The Mushroom Syndrome
A note on stress and worry
Hello All and Happy Monday!
Today I wanted to share an anecdote that I love and hope it may be of some use to you… it’s all about stress and worry.
There was a time in my life where I was just riddled with stress. There was always something to worry and stress over. This overwhelmed me. It made me feel as though “I can’t win” or I couldn’t “catch a break”.
Ultimately, it made me extremely unhappy, I was in a fight/flight state and as a result, I isolated myself from everyone. It was as though I didn’t want to expose myself to more anxiety-inducing circumstances.
Then I heard about the mushroom syndrome from Steve Peters’ Chimp Paradox:
When you grow mushrooms, they compete for available space.
One will try to take over the bunch and becomes the largest mushroom.
When it takes over, you pick it and another fills the gap.
There is always a mushroom ready to fill the gap…
Just like I always found something to worry about.
And some people never get out of this state.
It’s an exhausting one to be in… but here’s what you need to do:
Replace your mushrooms or anxious growing thoughts with these beliefs/ reminders.
• All humans live with concerns but not everyone lets their worries take over
• Most worries are trivial and take care of themselves in the end
• Relaxing is a powerful worry remover
You can also try to keep track of your anxieties by writing them all down on paper then burning or getting rid of the list.
Even better, write them down into two categories:
The worries I have that I can control: then find an action plan to change it
The worries I have that I can’t control: Likelihood is, most of your mushrooms are out of your control… in this case, you need to let it go. If there’s no solution to a problem, then it’s not a problem to begin with.
This all may sound trivial, but I have witnessed many people feeling utterly paralysed by overgrown mushrooms to the extent where it completely stunts their communication skills.
Mushrooms have grown about concerns if they do but also if they do not address “x” for example, putting themselves in a lose-lose situation causing them to just shrink away…
This tension literally holds itself in your body and voice.
Are there any mushrooms competing for space that you can let go of this week? See if the above tips/tricks can help.
See you next week,
M x