The silly season has almost become a faint memory, apart from the impact on my waistline! I wish to share with you the highlight of my Christmas, and of course it does involve worry beads.
Christmas, for sufferers of anxiety and depression, is one of the most difficult times of the year. It brings back memories of past Christmas’ but because of the way our brains are “wired” we always remember the bad bits and not the good. So it is always a challenge to do things that will create great memories. This year we decided to have open house to all our friends on Christmas Eve.
It is that time just before when people are supposed to turn up that you think, will anyone come? Well they did and quickly all varieties of chair in the house were filled. This. although a good thing, also poses myself with another challenge. I do not cope with crowds, and as host I put myself under unnecessary pressure to ensure the guests have a good time. It was then that completely by accident the best part of the party happened.
It is only recently that I have gained enough confidence to use my worry beads in the company of friends. I wrongly felt that as they knew I use them to counteract stress they would take it as an insult that I was using them because they made me stressed. I no longer think this and use them discreetly not highlighting them but just “twiddling” them as part of everyday life. A friend who I had not seen for some time asked to “have a go” using the worry beads I was using. He thought they were great and asked if there were other designs. I am never shy about showing off my creations so all the stock I had in the house came down to the party. Not only did he start looking at them but they were a bit of a hit! In a quiet moment he admitted that he had been suffering from stress recently and felt even after a few minutes he was more relaxed. In fact he felt quite stressed at the though of giving them back. I leapt on the opportunity and made an early Christmas present of the set he had been playing with.
Back with the rest of the group several others had been finding the same effect and I announced a “Christmas present” for all. The majority of my friends have no anxiety issues but everyone who played with a set found them surprisingly enjoyable to twiddle with. I also started a worry bead trick class and many of the kids took up the challenge. Then came the hard choice, did they have a set of 1Pear or 2Pear to perfect their trick skills after the party.
As we said goodbye to everyone I felt so good that so many of my friends had found a benefit is using the worry beads even though they had never thought of owning a set. What was a far greater revelation was the feedback I got after the New Year. As my wife and I met up with our friends individually they reported that they could not put down their worry beads. They could not describe what they got from them but would not wish to do without them anymore. They felt their lives were better for using them, a huge endorsement from the converted. They also reported the same benefits we have seen with our children using worry beads. The one present that always seemed to stay in their hands over the Christmas holiday. In fact one parent stated the worry beads had not left their son’s hands.
So if you are just reading this blog out of interest and feel you do not need worry beads, try and set and I think you will be surprised.
Kevin
The English Worry Bead Co
kevin@englishworrybeads.uk