need some advice

need some advice

liltabitha2004 (guest) 02 Feb 2011 12:16

Hi, I just wanted to write this post because I wanted to get some advice. A friend of mine is semi freaking out about the weather in Chicago. Every time she watches the news, all they talk about is the gloom and doom. She's a married woman with a two year old and yesterday she just had this really bad feeling and she wasn't able to shake it. I was wondering if you guys had any advice for me on to help her because I don't want her to be upset about this. Last time, I posted on here, DiselhorseLaw helped me with some thoughts I had. So I thought maybe someone can help me help her. She's a dear friend of mine and I don't like seeing her freaking out about this. So can someone give me advice on how to help her please? It would be greatly appreciative.

PS I don't know how posting forum threads work on here so I thought I try putting this in this section. But if it has to be moved, that's okay with me.

Re: need some advice

DieselHorseLAW 02 Feb 2011 12:40

What exactly has her scared about it all? It's a winter storm, they happen, and they have always happened. I do know the feeling though, I was going through my anxiety episode when we got our winter storm in Georgia.

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“In all matters of opinion, our adversaries are insane.” - Oscar Wilde

liltabitha2004 (guest) 02 Feb 2011 13:22

Its the winter storm basically. I don't know if you remember me saying in a reply that they were referring to as the Snowalypse. That's what got her really worried. I understand her feeling anxiety about it because I go through it on occasion too. I just wanted to see if I could help her out because like I said she was really scared. She was feeling like yesterday was her last day on earth sort of thing.

DieselHorseLAW 02 Feb 2011 13:45

I know what you mean, when we had the winter storm not long ago in Georgia the anchors were jokingly calling it "snowmageddon". It's just a play on words trying to make themselves look clever. Like I said before, winter storms happen, they have always happened. I was reading the other day where people were talking about winter weather with bad winter storms in the 70's I believe. Anxiety is hard to work through, even with all the facts presented, your mind still goes into the "what if" mode. I know this from personal experience. The best thing to do is try to stay away from things that make you/her anxious. Don't take the play on words so literally, they are just words. Positive thoughts go a long way in helping with anxiety, and so does getting stuff off your chest, so you and her feel free to come back here as much as needed with ya'lls concerns.

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“In all matters of opinion, our adversaries are insane.” - Oscar Wilde

snorks 02 Feb 2011 18:52

Having gone through several of those storms with a brain injury, I can tell you that you live through it. Problem is that the media is really pounding away at this story. As they pound, people get anxious and race out to buy toilet paper and milk so that they can survive. I just came through a storm with no power for two days. It is no fun but you can survive.

What I noticed in Wash. D.C. is everyone panics at the sign of a snow flake. It is contagious and suddenly, all of us want to race out to buy bread and milk. Also, we all just get jittery and scared. Then the local networks ramp up their storm coverage and we are off to the races. My neighbours don't help either since they are constantly out shoveling snow whilst it is still falling.

It is something that you can catch if you are not careful - snow frenzy and the feeling of doom. Especially when you are around other people who are anxious. What I would suggest is to turn off the media, play some soothing games, and plan some fun indoor activities.

Re: need some advice

obaeyens 02 Feb 2011 18:13

Well any storm can be scary, and can get you in trouble if you have bad luck.
But this is part of life. I could make up a whole list of things you can get scared off.
e.g. that an elephant is going to trample me when crossing the street.

Re: need some advice

Alene Y 03 Feb 2011 03:15

Hi Liltabitha,
Although most winters don't have so much snow, many of them do. I have seen many similar snow storms throughout my life. We usually have at least one per decade. It only seems like something new to young people because they haven't paid much attention to the weather before. When they were kids, snow was fun, but it becomes an inconvenience when you're grown and need to get to work or wherever. This storm has covered a larger area than most, but it isn't anything apocalyptic. It's nothing to freak out over. In the winter, it gets cold and we have snow and sleet, the amount varies. Now, if this happened during the summer, I would be concerned.

liltabitha2004 (guest) 03 Feb 2011 03:20

You all have valid points and I apperciate the advice and your thoughts. I just hope that my friend has calmed down from what happened yesterday. I haven't heard from her but hopefully she'll feel a lot better after I share with her what you all have told me. We can't control the news but we can control our thoughts. Thanks again.

Alene Y 03 Feb 2011 03:23

You're welcome. I hope this helps her.

Gary (guest) 25 Mar 2011 19:00

Hi liltabitha. I live in Scotland and barely a day goes by without rain or snow. It rains almost constantly, but during the summer, if we have two or three weeks without it, the local councils start issuing drought warnings! My point is people always make a big deal out of something that is considered "not normal" and the media usually have a ball with it, I suspect because it makes their jobs easier. Hope your friends ok.

liltabitha2004 (guest) 30 Mar 2011 04:56

she is now that everything passed. She got really scared though because it was on all the time, the news reports on it. Though I get why they do it, I still don't really get why they would want to report something like that.

Alene Y 30 Mar 2011 06:16

It's all about ratings. I don't believe they ever give a thought to the idea that they might really frighten some people. I'm glad your friend is better. Hopefully, she will realize after that experience, that we have periods of bad weather. We have always had them and will continue to have them.

Awesome (guest) 25 Mar 2011 16:37

I loved that blizzard , i love snow :D Hope we have a blizzard every year hear in chicago , snow days :D