Tips on Managing Toxic Worry – While a healthy level of worry can help us perform efficiently at work, anticipate dangers, and learn from past errors, excessive worry can make an otherwise sane person seem crazy, devoid of sound judgment, peace of mind and happiness. So how do you curb the anxiety associated with stress and toxic worry?
First, it helps to understand what I call the basic equation of worry. This is a good way to conceptualize where toxic worry comes from:
Heightened Vulnerability + Lack of Control = Toxic Worry.
The more vulnerable you feel (regardless of how vulnerable you are) and the less control you feel you have (regardless of how much control you actually have), the more toxic your worrying will become. Therefore, any steps you can take to reduce your feelings of vulnerability and/or increase your feelings of control will serve to reduce your feelings of toxic worry.
But how do you stay out of the paralyzing grip of toxic worry?
If you’re walking through a minefield, how do you not feel so afraid that you can’t take another step? You need a plan. When you have a plan, you can turn to the plan for guidance, which immediately makes you feel as if you are less vulnerable and more in control whether you are or not. So whether the danger you perceive stems from the poor economy, a concern about your children, or a mole on your forearm that you think might be melanoma, you need a method to keep your fear from running wild so you can systematically dismantle the problem and take control.
10 Tips for Controlling Worry
1. Never worry alone.
When you are alone, toxic worry intensifies. So talk to someone you trust – a friend, your spouse, a colleague, a relative. You often find solutions to a problem when you talk it out with someone. The mere fact of putting it into words takes it out of the threatening realm of the imagination and puts it into some concrete, manageable form.
2. All worry is not bad.
Identify all the things you worry about and separate out the toxic to your health worries from good worry. Good worry amounts to planning and problem solving. Toxic worry is unnecessary, repetitive, unproductive, paralyzing, and life-defeating.
3. Get plenty of vigorous exercise.
Exercise is an anti anxiety agent and reduces the accumulated noise and helps relax you.
4. Repeat the mantra
“I’ll fix what I can and, then I’ll put the rest out of my mind,” when you feel anxious thoughts emerging.
5. Add structure to your life where you need it.
Often disorganization, poor time management creates anxiety. To help get you on track and calm your stress, consider hiring an organization coach. BLUBERYL.org empowers individuals to identify, organized and master their organization skills. The National Association of Professional Organizers is another resource for finding coaches.
6. Reality – test your worry.
Regain perspective. Share your worries with someone who should know if what you are worrying about makes sense or if you have exaggerated it. So many of our problems are the result of overactive imaginations.
7. Use humor.
Make friends with amusing people, watch a Marx brothers movie, tune into Comedy Central or a humorous sit-com. Humor restores perspective; toxic worry almost always entails a loss of perspective.
8. Get plenty of sleep.
One good way to fall asleep naturally is to focus on counting your breaths. Inhale on 2-3 counts and exhale on 5-6 counts. This relaxes you and gives you something neutral to think about.
9. Avoid watching too much TV
or reading too many newspapers and magazines.
10. Get regular doses of positive human contact (connect – the other vitamin C.)
Avoid doses of negative human contact. In other words, try, as much as you can, to be around people who are good to you and not be around people who are not.
Learn how the Hallowell Center Can Help You.
Listen to Dr. Hallowell’s Podcast discussion on Worry.
For a dose of optimism, listen to Dr. Hallowell’s Podcast on “If You Believe It, You Can Do It!”
Adapted from: Worry: Hope and Help for a Common Condition
Edward M.Hallowell, MD, Ballentine, 1997
