The burden of worrying so much can negatively impact your relationships, self-esteem, career, and other aspects of your life. Additionally, worrying can also negatively impact your mental and emotional state, contributing to feelings of anxiety and panic. If you think about how disruptive worrying can be, you may be wondering how you can stop it.
Tips for Reducing Worry
Although worrying may be a natural part of your life, you don't have to let it control your daily activities. Below are some tips for reducing your worrying.
Push Past Procrastination
The focus on your worries instead of taking action to solve your problems can become a form of procrastination. Most people spend most of their time worrying about what they should do instead of actually getting things done. In addition, putting off responsibilities you need to take care of will only add to your worries.
Take steps to avoid procrastination by making a list of all the things that you need to get done. Whenever you worry about another thing you need to take care of, add it to the list. Putting all those anxious thoughts on paper is a great way to relieve anxiety.
Lists can also be helpful for getting you back on track to being more productive. Instead of focusing your attention on what needs to be done, focus instead on checking each item off your list.
Schedule Some Worry Time
The idea of giving your worries attention may seem counterintuitive, but a study has shown that scheduling time for worrying can reduce anxious thoughts and improve sleep quality.
Establish a time in the day when you can dedicate 20 minutes to worrying only. Some people prefer to do this in the morning so that they are free of worries early in the day. Some people prefer to worry in the evening so that all the worries from the day are gone. Regardless of the time of day, the goal is to spend some time thinking about your worrisome thoughts. You will still have worries outside of your scheduled worry time. If they do, acknowledge them briefly, but only give them your full attention during your scheduled worry time.
Making a commitment to rumination sessions may help you gain control over your worrying. You can break the chain of frequent worrying throughout the day by scheduling your worrying time. Furthermore, if you only focus on your worries for a certain amount of time you may notice they aren't as urgent as you once thought, which can help you to concentrate on more productive things.
Talk About It
Sharing your concerns and thoughts with a trusting family member or friend may provide you with some relief. The people closest to you can be a great source of support, offering empathy and understanding. They can also give you great advice, seeing things from another point of view.
Even the most patient of loved ones may not have time to listen to all your worries all the time. If you are a chronic worrier, you may want to seek assistance from a professional dealing with anxiety disorders.
You may find additional resources and social support through your church, group therapy, online support forums, or local support groups.
Start a Journal
Many people with panic disorder and agoraphobia also experience loneliness and isolation. They may not feel connected to anyone who can talk to them about their worries and problems. If you're having trouble figuring out how to deal with your inner thoughts, feelings, and emotions, a journal could be helpful.
The act of journal writing helps you to gain insight into your inner self. By writing in a journal, you can process your difficult emotions, find solutions to your problems, and change your perceptions and worries.
A simple way to start journaling is to set aside some time every day to write down your inner thoughts. Focus on addressing each of your worries. Write them out as they arise, allowing yourself to fully express how you feel.
Change Your Thinking Pattern
The negative thinking pattern of worrying can contribute to anxiety symptoms. Negative thinking is typically a learned habit, which can impact your mood and anxiety. Since negative thinking occurs over time, it can be unlearned and replaced by more positive views.
In order to change your worries and other negative thoughts, you must recognize them, evaluate them, and replace them. First, you should recognize how often you worry throughout the day. You may want to even record these thoughts on paper as they occur.
Next, try to see your worries or negative thoughts from another angle. Examine your worries and see if they are realistic. As an example, if you worry that others won't accept you because of your anxiety, ask yourself if this is necessarily true. Do people only accept those who are perfectly perfect? Do you really want to be friends with someone who won't accept you for who you are?
Last, replace these negative thoughts and worries with a more realistic outlook. For example, you may begin to think to yourself that not everyone will accept that you are an anxious person, but you are working on your condition and accepting yourself for who you are.
You can use these tips the next time you are faced with worry. They are designed to help you release stress and let go of worry-filled thoughts.
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