Jekie³ekZG Stowarzyszenia In¿ynierów Polskich w Kanadzie, w kooperacji z IEEEToronto organizuje konferencjê, w jêzyku angielskim, na temat “Wspó³czesnereaktory atomowe dla energetyki”. Na ca³ym œwiecie, w³¹czaj¹c w to Polskê iOntario, mówi siê o koniecznoœci budowania nowych elektrowni atomowych,temat jest wiêc na czasie. Na konferencji eksperci przedstawi¹ zalety i s³aboœcikilku konkuruj¹cych ze sob¹ typów reaktorów nuklearnych.Konferencja odbêdzie sie 24 maja w godz. 19:00-21:30, w budynku SPK,206 Beverly Street, Toronto, na górnej sali. Wstêp wolny. Uczestnicyzaproszeni s¹ od 18:00 do wziêcia udzia³u w “networking” w sali obrad. “Cashbar” bêdzie otwarty, jak równie¿ restauracja, w której mo¿na zamówiæ poprzystêpnych cenach wspania³e potrawy. Po prezentacjach ekspertów odbêdziesiê dyskusja. Serdecznie zapraszamy. Zarz¹d Glówny SIPwK.Conference “Reactor Designs For the Upcoming Nuclear StationsWorldwide”Association of Polish Engineers in Canada, in cooperation with IEEEToronto, organizes a Conference “Reactor Designs For the Upcoming NuclearStations Worldwide”. Currently there are over 400 operating nuclear powerreactors in the world, 30 more are under construction to go to operation in2007-2013, and another 8 committed for 2013-2017. It is also projected that by2050 there will be some 1,500 reactors worldwide. During the conference,experts will present strengths and weaknesses of the leading reactor designs.The conference will take place on Thursday, May 24, 2007, 7 – 9:30 p.m., inthe SPK Building, 206 Beverly Street, Toronto. Admission free. Participantsare invited to get involved in pre-conference networking from 6 p.m. Cash barwill be open, as well as a restaurant, where excellent food is available atreasonable prices. A discussion will follow experts’ presentations.