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| Another view of the debris of broken houses, showing the power of the Humber River during Hurricane Hazel. (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Just
sitting here waiting for Hurricane Sandy to come barrelling through Niagara.
Am I
worried?
Are you
kidding?
I still haven't recovered from
Hurricane Hazel.
And since
1954 I've had lots of time to worry about other things, i.e., nuclear
holocaust, botulism, swine flu, bird
flu, anthrax, hornets, mercury poisoning, high blood pressure, wild mushrooms, electrocution,
terrorists, cancer, the return of TB, the return of SARS, plane crashes, Stephen Harper, global warming,
rabid raccoons and head lice.
But I try
to keep a lid on it.
If you met
me, you might not realize what a seething cauldron of anxiety I am behind this
calm-ish exterior.
Recently I
learned that is all because the amygdala.
Your
amygdala is the part of your brain that sends warnings to you when danger is close.
For example during the Zombie Apocalypse it will say, "Lock your door!"
And interestingly
enough, according to the book I'm reading, a person's tendency to be neurotic
is inherited, which for me is a huge relief that it isn't just something that I
developed on my own.
The book is
called Quirk, Brain Science Makes Sense of Your Peculiar Personality by Hannah Holmes.
(It is quite funny, the author herself being
an anxious neurotic. She believes there is an evolutionary reason why some people have worry genes and some don't.)
Anyway, today
while I wait for the water of Lake Ontario to rise and sweep St. Catharines into Hudson's Bay, I'm going to be curled up on the couch reading Quirk, secure in the knowledge
that I'm not the only one wearing a bathing suit.
6 comments:
Lol, this was hilarious! I was talking to my Mom earlier (she's in Brantford) and she mentioned that they were going to park their car on the street (away from a worrisome neighbor's old tree) - I hadn't realized that Ontario was very possibly going to be affected by high winds. Hang onto your hat :) That book sounds extremely interesting.
oh Francie, just here hoping you will be ok.
I love this post, Francie! You always make me laugh out loud :) The high winds are just getting started here, and we are expecting tons of rain, but, apparently, nothing we haven't seen before. Or so they say. We shall see. Some of my neighbours have boats, so if Lake Ontario should reach us, perhaps they'll take pity on us and we'll get onboard.
Anyhow, stay safe. Warm. And optimistic. May as well. Because it's not quite over yet. The zombie apocalypse is coming up, you know. Might as well save the energy required for that amount of hysterics for then.
I think I read somewhere that the amygdala is the size of an almond. All that fuss and bother coming from such a little thing! Stay safe, warm and dry, Francie!
Oh, you are not alone in your quirkiness my dear friend!
One of your best!
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