Have you ever wished you could stop worrying now? If you have, you are not alone. Every day, millions of people find themselves worrying and are not able to stop. Tips to stop the endless cycle of worry that often feels consuming can help you finally find some relief.
Stop Worrying Now
When you are feeling anxious or stressed it seems like endless worries keep entering your mind. You worry about money, your job, the kids, the dog, what to have for dinner, a nuclear attack, getting into an accident, not being able to sleep, and the list goes on and on. You are living your life drowning in worry. You are living in a world of what-ifs, it-coulds and if-onlys.
Worry is being preoccupied with bad events that could happen or did happen. It robs you of your energy and creates emotional stress. It is normal to worry sometimes, everyone does. Whether you are a constant worrier or find yourself worrying about things occasionally, the following tips will help you learn to stop worrying.
Write Down Your Worries
- Get out a notebook or a piece of paper and make a list of all the things you worry about. Include everything, from the biggest concern to the tiniest one, taking as much time as you need to do this.
- Read over your list of worries and think about each one. Focus on one at a time and think about what would happen if the worry actually happened. What would you do? How would you react? What would the consequences of the worry be?
- Thinking about ways to handle the results of the worry makes you realize that if a worry should occur you could handle it.
- Write down a worry that is very bothersome to you. Write the possible outcomes to the worry. Focus on the possible positive outcomes and write them down exaggerating the positive aspects of the possible outcomes. Doing this helps to diminish your thoughts about the worry.
More Tips
- Determine which worries are beyond your control. Come to terms with the fact that there is not anything you can do about those worries. When the troubling thoughts come into your mind, remember they are out of your control and think about the worry and its outcome in a different way.
- Learn to recognize when you start to fall into the cycle. Catching your worrying right away makes it easier to stop. Firmly tell yourself you are not going to fret.
- Change the channel in your mind. If you start worrying about something, change the subject in your mind. Focus on something in your immediate area, such as the beauty of a nearby flower, the movement of the clouds or the feel of your pet's fur. Other ways of distracting yourself from your worries are talking a walk visualizing mentally clearing your mind or talking to a close friend.
- Live in the present.
- Work on learning to accept the fact that worry does not prevent things from happening. Worrying about your car braking down will not prevent it from happening.
- Stop dwelling on the negative possibilities and focus on the positive ones. Once you learn to think about the enjoyable aspects of things, you will not have the time to fret about them.
- Put worry time on your schedule and cancel or reschedule it if you do not feel like worrying.
- Stop thinking about what other people think or say about you. Stop comparing yourself to others and work on developing self confidence.
- Learn positive procrastination. Learn to put off your concerns until sometime later, whenever that may be.
When to Seek Professional Help
If you find yourself unable to deal with your everyday activities because worry has taken over your life, seek professional help. Talking to someone about how your worrying is stopping you from dealing with your day to day activities, may be the help you need relieve your anxiety and stop worrying now.
