Worrying can be helpful when it spurs you to take
action and solve a problem. But if you’re preoccupied with “what ifs” and
worst-case scenarios, worry becomes a problem. Unrelenting doubts and fears can
be paralyzing. They can sap your emotional energy, send your anxiety levels
soaring, and interfere with your daily life. But chronic worrying is a mental
habit that can be broken. You can train your brain to stay calm and look at
life from a more positive perspective.
Constant worrying takes a heavy toll. It keeps you up at night and makes
you tense and edgy during the day. You hate feeling like a nervous wreck. So
why is it so difficult to stop worrying?
For most chronic worriers, the anxious thoughts are fueled by the beliefs—both
negative and positive—they hold about worrying.
On the negative side, you may believe that your constant worrying is
harmful, that it’s going to drive you crazy or affect your physical health. Or
you may worry that you’re going to lose all control over your worrying—that it
will take over and never stop.
On the positive side, you may believe that your worrying helps you avoid
bad things, prevents problems, prepares you for the worst, or leads to
solutions.
Negative beliefs, or worrying about worrying, add to your anxiety and keep
worry going. But positive beliefs about worrying can be just as damaging. It’s
tough to break the worry habit if you believe that your worrying protects you.
In order to stop worry and anxiety for good, you must give up your belief that
worrying serves a positive purpose. Once you realize that worrying is the
problem, not the solution, you can regain control of your worried mind.
Why you keep worrying
You have mixed feelings about your worries. On one hand, your worries are
bothering you—you can't sleep, and you can't get these pessimistic thoughts out
of your head. But there is a way that these worries make sense to you. For
example, you think:
§
Maybe I'll find a solution.
§
I don't want to overlook anything.
§
If I keep thinking a little longer, maybe I'll figure
it out.
§
I don't want to be surprised.
§
I want to be responsible.
You have a hard time giving up on your worries because, in a sense, your
worries have been working for you.
Source: The Worry Cure: Seven Steps to Stop
Worry from Stopping You by Robert L. Leahy, Ph.D.
Δεν υπάρχουν σχόλια:
Δημοσίευση σχολίου