Anxiety

Dragons and humans all experience anxiety over making decisions, consequences, the future, and assorted challenges they face. Dragons shift their feet, clenching their 2 opposable toes and the forward ones. They click their talons or nails, they make noises to show their discomfort with a circumstance or activity, even a topic under discussion. Humans have a different list of symptoms with raking or tugging their hair, sweaty palms, shifting their feet, and being antsy. It all amounts to the same thing.

Of course I have at least two characters more prone to anxiety, one is human, the other is a dragon. But that anxiety the characters feel whether large or small is what pushes them to make changes. Some of those changes are small, some are huge. Fortunately for my characters they have a clan, mates, people they trust to tell them when their fears are justified, and reasonable and when what they need is a distraction.

Anxiety is a huge part of the human experience, and the dragon make-up. Being able to anticipate and look forward in time is a product of our intelligence. It comes with a price as we spend energy on tomorrow that we might need today. In extreme cases it freezes people so they cannot make decision and it makes them feel isolated and alone. In the Combined Territories when that happens to one of my characters, there are plenty of people willing to lend a hand in distracting them. Allowing them to refocus on something else.

The list of distractions varies, but here are a few. Move around, cook, bake, clean, walk, fly, run, chop wood, whatever you do, do not stand still. Find a friend and talk about something else, anything else, but the funnier it is the better. Lots of people know that laughter and anxiety cannot fill the brain at the same time. Play a game with a friend and try not to lose. That is always a great distraction. Get involved in someone else’s problems. Listening to others and helping them can definitely make a dragon feel better. You can always build something. Take on some project or finish a half started one and work on it until it is complete. Your brain will work in the background on whatever you are worried about and sort things out.

My personal favorite is listen to or read a story. Yep, read to a happy place. Have a great day!