Strategies to manage/counteract worrying:
Worry affects all of us although some of us seem to be more prone to worrying and others. Most worrying is counter-productive and is a form of mental torture. Apparently, we all experience around 80,000 thoughts per day. Only 20,000 of those thoughts and useful productive thoughts. So why do we do it? for many it is a safety behaviour, by that I mean that it allows us to feel temporarily safe. Of course there is a misconception that worrying will somehow avert problems. Yet I am sure that we can all think of examples where we worried and we were still unable to stop the inevitable.for those of us who are incessant worriers, it is sometimes helpful to set aside ‘worry time’ in order to deal with our overactive brain. I have put together a worksheet below that will help you manage worry more effectively.
Worry Worksheet:
Ask yourself the following questions:
1)Is this something with a very low probability of occurring
2)What prediction am I making?
3)What is the problem that needs to be solved?
4) What specific actions can I take?
5) Are these actions reasonable?
6) Am I worrying about things over which I have little or no control?
7) Is this a productive (resolution focused) or unproductive worry?
8) Why or why not?
| My negative predictions | How I make these predictions come true | Alternative that can disprove my negative predictions |
| How I feel about what’s bothering me now in | Why I would not feel as bad about this |
| 1 week | |
| 1 month | |
| 6 months | |
| 1 year | |
| 5 years |
Negation of Problems:
| Problem | Why it’s not a problem |
Author: Mandy Kloppers
Mandy is a qualified therapist who treats depression, anxiety, OCD, PTSD, trauma, and many other types of mental health issues. She provides online therapy around the world for those needing support and also provides relationship counselling.
