Worrying doesn't add, it subtracts

"When we do stop and think about this question, we begin to realize that worrying doesn’t add to our lives. It only takes away." —Dr. Adeyemi

“For this reason, I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is life not more than food, and the body more than clothing?” — Matthew 6:25

The words you’ve just read are the words of Jesus; words spoken to a people very similar to us. Consider for a moment how worry and anxiety prevail in our society. Specifically, anxiety is the most common mental disorder in the United States, affecting roughly 40 million adults.

In fact, we can think about the terms “worry” and “anxiety” on a spectrum. On one end is worry—an uneasy feeling in which we can be overly concerned about a particular problem. We can experience worry over the normal stressors of life, such as our health, how much money we have (or don’t have), our family, work, school, etc.

And on the other end of the spectrum is anxiety. Here, anxiety is worry on overdrive. In other words, worry becomes anxiety when we or others can’t seem to get a hold of it. Instead, it can feel as though the anxiety has a hold on us mentally, socially, and physically.

Although anxiety affects people differently, most can readily identify the physical signs/complications that occur with or because of it, which includes headaches, labored breathing, a fast heartbeat, an upset stomach, amongst others.

If we continue reading beyond the initial scripture for this devotion, we’d see in verse 27, Jesus says, “And which of you by worrying can add a single day to his life span?" This is a powerful, rhetorical question because it gets us to stop and think.

When we do stop and think about this question, we begin to realize that worrying doesn’t add to our lives. It only takes away. It robs us of time, robs us of clear thinking, and it can leave our bodies in a compromised or weakened state.

"For this reason, I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on..."

Justin Adeyemi, EdD, LAT, ATC

Lecturer
Department of Health, Human Performance, and Recreation