Comments for CONFESSIONS OF A WORRYWART | CONFESSIONS OF A WORRYWART

Comment on Worrywart Calm in the Face of a Missing Laptop by susan fishman orlins

susan fishman orlins — Mon, 20 May 2013 05:24:24 +0000

Maybe some actual pray-ers can weigh in, since I’m sure you haven’t questioned every pray-er out there.

Comment on Worrywart Calm in the Face of a Missing Laptop by Anita Bernstein

Anita Bernstein — Sun, 19 May 2013 21:34:31 +0000

This leads me to wonder why religious people would worry. If they believe in the power of prayer, all they have to do is pray.

Don’t think it works that way–I never met a pray-er who thought she could receive any favor she wanted just by asking. Instead praying speaks about one’s faith, demonstrates to the Deity that one believes in It, makes one’s wishes clearer by forcing them into words, maybe has a calming effect. You still worry, unless you’re serene about the possibility that your god has nasty-ass plans for you.

Sigmund Freud said prayer was projection. Talking to oneself. Sounds right to me.

Comment on Worrywart Calm in the Face of a Missing Laptop by susan fishman orlins

susan fishman orlins — Fri, 17 May 2013 17:06:16 +0000

Maria, sounds like you had a wonderful mother. And I envy you your Hail Marys. I assume you don’t say them for lost glasses; in case someone is actually listening you would want to save the HM’s for bigger things as I discuss in my early post “Asking God for Things.” http://confessionsofaworrywart.com/2010/06/22/asking-god-for-things/

When I felt worried, my mother, a very loving person, would take me to a psychiatrist. At night, I would look at the smile I had drawn on my autograph hound and I would feel better. As I have written somewhere on my blog, I also used to hold tight to the mattress, to make it harder for kidnappers–they would have to take me and my mattress, which I figured was a likely deterrent. It didn’t occur to me that they would instead take my sister, with whom I shared a room.

Comment on Worrywart Calm in the Face of a Missing Laptop by Maria M

Maria M — Fri, 17 May 2013 15:19:04 +0000

I don’t have a lost & found story, but if I did, it would be about me always losing my glasses & sometimes finding them (or not) a year later.
My comment is about your comment “all they have to do is pray”. I am not religious, but, the first thing I do when I am worried is pray. I think it’s because when I was a kid, whenever I had a bad dream or thought I was dying (did I mention how neurotic I am?), my mother would say, “say a Hail Mary, you’ll feel better”. I did and I did. Although my mother was religious, I’m pretty sure she said that because she knew how neurotic I was & it was an easy, non threatening thing to say. I probably felt better because while she was saying it, she would hug & kiss me. But, who knows? I say about a million Hail Marys a day but It doesnt work nearly as well without the hugs & kisses. Btw, my kids are also big Hail Mary-ers!

Comment on Worrywart Calm in the Face of a Missing Laptop by susan fishman orlins

susan fishman orlins — Fri, 17 May 2013 15:15:00 +0000

Isn’t that crazy? Until you asked, I had not thought of that. Since my whole life is so public and I don’t keep a ton of personal documents on my computer (even I can’t find my passwords!), it didn’t occur to me. But it should have!

Comment on HOW DOES AN ATHEIST PRAY AND SHOULD AN AGNOSTIC CONSIDER HER OPTIONS? by Worrywart Calm in the Face of a Missing Laptop

Worrywart Calm in the Face of a Missing Laptop — Fri, 17 May 2013 05:43:22 +0000

[...] This leads me to wonder why religious people would worry. If they believe in the power of prayer, all they have to do is pray. [...]

Comment on Worrywart Calm in the Face of a Missing Laptop by jane

jane — Fri, 17 May 2013 05:43:11 +0000

Didn’t you worry, in the midst of all that other worrying, that someone might have found your laptop, kept it, and read everything on it???? Surely, I am not the only one with a lot of “stuff” on my computer that I would not want to be casually perused by a stranger. And if they wondered how to get into any of my personal websites, they could just easily go to Excel and find my spreadsheet of all my passwords. Sure I have a password to get on to my laptop, but it wouldn’t take a computer scientist to figure it out!

Comment on Cognitive Therapy: Lessons Learned by Worrywart Calm in the Face of a Missing Laptop

Worrywart Calm in the Face of a Missing Laptop — Fri, 17 May 2013 05:30:28 +0000

[...] My new memoir had drawn quite a few worried customers, with whom I shared tips about dealing with anxiety. [...]

Comment on WHAT DOES A WORRYWART LOOK LIKE? by Worrywart Calm in the Face of a Missing Laptop

Worrywart Calm in the Face of a Missing Laptop — Fri, 17 May 2013 05:19:00 +0000

[...] few who stopped to chat said, “You don’t look like a worrywart.” To them I said you don’t have to look like a worrywart to be one. Yet, often I question [...]

Comment on Tom Cruise and Scientology and More About a Man I Like to Dislike by susan fishman orlins

susan fishman orlins — Sun, 12 May 2013 22:27:28 +0000

Nice to have company!

Comment on Tom Cruise and Scientology and More About a Man I Like to Dislike by Anita Bernstein

Anita Bernstein — Sun, 12 May 2013 07:36:42 +0000

Agreed. His persona is extra dishonest even by celebrity standards, just as Scientology is extra dishonest even by religion standards. I’ve seen only one movie of the Cruise corpus,”Top Gun.” T.C. came across waxy and fake, not at all attractive–but to be fair the version I saw had Thai subtitles and was probably a pirated video. (It was 1986; I was backpacking in Bangkok.)

Comment on Tom Cruise and Scientology and More About a Man I Like to Dislike by susan fishman orlins

susan fishman orlins — Sat, 11 May 2013 22:33:20 +0000

I cannot overlook these qualities of Tom. Hm let me think of someone I don’t like but whose performance I like. I’m not sure I could like someone on the screen whom I dislike as a person. On the other hand, I would still read authors I didn’t like. Ongoing thinking about that!

Comment on Tom Cruise and Scientology and More About a Man I Like to Dislike by susan fishman orlins

susan fishman orlins — Sat, 11 May 2013 22:31:34 +0000

Oh that’s funny about Hemingway. I hope you (still) like me! I’m glad you found me
Susan

Comment on Tom Cruise and Scientology and More About a Man I Like to Dislike by Pamela

Pamela — Sat, 11 May 2013 18:07:37 +0000

I don’t have a problem with Tom, probably because I try not to know about his religion or his marriage problems. He’s a fun actor to watch. I stop it there, just like I do about authors whom I like to read, but I fear that if I knew more about their personal life, I’d never be able to read another one of their books. Look at Hemingway. I read all of his books in college. I didn’t quite get his technique (I like to use more words), but I didn’t DISlike him. But recently I’ve read books about him (fictional and biographical) and I can’t stand the man. No more Sun Also Rises for me – can never read him again.

Just saying.

Fun discovering you on HuffPost.

Comment on AM I A VOYEUR? BEHIND THE SCENES OF MY BLOG by Tom Cruise and Scientology

Tom Cruise and Scientology — Fri, 10 May 2013 21:28:22 +0000

[...] to wach a pair of actors having sex on the silver screen and quite another to be put in the role of voyeur when the actors are a real-life couple: exhibitionist and creepy. (I know, I didn’t have to [...]