What to do when worry gets out of control?

Worry can be characterized as many different sensations that we feel when stressed or anxious. When out of control, it can feel as if the whole world is falling apart and we are helpless bystanders. There are some strategies to deal with these feelings, and these strategies can be beneficial in different ways.

Mindfulness

Mindfulness is characterized by being nonjudgmental towards certain thoughts and emotions that occur to you. If you find that your worrying is mostly mental and is created by imagined scenarios, mindfulness can help by diverting some focus away from these thoughts and scenarios. Allowing yourself the opportunity to accept some of your thoughts will take judgment and negative feelings away from them. Without negative feelings and judgments, these thoughts will cause less and less worry as you are more able to think about them and move on.

Distraction

Distraction is another technique that can help with worry. Whether mental or physical, focusing on something else can take some of that focus away from whatever is being worried about. Research has shown that keeping hands and minds busy interferes with storing and encoding visual images, including those we associate with anxiety and worry. This can also include physical techniques, such as exercise, which helps us transmit neurotransmitters that create a more pleasant bodily and mental sensation.

Develop Insight

Worry and stress can be something that is created internally based on our perceptions of the outside world. Expectations and perceptions of external events can lead to negative thought patterns that can easily become overwhelming. Developing awareness of certain thought patterns and thoughts that are distressing can help us address these distressing thoughts. Challenging certain beliefs, expectations, and standards held about the self and the world is one of the first steps in potentially changing these beliefs and ultimately lessening anxiety, stress, and worry. Another part of this development of insight is accepting stress and worry as part of life, although it doesn’t have to be as severe or overwhelming as it currently is.