No	matter	how	hard	Emma	worked	to	push	them	away,	the	worried
thoughts	kept	swirling	up,	again	and	again.	Even	peaceful	rest	was
impossible.	She	would	wake	in	the	middle	of	the	night	harried	by	her
concerns	and	then	be	unable	to	fall	back	to	sleep.	Exhausted	from	school	and
worrying,	she	didn’t	take	care	of	herself,	eat	right,	or	exercise	regularly.	As	a
result,	she	also	fretted	
about
	
her	physical	health	and	began	to	think	she	had	a
serious	medical	illness.
We	all	worry	on	some	level,	but	it	becomes	disproportionate	when	it’s
persistent	and	uncontrollable.	When	this	happens,	we	lose	time	to	an	internal,
not	real-to-life	focus.	This	hyperinternal	focus	is	a	vortex	where	no	new
energy	or	perspectives	are	allowed	in.	The	vortex	distorts	reality	and	creates
greater	fear.
Excessive	worrying	is	not	problem-solving	and	is	not	productive.	In	fact,
the	exhaustion	and	emotional	depletion	actually	makes	us	less	productive.	We
aren’t	able	to	concentrate,	plan	accordingly,	and	make	the	best	use	of	our
energy	and	resources.	And	once	again,	we’re	robbed	of	the	present	moment.
We	typically	come	to	recognize	we’re	in	a	vortex	when	the	anxiety	is