Dateline: Threadgill’s Local International Branch Office and former Armadillo World Headquarters frequented by: Jimmy Buffet and Ray Charles. 
How to Be Miserable and Make Stupid Mistakes
The promised “Lawn Mower Incident” or how anxiety can make you blind.
ANXIETY:
Anxiety is the body’s reaction to a real or perceived threat. A more complete description of what goes on in the body will come later. For our purposes, we’ll narrow the symptoms to include the cascade of hormones that over-whelm your brain and send messages to your body that you are in danger and you’d better do something about it now!
Which makes sense if your house is on fire. The rub is– for most of us, the threats that keep us anxious fall into the “perceived” category. Our threats are our own thoughts, our “what if” scenarios, our worst case scenarios and phantom catastrophes.
“The Lawnmower Out-of-Gas Incident”
It’s August in Texas. Not one of the drought years, the yard is in serious need of mowing and, as always, I’m in need of proving I can do anything. All goes well (if you ignore the early symptoms of heat stroke)until the mower runs out of gasoline. No problem. I retrieve the two gallon gas from the garage. My special person is going to be so impressed when he gets home! 
STRESS. ONLINE THERAPY. PSYCHOLOGY. BOWEN THEORY. PSYCHOTHERAPY. DEPRESSION. EMOTIONS AND EMOTIONAL REACTIVITY.Here’s where the job starts to go South. The gas can has a rubber spout, but never having done this task before I have no idea of where or how the gas is supposed to go into the machine. I’m lost. True to form, I’m not about to admit I’m lost and put the task off until I can ask someone. One of the ways I manage anxiety is to tell myself that I already know everything about everything. And, since I’m about to pass out from the heat, I don’t want to stop and have to start up again.
Finally I find an opening to the gas tank but it is too small for the spout on the can. But I don’t let that stop me. I’ll make my own funnel. Again thinking how I’m going to collect feedback about my cleverness and stamina when my special person sees what I’ve done. I go in the house, drink a quart of water, and find several manila folders.
My hands are shaky and the horizon is starting to go fuzzy, but never mind. Aren’t I clever to think of the funnel? I roll my self-made tool into a tight cone and manage to get some gasoline in though my aim is not steady and when I rise from leaning over there’s some minor dizziness. The folder gets soggy and I start again. It takes three death-defying lean and pour to have enough gas to finish the task. Perspiration streams in torrents but my mouth is dry. I’ve had a previous heat stroke and know the symptoms to watch for, but never mind. I’ve told myself I’m not having a heat stroke and since I know everything . . . 
Mostly blind, my eyes burning, and too weak to stand upright, I finish the task. My back is killing me and I can’t feel my arms. To maintain my self-image I’ll have to mask more than a little pain. But I did it.
The payoff from this example: As I slowly rolled the mower back to it’s place in the garage, I noticed a cap on the mower the size of the lid to a mason jar. On the cap was written: Gasoline Here.
Anxiety: When we are anxious, our world narrows. We do not see options right in front of our face. Instead of calming down and considering facts—such as “Why would a manufacturer not put a decent opening for gas on a lawnmower?” we keep on doing what clearly is not working. 
More examples: getting angry (anger is the expression of out-of-control anxiety, the threat is to self-esteem) when the computer isn’t co-operating; greeting our special people with negativity though we know such behavior encourages them to avoid us); paying high interest or late fees because we can’t stand back and consider ways to change (ick!) to save money; sticking our nose into other people’s business though we know it makes them less open; being lost and refusing to get help; pointing out the faults in someone we love knowing we are driving them away; and so many, many more.
If you don’t believe me, watch your spouse. I’m sure you can notice loads of silly ways he or she manages anxiety.
