Jury is still out on Mayan calendar predictions but what about Mayan worry dolls?

WORRY dolls are an arguably ingenious idea. Created by the Ancient Mayans and replicated by multiple Central American cultures, the idea is that you tell the worry doll your problems, place it under your pillow and the doll will take your problems away or deal with them for you while you sleep.


Guatemalans, Peruvians and Mexicans (to name a few) might be onto something with these inexpensive, simple creations. A study into “emotional closure” by Xiuping Li and her colleagues at Singapore's National University found that metaphorically dealing with issues like regret and distress can actually alleviate the issue at hand.


In their research they asked respondents to write down a regret they needed “emotional closure” from and place the note in an envelope. Half the group then sealed their envelope, the other half didn’t. Those who sealed their envelope afterwards reported they felt far less negative about the regret. Li and associates conclusion: expressing an issue, then sealing it puts the troubles metaphorically “out of reach” and enables a higher level of emotional healing than simply expressing the issue.


What does this mean for the worry doll? Worry dolls are commonly given with a box or bag that they are to be put into before being placed under one’s pillow. If we believe even a speck of Li’s study, then by telling the worry doll your issue and then sealing it up, you are likely to achieve some emotional healing, albeit sub-consciously.


Cultures who believe in worry dolls give children a worry doll at a young age, to help them through life from their earliest awareness’s. Today worry dolls are often used in child therapy, specifically hospitals.


The Child Life Therapists at Westmead Children's Hospital in New South Wales use worry dolls as a form of expressive art therapy to help children deal with the stresses of their ailments and hospital life.


UC Davis Medical Centre, in Sacramento California, run a Healing and Performing Arts program for children with cancer. Art (including worry dolls) is used to help the children express their feelings and emotions about their cancer journey.
Grade 7 Languages students at Thurmont Middle School in Maryland America learnt about determination, having a purpose and helping someone in need by making worry dolls and donating them to children at local hospitals. The students learnt about worry dolls in Guatemalan culture as a way to address the issue of health, specifically the fears of children while in hospital. The outcome was to help comfort the hospitalised children and increase their chances of improved health.


Western psychologists often use worry dolls (or “worry warriors” in psycho-babble) as a creative way to teach coping skills for grief, anxiety and stress in children.


There is also a multitude of worry dolls designed specifically for adults. A quick check on EBay and you will worry dolls for work, marriage, love, travel, you name it!


So if you know someone who is not dealing with life’s obstacles very well, and missing sleep because of it; forget flowers, chocolates and alcohol and get them a worry doll. Actually, make a hamper containing flowers, chocolates, alcohol and a worry doll: you can never be too prepared.


Do you believe in worry dolls?

The charity challenge: help a stranger

AUSTRALIANS and New Zealanders are renowned as the most charitable nations in the world. This was proven when the Charitable Aid Foundation (CAF) conducted an investigation into charitable nations, September 2010.

Using the Gallup World View World Poll for their investigation, the CAF found that, compared to 151 other countries, Aussies and Kiwis are (equally) the most charitable with both their money and their time. What might surprise you, however, is that the survey was not restricted to donations or volunteered time to charity/aid organisations. The survey also considered how many people had helped a stranger in need.

Remember the movie Pay it Forward? It is the story of a young boy who attempts to make the world a better place, one good deed at a time. The brilliance of this movie is the fact that it could work.

Believers of the “Six degrees of separation” theory or karma would argue that by engaging in one good deed, you will soon be rewarded with help from a stranger yourself. What have we got to lose?

A friend of mine once gave some international visitors the $2.50 they were short at Woolworths. She was lined up behind them and said that besides the fact that it was only small change, she wanted to prove a point to the woman behind her who was huffing and puffing "hurry up."

"I know how confusing money can be in different countries so I just wanted to help them out a little and give them a nice story to tell about Aussie kindness when they got home.  Can you believe the cow behind me sniggered at me when I did it! The incident was more embarrassing for her than the visitors I think."

Another friend of mine paid for an elderly lady's haircut one Sunday after he heard the staff tell her that seniors' concessions would not be honoured  due to increased cost of labour that day. He told me,

"I wish I could have stayed to watch her face when they told her."

Finally, a third friend recently received much praise on Facebook after posting her kind act of the day as her status. A little old lady had withdrawn a large sum of money at an ATM, then walked away without it. So this friend grabbed it and ran after her to give it back.

Whether it be an act of human decency, a kind gesture to make someone smile, or helping someone in need, when is the last time you did something selfless for someone you didn't/don't know? Imagine if we all went out and completed a random act of kindness. It may not make the world a better place but it just might make someone's day. What harm can it do?

Share your stories of random acts of kindness below, whether you were the giver or the receiever. Let's celebrate that there are still good people out there in the world.