Getting A Hold of Worry

Your lineman has just left for the first storm of the season or maybe this is the first time he is leaving to work far away from home. You try your best not to let the worry creep in. You see others posting about their worry and you have those scary fears that just seem to keep popping on in. Calling a friend doesn’t seem to work because, they aren’t married or in a relationship with a Lineman. Your fellow line wives seem to worry just as much as you. WHAT can you do to lesson the worry and fear creeping in?

Here are some great tips for worry:

(Ladies I would love to add your tips too! Please comment below and I will add them in.)

1. First stop your train of negative thought. Take a deep breath and count to ten. Release the breath and repeat. Each time you draw a breath in tell yourself you are breathing in: happiness, relaxation, and calmness. When releasing a breath, expel anxiety, worry, doubt, and fear. Continue this until you feel relaxed and in a happier more positive state of mind.
2. Play the ABC game! It’s tougher than it sounds! First start with A, what is the first happy thought that pops in your head that starts with A? It could be having A/C or your child’s name starts with an A. You might have to get creative with Q,X, and Z but it works! The only key is the word you come up with must bring positive feelings to you. Before you are at the end of the Alphabet you will notice that you feel much better!
3. Meditation. This has helped me when my Lineman has been working late on storm and my nerves tend to be frazzled the most. You can YouTube a 15-minute guided meditation to make this easier for you.
4. Communicate with your Lineman. If it makes you feel more at ease to know he is safe throughout the day, ask him to send you a message every now and then so you know he is ok. My Lineman and I have a deal when he is on storm. If he can break for any second during storm work he texts me to tell me he loves me, and he is ok, just busy working. It means the world to my nerves knowing that he is ok.
5. Facetime. In the evenings and even sometimes in the morning when my lineman is working away from home we facetime. It’s much more personal to see facial expressions and feel/see the connection. You don’t realize how much you miss that until it’s gone.
6. F.E.A.R.= False. Evidence. Appearing. Real. Assumption and our imaginations can turn a small worry into a HUGE made up scenario in our minds. When I am fearing something, I stop and do the fear test. What do I know is true? What if everything is ok?
7. Do something. Workout, go shopping, call a friend, or watch a movie. Fear feeds on you doing nothing. Distract yourself with something positive.
8. Make a gratitude list. List 20 things you are grateful for right now in this very moment. No matter how cheesy they sound! Feel how good it is to have those things on your list!

*Always remember it’s not worth wasting your energy with worry on something that won’t even happen. Your mind is a powerful thing. When you fill it with positive thoughts, more positive things start to appear.There isn’t enough room in your mind for both worry and faith.You must decide which one will live there*

~Linewife