Highlights
- "An intolerance for uncertainty is an important contributing factor to all types of anxiety", this truly is. I'm the one who doesn't like uncertainly. This trait even influences my grade of probability theory class.
Skeleton of the Book
How we act when there's uncertainty and overload
Stress and overwhelmed
So the auther enumulates what is "stressed" and what is "overwhelmed" by his experience in restaurant work life.
He think:
The feeling of stress is correlated the belief that we can cope with the problem, rather than the physical burden. When we think subjectively there's uncertainty or too many work, then the stress come. Long time strees is not good for your physical health.
So the state of overwhelmed is igntied by extreme strees that both body and mind cannot burden, and will interfere your decision making. So the best way to deal this situation is drop anything you do and spare yourself.
So the stressed and overwhelmed is just an entrance of the heart altas managed by the author, at least this chapter reflects.
So what's the difference between anxiety and stressed?
Anxiety
An emotion characterized by feelings of tension, worried thoughts and physical changes like increased blood pressure.
The book cites the "Willy wonka tunnel" to introduce the anxiety. (I didn't see this scene in the renewed film, but the old one in this link: Willy Wonka Shamanic Boat Ride. Acutally I don't feel too much anxiety watching this scene)
Anxiety can be a trait, a profile of a person, or can be a temporary state. Lead to worry thoughts and tendency of avoidance.
It seems that as the things we want to avoid approaches, the anxiey will act as three emotions:
Worry (General) → Dread (Near) → Fear (On going)
(This remind me of my experience of writing my graduation thesis)
Vulnerability
So vulnerability is not weakness, vulnerability is a normal reaction when a man enages into something uncertainty, risk or emotional exposure. So don't self-criticize when feeling vulnerability.