Mental Health - ANXIETY - How-to-stop-worrying.-Create-a-Worry-Period

How to stop worrying. Create a Worry Period

It is tough to be productive in your daily life when anxiety and worry are dominating your thoughts. But what can you do? If you are like many chronic worriers, your anxious thoughts feel uncontrollable. You have tried lots of things, from distracting yourself, reasoning with your worries, and trying to think positive, but nothing seems to work.

Why trying to stop anxious thoughts does not work

Telling yourself to stop worrying does not work—at least not for long. You can distract yourself or suppress anxious thoughts for a moment, but you can not banish them for good. In fact, trying to do so often makes them stronger and more persistent.

You can test this out for yourself. Close your eyes and picture a pink elephant. Once you can see the pink elephant in your mind, stop thinking about it. Whatever you do, for the next five minutes, do not think about pink elephants!

How did you do? Did thoughts of pink elephants keep popping in your brain?

“Thought stopping” backfires because it forces you to pay extra attention to the very thought you want to avoid. You always have to be watching for it, and this very emphasis makes it seem even more important.

But that does not mean there is nothing you can do to control your worry. You just need to try a different approach. This is where the strategy of postponing worrying comes in. Rather than trying to stop or get rid of an anxious thought, give yourself permission to have it, but put off thinking any more about it until later.

Learning to postpone worrying:

Create a “worry period.” Choose a set time and place for worrying. It should be the same every day (e.g. in the living room from 5:00 to 5:20 p.m.) and early enough that it will not make you anxious right before bedtime. During your worry period, you are allowed to worry about whatever’s on your mind. The rest of the day, however, is a worry-free zone.
Postpone your worry. If an anxious thought or worry comes into your head during the day, make a brief note of it on paper and postpone it to your worry period. Remind yourself that you will have time to think about it later, so there is no need to worry about it right now. Save it for later and continue to go about your day.
Go over your “worry list” during the worry period. Reflect on the worries you wrote down during the day. If the thoughts are still bothering you, allow yourself to worry about them, but only for the amount of time you have specified for your worry period. If the worries don not seem important any more, cut your worry period short and enjoy the rest of your day.

Postponing worrying is effective because it breaks the habit of dwelling on worries in the present moment. Yet there is no struggle to suppress the thought or judge it. You simply save it for later. As you develop the ability to postpone your anxious thoughts, you will start to realize that you have more control over your worrying than you think.

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Quotes

"I was just always panicking. Every time I did anything I was thinking "what happens if this ends in total disaster?""

Neville

"As my symptoms got worse and my panic attacks more frequent, I became frustrated, withdrawn, and depressed. Before it was all over it nearly cost me my job, my marriage, my friends, and my sanity."

Bill Burniece

"I remember getting so nervous that I would have to leave class and go to the counselor’s office."

Stacy Gregg

"Feeling intense shame and a nagging fear that people would think my attacks were all in my head, I decided to hide my symptoms from even my closest friends and family."

Holly Kammier

"I still felt horrible and had intrusive thoughts often, but I would always play with them in my head by changing them into funny scenes."

Linda

"The worst part was I never knew when or where the next panic attack would occur."

Bill Burniece

"One thing I have learned about anxiety is that if you aren’t vigilant it will take over your life."

Korol

"The rewards of trying, whether I succeed or not, are always better than letting my worries run my life."

Janine

"I find that some of my anxiety is very "situational". In those situations I have to keep mentally calm and try to stop my mind running away with itself."

Mirty

"Don't want to go to bed because I don't want to get up."

Rachael

"My anxiety and voices makes it impossible for me to stand university. I tried going to real uni and had to go to the online program because I couldn't stand it."

Niniane

"I tried relying on medication alone to battle my anxiety and that did not work. I had to get to the heart of the matter and then work through it."

Raina

"At the root of my anxiety was a lot of fear because of unresolved issues from my past so i had to address them."

Raina

"I just want to be open and active, and not care what people think, but it seems like the more I try, the more I end up failing."

Anonymous

"Weird breathing as if I am breathing but something is restricting the oxygen, it never feels like my brain is refreshed or an ice cold blast to my chest."

Chris

"It is the trouble that never comes that causes the loss of sleep."

Austin

"I was wondering, though, does anyone relate to me, or understand me, when I say sometimes I just worry that this is me. That my dark times, my worries, my anxious feelings, my low moods, is all just me, that is just part of life, and so there is nothing t"

Harry

"It can get better and I also had a few good, relatively anxiety free years."

Annie

"Accept that illness makes your anxiety worse and that once you are feeling better you will continue along the path to recovery."

Jane

"I’m in a bad place at the moment, and although I don’t believe things will ever change, they will. Nothing stays the same forever."

David

"Talking is very important, it takes so much pressure away even if it doesn’t feel like at first."

Anonymous

"I try to relax and not worry about these things, but sometimes the anxiety can become overwhelming and I end up losing the plot."

Matt

"I think I've had the opposite thing with work, as generally it gives me something else to think about other than anxiety. I'm much worse if I have nothing to do."

Albert

"I find work makes my anxiety worse in a couple of ways. Firstly, because when I'm at work I am away from my home which is "safe" and I feel scared that something bad may happen."

Robert

"I get into a job and for the first few months its fine, then I start getting very anxious - usually about colleagues so want to move on and see if it's better elsewhere."

Mary

"Respect us for coping with such a difficult and life changing experience. Learn from us."

"Learning to accept who we are is the first step to recovery, trying to rid ourselves of discomfort and distress only serves to increase it."

Megan

"Anxiety never stops you doing anything. That is always your choice! I chose to live my life and take it with me."

Willy

"A lot of anxiety and fear is down to habits and beliefs, thankfully these can be changed, a new attitude and outlook is key."

Peter

"When you do something new and you did not feel too great, see it as a victory that you did it and not a failure that it didn't go too well."

Antonio

"Each time you refuse to do something, your mind and body will get used to the situation and your reactions will weaken. If you want your life back you have to live it!"

Anonymous

"With anxiety we have far more imaginary worries than real ones."

Ron

"If anxiety tried to stop me doing something, I would do it even more to show it who was in charge."

Gemma

"Don’t keep endlessly looking for a cure to your anxiety, create one by no longer letting it rule what you do and don’t do."

Anonymous

"Sometimes, anxiety is like quicksand, the harder we struggle to escape, the deeper we sink."

Rose Mary

"The thing about anxiety is, it can take on a life of its own. Everything becomes a potential crisis. The unthinkable has happened. So around every corner, there's the next possible disaster."

Linda Andrews, MD

"If it's not one thing, it's another. You're procrastinating to the point that you're almost afraid to take a step. You're so nervous about going to your child's school to talk to the teacher, you just don't go -- you miss the appointment."

Ross

"Separate out the real risks and dangers that a situation presents and those your imagination is making worse"

Ross

"You may be on autopilot for several weeks. If you're depressed, that can complicate things. In the case of divorce, it may take months to years to really get back to yourself."

Ross

"If you're doing well in one aspect of your life -- in your work or your relationships -- you're probably on your way. Fear and anxiety are no longer running your life."

Ross

"Many people have a sense of impending disaster, and think they're going to faint, lose control or even die. You need to tell yourself that this is not going to happen and the symptoms you're experiencing are caused by anxiety"

Prof Paul Salkovskis

"The difficulty comes in learning to tone down that automatic response -- to think, 'How serious is the danger? How likely is the threat?"

Linda Andrews, MD

"The most important thing: to realize when you've done everything you can, that you need to move forward"

Ross

"When things are bad, there is a legitimate reason to feel bad. But if you don't deal with it, you're going to lose more than just a job"

Linda Andrews, MD

"After all the emotional trauma, friends lost, relationships ruined, job lost, and not finishing my degree, I decided I never wanted to go through anything like that again"

Amanda

"No one should have to feel shamed for a biochemical imbalance of any sort."

Amanda

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More Tips & Hints

How to stop worrying. Create a Worry Period

Why trying to stop anxious thoughts does not work

Learning to postpone worrying:

Downloads

Web Resources

Quotes

Tips & Hints

Remember: There is no miracle cure

Enjoy nature

The importance of exercise

Breathing is the key

What does sitting do to your internal organs and anxiety levels?

Talking therapies

Seek help

Think Positive

Positive affirmations

Stay busy

Set a goal

Talk your anxiety

Doing exercise

Find reasons to laugh

Courage is not the absence of fear

Relaxation

Positive words

Turn off the TV

Anxiety will grow if it's not directed into some positive action

Feelings and emotions fuel and strengthen anxiety

Slow down

Choose low GI foods

Increase your vitamin B intake

Plan to take part in a pleasant activity each day

Exaggerate your greatest fear

Distract yourself

Write twin letters

Sweat

Break the day into minutes

Use visual anchors

Tell yourself you are a confident and worthy person

Practice Public Speaking in front of a mirror

Medication

Confront Your Fear

Triggers

Make notes

Spend some time with horses

Channel it

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