Characters – Joanna

Joanna is a worrier. Think of anything that could go wrong and she’s already thought of it and is afraid it will happen.
I used to think that when you are worried about something that the best thing you can do is to think about the worst case scenario. Will you die? Will the earth end as we know it?… In most cases the worst case scenario is not the end of the world. So whatever really happens in regards to what you are worrying about becomes not as worrisome. For example, I’m worried about a test I’m going to take; do I know all of the information, will I pass, what if I freeze up during the test! What’s the worse case scenario? I don’t pass the test and will have to do something to make up for the poor grade (an extra credit project, higher grades on all the other tests, take the course over again). All in all the choices are livable with. I won’t die, become homeless, be forced to be a school bus driver (that is a big fear of mine).
Back to Joanna: Even if I do make those suggestions to her, she convinces herself that the worst possible thing will happen. The idea of thinking about possible worst case scenarios should not even be suggested to her, because she will then worry more. This does make it difficult to talk to her. Every time you bring up a topic that has potential hazards she begins to worry if it will ever happen to her.
“Joanna, did you hear about Bryan, he broke his foot tripping down the stairs.”
“Do you think I will ever break my foot?”
“It’s possible, I can’t guarantee you won’t, people break things all the time.”
“Does that mean I’ll break my foot?”
You can see where this conversation is going. Forget any sleep tonight for Joanna, all she will think about is how and when she is going to break her foot.
The biggest problem in conversing with Joanna is trying to think ahead and determine what you can or cannot say to her that might trigger a worry. There’s really no good answer for this one since it’s never what you expect.