Ireland: Worrystone

When Sue takes one of her seemingly endless holidays she invariably returns with a "tasteful" present for me.

This is a worrystone from Ireland. These are a very ancient design, originating in Ancient Greece. The idea is that, held between the index finger and thumb, rubbing them is believed to lessen your worries. Massaging it and turning it in the hand uses energy and relieves stress thereby causing relaxation.

I think that in order to de-stress me I would need a much bigger stone; preferably big enough that I could hit the people who are causing me stress over the head with it. Thwack! There, I feel much better already!