How can I stop worrying?
Everyone experiences worry, it is a normal part of life but ongoing worry and anxiety can affect the whole of your wellbeing. You may not sleep so well, have lower immunity, feel tension and pain in your muscles, and generally be at higher risk of health conditions. That is not something to add to your worry but hopefully will motivate you to try to reduce your worry.
Worrying can become a pattern of thinking – always thinking the worst, focussing on the negatives, making generalizations, labelling yourself and others.
You can’t stop worrying by simply trying. In fact, in can make you more anxious – worrying about your worrying! There are positive steps you can take:
- Exercise – improves your wellbeing, relieves stress and tension, interrupts your thoughts
- Deep breathing – helps to calm your mind and relax your body
- Relaxation – take time out of your day to relax even if it is just for 5 minutes it can make a difference
- Talk to someone about your worries
- Set a worry time when you can spend a set amount of time thinking through your worries and perhaps considering solutions where appropriate. You might choose to write down your worries. Challenge your thinking – is it really true? Could you look at the situation differently? What would you advise a friend?
- Reduce your time on social media and email – regain control over your time
- Distinguish between worries over situations you can control and those you can’t – accept the situations you can’t change, be content with uncertainty.
Hopefully these tips will give you some techniques to reduce your worries. It takes time and practice but making a few changes can make all the difference to your well-being.