Worry

What is worrying?

 

Worrying is an extremely common reaction to stressful situations. Psychologists define worry as thinking about potential negative future situations so frequently that one finds it difficult to stop thinking about these situations once they come up. Worrying is a natural reaction to situations that make us anxious. Our minds are trying to plan and prepare for situations that could turn out badly. However, because worrying uses so much of our brain’s thinking time, worrying is often associated with feeling easily fatigued, irritability, muscle tightness, and difficulties sleeping.

 

What’s the difference between worry and anxiety?

 

Anxiety is an emotion that people feel when they think that something harmful might happen to them in the future. Anxiety itself is not a bad thing!! We feel anxious because it helps signal to us that something dangerous might happen and that we should do something to prepare for that danger. For example, if we feel anxious about an exam going poorly, our feeling of anxiety can motivate us to study and eventually earn a good grade. Similarly, if we are worried about catching COVID-19, anxiety can help motivate us to follow appropriate guidelines like wearing a mask and washing our hands to keep us from getting sick. These are helpful responses to anxiety, as they involve planning, problem solving, and other active coping strategies.

 

However, anxiety can also motivate unhelpful reactions to stressful situations, and psychologists think of worry as one of these unhelpful reactions. Worrying (as it’s defined above) happens when people think over and over about the same potentially negative situation without being able to stop. People start to worry because they think that spending more time thinking about a situation will help them be more prepared, but in reality, such repetitive thinking is only wearing them out and adding to their problems. For example, someone who is feeling anxious about an exam might worry and spend all night just thinking about how horrible it would be to fail. This worry would make them feel very bad and only distract them from studying. We want to help reduce the amount of time people spend worrying.

 

Switching from worrying to more helpful responses to anxiety

 

When we feel anxious, worries can distract us from important tasks, fill up our head space, and make us feel like these situations are overwhelming. When we hit that moment - the moment when worry has taken control - we can use specific tools to help manage our worries and "take back the reins" from our anxiety. Below, we have collected a few techniques to help you notice and manage worrying. The key skills these these techniques will help you develop are

 

• Be mindful of what you’re thinking about

• Notice when you’re worrying (an unhelpful response to stress) rather than a more helpful response

• Shift from worrying to a different response (e.g., reappraisal, problem solving, or focusing on other things until you are in your designated “worry time”)

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