Tips and Solutions for Chronic Worriers

What is worry?

Worry is the repetitive going over and over in your mind some concerns which you think might be a problem. Sometimes the concern is about some major problem, but more often it is about a trivial event.

Planning versus worrying.

I find it useful, when I’m talking to people who worry a lot, to point out the difference between planning and worrying. Planning involves anticipating negative or problematic outcomes and anticipating solutions for them. Worrying, however, means going over and over the same information without anything additional being added.

Planning is useful but worrying is usually destructive.

Magical thinking.

Often in the mind of the worrier worry seems to be a useful activity. There is an element of magical thinking here. The two commonest things are: –

Someone’s got to do it.

“I’ve got to worry, because no one else is doing it.” The unspoken sort here is that somehow worrying will stop something bad happening.

Prevention.

An extreme example of this is something I often hear when I’m talking to people with a flying phobia. What they say is “if I didn’t worry something bad might happen to the plane.” Or in other words it is their worrying that keeps the plane in the air. I then ask, “Does every plane have an assigned worrier to keep it in the air?”

Remember, planning is useful worrying is not.

Control versus chaos.

At the root of this worrying is a need to have an illusion of control in a chaotic world.

Psychiatry and worry.

Worrying is an essential symptom of Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD). In GAD the worrying is accompanied by physical symptoms of anxiety such as headaches, gastrointestinal upset, sweating, rapid heart rate and so on. The worrying in such cases tends to be persistent and lifelong. Again however, the worrying is usually about everyday concerns.

Another disorder where anxiety is a prominent feature is Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). In this condition however, the anxieties and concerns are not usually about trivial everyday things but issues such as harming other people or germs and cleanliness. In OCD these anxieties are often accompanied by rituals which have the function of magically relieving the anxiety or obsession.

Solutions.

Analyze the situation.

Is this a real problem, or something I am blowing out of all proportion?

Solutions versus problems.

Spend no more than 10% of your time on the problem, but spend 90% of coming up with any solutions.

Remember the serenity prayer.

Give me the courage to change the things that I can change.
Help me accept the things I cannot change
And give me the wisdom to know the difference.

Most people laugh when I tell them this…

However, when they try it they are pleasantly surprised. What I tell people to do is to pick a time of the day which they would designate as their “worry time.” Usually half an hour is enough. When that time comes they are to sit down in a quiet spot and worry for half an hour about all the things that they are concerned about.

At any other time, if they find they are starting to worry about things they should say to themselves, “I will worry about that later.”

Meditation.

Practicing meditation is a very good antidote to worry. Regular meditation seems to calm both mind and body and has a lasting effect.

Psychotherapy.

In cases where anxiety and worry are extensive and crippling then professional help may be required. One form of therapy that has proved to be effective Is Cognitive Behavior Therapy (CBT). Many psychologists are trained in this form of therapy.

Conclusion.

In conclusion, worry is a very common human experience. However it is wearing on body and mind and does not serve any useful purpose. If you make a clear distinction between planning and worrying and resolve to turn any worries into plans for action then you will begin to change your worrying habit.

Good luck,

Doctor Dave.