"Should I be worried?"

[Jacob]

I've never really thought much about it, but actually one of the questions I hear most is "Should I be worried?" and at second glance I actually do find it a bit odd!

I can see, the part of the question which is asking 'In your opinion is everything ok?' but I honestly can't think of any situation where the answer would be yes... being worried just seems to me just an unpleasant anxiety, which sometimes happens, and which can't always be helped, but it's not a thing we ever "should" experience, as a matter of responsibility. I feel like in an ideal world, we would aim to be totally unworried, at the same time as taking all the actions we can to deal with problems out of optimism rather than fear.

Where do people think "should I be worried" comes from?

[Demigoddess]

I think, more than anything, people ask that question when they want reassurance that everything IS okay! Or that, at least to me, seems like the most common use!

Other than that, I also see people using that phrase to ask for an outside opinion, being that sometimes when you're in a situation and you're scared/stressed/anxious, it can be better to get an outside perspective. It tends to be less biased, at least!

[Heather]

I also have sometimes wondered if a piece of this isn't about the idea that sex is something people SHOULD be worried or feel conflicted about. In other words, that if and when someone feels just fine, isn't worried, they must be missing something because they have the idea that sex is something people literally should have hard or unpleasant feelings about.

Just a thought I'm tossing into the pile.