Feeling worried? You’re not the only one.
Research shows that over 50% of Americans feel extremely worried, particularly about inflation.
Over-worrying can make you feel stressed and anxious, but there are possible solutions to this problem. Let’s examine how you can stop worrying so much.
Create a Period for Worrying
A helpful way to overcome chronic worrying is to create a period for reflecting on what you’re worried about.
Choose the same place and time for your worrying period each day. For instance, you might choose 8:00 a.m. to 8:20 a.m. in your living room as your daily worrying time and place.
During this period, you can think about anything you feel unsettled about. Feel free to write down your anxious thoughts, too. This will give you an outlet for expressing your worrisome thoughts.
Then, challenge each of your anxious thoughts. Ask yourself if there is a more realistic and positive way of viewing the situation.
Also, ask yourself, “How likely is my worst-case scenario to happen?” If it’s unlikely to happen, think about some more probable outcomes. This will help your scary thoughts become not so scary.
Then, treat the remainder of your day as your worry-free period. As your worries subside, consider shortening your daily worrying period.
Interrupt Your Worry Cycle
Another way to move from worrier to warrior is to interrupt your negative, worrisome thoughts by exercising, meditating, and practicing muscle relaxation.
Exercise is an effective and natural treatment for anxiety, as it releases feel-good hormones called endorphins. These relieve stress and tension.
Tai chi and yoga can also help you stop worrying by forcing you to focus on your breathing and movements.
Meditation is additionally effective because it can help you switch your focus. Instead of concentrating on the past or future, you can focus on what is currently happening.
Keep in mind you don’t have to cross your legs, chant, or light candles when meditating. Just find a comfortable, quiet place to meditate. Playing slower-tempo music, preferably music without lyrics, may further help you slow down your mind.
Practicing muscle relaxation can further help you overcome worrying by relaxing your body and helping your mind to follow suit. To relax your muscles, alternately tense and release various muscle groups to relieve muscle tension throughout your body.
How We Can Help You Stop Worrying
You can stop worrying by carving out a time and place to worry, then treating the rest of your day as a no-worrying period. In addition, exercise, meditate, and practice muscle relaxation to reduce anxiety symptoms.
At Honor Your Emotions, we take pride in offering individual counseling for children, teens, families, groups, and couples. We can help you overcome the cycle of worrying and experience a greater quality of life long term.
Get in touch with us to learn more about our counseling services, and schedule an appointment with a therapist today!
