Why Does Worry Make Things Worse?

The standard reply to this question is that the more you are in your head, the more likely things will go wrong. In addition, “conventional” wisdom states that because you are paying too much attention to your own thoughts, that you ignore the world around you. So people who give this advice are likely to recommend that you get rid of your worry entirely, as it is detrimental to your mental health.

However, it’s not about eliminating the worry…it’s about having the right amount of worry. Worry is adaptive, as it helps you to solve problems. Worry also helps as it makes our problems transportable, where you can think about your problems at your convenience. So this is ideal worry that is adaptive and helps you to work out problems.

But excessive worry is problematic as it can take over your life. Rather than seeing worry as a benefit, you have excessive worry and see it as a curse. As such, you have let this thing control you, rather than utilizing it for your benefit to solve problems.

Don’t aim to get rid of the worry…aim to control it for your benefit. Worry is a natural, adaptive reaction of humans to solve challenging problems. Don’t heed advise that suggests you get rid of the worry. You need healthy amounts of it for problem solving.

If you want help on how to control your worry for your benefit, see the following flowchart:

So if you can do something about the worry, then you ask yourself if you can do an action plan now to address the worry. If not, then you schedule it, then let the worry go, then change your focus of attention. If you follow this flow chart, it helps you the take action, and it helps you to eventually let the worry go and change your focus.

For more information and help on worry, anxiety, and stress, please visit the rest of AnxietyBoss.com.

photo credit: Facial expression at a protest in response to the Philando Castile shooting via photopin (license)