Why We Worry, And When It Takes Over
Most of us worry about things from time to time, whether it’s about someone we love, something we might have forgotten to do, a big project at work or school, etc. A little worrying can be perfectly normal. However, the problem arises when we worry too much. Worrying and anxiety are extremely closely related, and when worrying begins to take over our thoughts, it can lead to big problems in the way we get through our daily routines.
Do you regularly feel exhausted, both physically and mentally? Do you feel anxious? Paranoid? Or, maybe even trapped? These are all common feelings that arise when we let worry take over our thinking, and it can become crippling to our day to day activities, and the contentment of our lives. Sometimes, we can even begin to define ourselves by our worrying, which is a clear sign that it has gotten out of hand, and could even be detrimental to your health.
How To Deal With Worrying
Unfortunately, the society we live in is busier and louder than ever, and people tend to have more responsibilities than ever before, offering a practically perfect environment for worrying. However, because worrying itself has become so prominent in our culture, medical research has taken more steps than ever to fight back against chronic worrying.
Try a few of the following tips and tricks to help fight back against the worries in your life. When you know how to harness them, you can start to reduce the impact they have on how you live your life.
1. List your worries – Write down an extensive list of everything you’re worried about, even the ‘small’ stuff. Once it’s all in front of you, and you can clearly see it, it may not seem as large and overwhelming.
2. Make your worries boring – This may seem silly at first, but worries typically are related to fear, so the idea here is to make the fear less scary, by making it boring. For example, if you’re worried about flying, repeat to yourself: “Flying is dangerous. Flying is dangerous.” Once you’ve accepted the fact that you’re scared of something, and repeat it to yourself over and over, it becomes far less intimidating.
3. Talk about it – Whether you talk with a friend, family member, or therapist, speaking about your worries and fears out loud can help you to move past them. This will help you get to the overall root of the issue, and potentially get rid of the worry for good!
Worrying isn’t something we should let take over our lives for any reason. We may be living in a busy world, but worry itself doesn’t belong in our everyday thoughts. If you experience chronic worry, and it’s affecting your life negatively, try taking steps forward to fighting back against it, and getting the help you need to overcome it.
Alice Shepard of Mirielle Therapy has been a therapist for over ten years. She specializes in mother-daughter relationships at her private practice in New York City.