Are You a Worry Wart?
November 18, 2014Are you a worry wart? Do you find yourself worrying about little things that you have no control? Have people in your life told you that you worry too much? Worrying is a normal part of life, however, if you worry about small things that take up a lot of time and real estate in your head, you might be a worry wart. Worrying is like sitting in a rocking chair - you don't go anyplace by worrying or rocking. If you are a worry wart, you spend lots of unnecessary energy worrying and possibly create increased anxiety for yourself.
I've been a worrier as long as I can remember. It is normal to periodically worry but I worried about little things. I realized that one of the reasons that I emotionally ate was due to me worrying about things so much. I would worry about things that I had no control over or couldn't impact one way or the other. When I became aware of the correlation that I ate to overcome my worrying, I worked hard on my worrying ways.
10 Ways to Stop Being a Worry Wart
- Call someone. Call a trusted love one to talk out what you're worrying about. Many times, talking about the worrisome issue will help to sort it out so you stop worrying.
- Write. Write in a journal or type an email that you send to yourself about your worries. Again, getting the worrying out of yourself can help to alleviate worries.
- Listen to music. Turn on some of your favorite tunes. Sing along to music, preferably upbeat, will break the cycle of the "what if's" of worrying.
- Move, move, move. Move your body to move out the energy from worrying so much. Whether you exercise, ride a bike or dance, you'll feel better from relieving the tension that comes with worrying. Chances are you'll be in a different mindset than you were before you moved your body.
- Think about it differently. Most of the time, the things we worry about never happen. Think back to times of worry, did things out differently than you thought they would? Usually, they don't. Spend time reflecting on past worries and give yourself calm by being aware that most of the time your worries were unnecessary.
- Acknowledge and accept. Acknowledge and accept your worries and don't try to suppress them. Suppressing worries does not work. I used to eat to suppress worrying and it accomplished nothing except a few extra pounds. You need to acknowledge that you are worrying about something and accept it to move on. Ask yourself if there is something you can do in the worrisome situation. If there is - do it; if there isn't - accept there's nothing you can do and move on. If you try to ignore emotions, they don't simply go away; they generally return in a different manner and stronger. Accept your worries and assure yourself that whatever may or may not occur, you'll handle it.
- Meditation or prayer. By meditating or praying you'll calm yourself which will help your worries to calm as well.
- Deep breathing exercises. Do some deep breathing exercises because they can help worrying and the accompanying stress that you experience. Patricia Farrell, Ph.D. describes how relaxation breathing works.
- Stay in the present. Worrying is about an occurrence either in the past or future. To combat worrying about the past and the future, stay in the present. Pay attention to your thoughts when you are worrying about something. Are your thoughts focused on the past and/or the future? You can't change the past and you can't predict the future. Stay in the present and focus on the right here, right now. Engage in the activities of today such as running errands, go see a movie, if you have a hobby, work on it. Anything that changes your environment so you change your worrying mindset.
- Count your blessings. We have many things to appreciate in our lives. You can take it a step further and write a list of all the blessings in your life. By making a list, which will probably be quite long, we can see clearly how much we have to be grateful for in comparison to things we are worrying about. Don't steal the joy from your life and blessings by worrying.
What helps you counteract your worries?
Photo courtesy of Emergency Brake, CC
 | ABOUT THE AUTHOR Cathy Wilson, PCC, BCC, had RNY surgery in 2001 and lost 147 pounds. Cathy is a regular contributor to the OH Blog and authored the "Mind Matters" column in ObesityHelp Magazine. Cathy is a licensed pilot and loves flying. She is a member of the American Society for Metabolic and Bariatric Surgery (ASMBS) and the Obesity Action Coalition (OAC).Read more articles by Cathy! |
