Awfulising may not be a standard English word in usage but in the absence of an exact equivalent it seems to serve the purpose well. These are turbulent times and if we look all around we find a lot of negativities of impinging our mind set all 24 hours of the clock.Let us talk of the wars that the world is fighting.While it is difficult to count countries that are at war with one another,there are many more that are operating from behind the scenes.But honestly speaking it was also in the past.But against such background it is only likely that human minds have developed that habit of awfulising, that is thinking of the worst case scenario for every happening that may or may not impact them. It is only logical that the state of mental health has become a global issue that needs to be addressed seriously and urgently. While a good many are suffering from grave psychological conditions, a large number of people are finding it difficult to sleep. In fact, insomnia is afflicting a sizable section of the global population resulting in further deterioration of mental health. This is a result of what psychologists call availability bias when a lot of negative information is doing rounds and the mind of the people imagines only the negative things befalling on them. The corona pandemic is to a certain measure responsible for this. The helplessness that people encountered during those three nightmarish years the Covid 19 virus ruled the earth has made their outlook pessimistic and minds fragile. The large populous countries like India with comparatively weak medical infrastructure and poor health awareness find the problem even more alarming. But even the rich and less populous countries like the US are also facing the music.It is largely because of the negative faulty attitude that people have developed in the recent past owing to the catastrophic experiences of the pandemic. It was a kind of horrible disruption the world had not faced in the past hundred years. Painting the worst case scenario has become a part of habit for most people. The big question is what to do? One thing is certain that awfulising will certainly not help, rather it will worsen the predicament. We need a heavy dose of optimism to fight this negative mind set that our subconscious has created. Mind is the villain of the piece, and greatest bottle neck to mental peace.The Bhagwat Geeta says mind is your greatest enemy if it controls you, and your best friend if you control the mind. You need to tame and train the mind to look at the positive side of the events, treat them as challenges rather than problems. How to do it is the issue. The step number one is to reframe the entire scenario, develop self awareness and analyse the situation objectively. In this world of eight and half billion odd people, all the bad luck cannot be a part of your share. That is as simple as that. So rather than thinking of the worst case scenario, think of the best case scenario. And mind it, you can make it happen. Of course, for this you need faith.Faith in God, which will give you faith in yourself. You need to get out of the dark groove you have created and pushed yourself in.Certainly it’s not going to be easy. But yes, it is possible. Just be open minded and try to see the big picture. Reorient your subconscious mind to look at things more objectively and positively. You create the thoughts in mind, and mind creates possibilities for you. Copy book definition of anxiety is irrational fear. Naturally then, why fear something that is irrational. Close your eyes for sometime, think clearly and relax.
shashwatchintan
shashwatchintan 