I will never forget the morning I asked a friend, “How are you?’ and he answered, “Battling the black dog!” I responded, “What does that mean – the black dog?” “You’re not familiar with that term?” He asked. “Not at all.” “It’s depression. Winston Churchill called it ‘the black dog’.” “I am very sorry. How are you battling?” Before he could answer, we heard the signal for our meeting to begin. My thoughts turned toward Depression. It was only in retrospect that I surmised my friend used that term with me because of my work as a mental health counselor.

A life free from worry. To some of us, it sounds like Shangri-La: wonderful and impossible to find. But we aren’t doomed to be worry's prisoner. Read on if you would like to know “How do I stop worrying?” I am no stranger to this topic. Over the course of my life I have chewed my nails to stubs, bitten the skin around my nails, pulled out my eyelashes, and stress-eaten cheese, chocolate, and jellybeans. I have stayed awake countless nights, playing out different horrible scenarios. I have had panic attacks and crying jags. It’s not pretty to admit, but I have let worry take over my life. If someone had said to me in a time of intense worry, “I know the secret of how to stop worrying,” I would have laughed (bitterly) in his face.