How to Stop Worrying: 14 Strategies for Anxiety Relief
Do your worries keep you awake all night? Pick up these handy tips to banish worries that keep you from living the life you want
Do you worry constantly? Do you find yourself brooding over worst-case scenarios about your health, your job, or your family almost everyday?
Worrying itself isn’t a bad thing if it motivates us to take actions and solve problems. But when you worry excessively and constantly immersing yourself in imaginary fears and doubts, worry can become debilitating and counterproductive.
Chronic worrying saps emotional and mental energies which can otherwise be used to resolve the sources of your worries, and live life fully. It causes tension, sleepless nights, disengagement at work and home, and is often a prelude to anxiety attacks.
It’s interesting to note that the word worry actually means “to choke or to strangle” in old English. While a quick squeeze by the neck might thrust you into swift action, overdoing it can ‘kill’! Because when you worry too much, you literally suck the air, and whatever that’s left, out of your life.
How Can You Stop Worrying?
Your life doesn’t need to be dictated by your worries. Here are some ways to worry less and reclaim your life:
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Learn the art of delegation. Delegation is not merely assigning tasks and jobs to random people. You’ve to match the right jobs with the right people in order to see the results that you want and build up your confidence in others. Taking an interest in the strengths and weaknesses of your co-workers and family members will help you to become a better job matchmaker. If delegation makes you nervous, try small, easy jobs first. Most importantly, be realistic and compassionate. Every one of us slip up once in a while, including you.
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Cut Back. Is your plate too full? The fact that you’re worrying so much may be a sign that your expectations are unrealistic. Look at your responsibilities and trim down or delay those that are less essential.
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Confront distrust. Just because some people have betrayed your trust in the past doesn’t mean that every single human is not to be trusted. You wouldn’t stop going to restaurants because of a few bad experience you’ve had with some. So quit being so judgmental. It’s hard on yourself and hard on others as well. Examine your distrust carefully and question whether there’s a reason to hold on to it. More often than not, you’ll be hard pressed to find a good reason to keep distrust close at heart.
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Accept imperfection for small stuff. It’s tiring to be perfect in everything that you do. Reserve your perfectionism to matters that really matter. I’m sure you’ve heard this many times: Don’t sweat over the small stuff! Repeating this adage every morning will eliminate most, if not all, of your worries instantly!
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Make a worry-list. This is an easy but effective method to worry less. Simply list down all your worries on a journal or a piece of paper. Instead of letting your worries and anxieties swirling in your head non-stop, empty them by writing freely without stopping to edit them. When you are done, look at them and you may find that you can actually cross out some of them there and then!
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Banish worries with logic. Ask yourself, “Would any amount of worrying help with the situation I’m facing?” If not, why worry? You can worry yourself to death and not change a single thing. Realize with your heart and soul that that many things are just beyond your control and hence, aren’t worth worrying about. Would you prefer a life full of worries, or a life brimming with joy, surprises and excitement? It’s your choice.
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Dissolve worries with the time test. If the earlier question doesn’t work for you, try this one: “One year from now, would I still remember about this thing that’s giving me sleepless nights? Does it matter 5 years from now? How about 10 years later?” Most things that we worry so much about today would appear insignificant when you subject them to the acid time test.
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Meditate to stay in the present. Worries mostly revolve around two things: stuff that you have done, and stuff which you think might happen. So the act of worrying effectively put you in the irreversible past or an imaginary future which you cannot do anything about. You can learn to stay grounded to the present, which is the only thing you can act on, with meditation. This ancient mind training helps you to be present fully by helping you to focus on what you’ve now, like your breathing, and what’s real, such as the small statue on your desk. By leaving no room for your past and future to interfere with your now, you learn to put your worries in the right perspective and stop making them larger than what they really are. Further, meditation is also a great way to keep you relaxed and calm.
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Fall in love with surprises. Perfectionists cannot accept surprises. Everything has to be precise, anticipated and planned for. But in reality, dwelling in all the ways that things could go wrong doesn’t make life any more predictable. By focusing so much on the worst possible what-ifs, you give them the energies to make them more likely to happen if you subscribe to the Law of Attraction theory. So learn to let go more, control less and develop an openness to the surprises that life has in stored for you.
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Take a time-out from worries. Guided relaxation is an effective way to temporarily put your worries aside and release tension caused by worries and anxieties. Try out the Meditainment Guided Meditations and Full Moon Guided Relaxation to relax your body as well as your mind.
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Give worrying a regular airtime. If you really can’t stop worrying, then you may as well co-exist with it harmoniously. Give your worries an airtime each day. This is the same period, say 15 minutes, every day when you allow yourself to indulge in worrying as much as you like. If managed properly, this can even be a productive time used to reflect on important issues. But when the airtime is over, postpone all your worries until next day, same time. No overrun, please.
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Eat healthily. Worries take a heavy toll on our bodies. They suck our energies like vampires, and speed up aging as well as the production of pro-inflammatory chemicals in the body. During trying times like this, it’s all the more important to eat properly. Take whole or minimally-processed anti-inflammatory foods, like green tea, broccoli, shiitake mushroom and wild Alaskan salmon, as well as nourishing brain foods, like shellfish, cherries and dark chocolate. This tip won’t be complete without a list of foods-to-stay-away-from. Avoid stimulating foods like sugar and caffeine that can increase anxiety, exacerbate insomnia and as in the case of sugar, cause excessive fluctuations in blood sugar. It’s also highly advisable to avoid any food that promotes inflammation.
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Ask for help. Don’t be shy to ask for help. Asking for help is part of human nature. No one can exist, let alone thrive, alone. We depend on each other, nature and our environment in order to live well. Though our society has come to associate seeking help with failure and being weak, buy none of those outdated labels. Seek whichever help that’s most appealing to you — it can be your family, your boss, a friend, your government, or a non-profit organization. All you need to do is ask. If you’ve a spiritual belief, call on your spiritual guide to give you the power and wisdom to see through your worries.
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Sweat it out. Last but not least, regular moderate exercise is a proven de-stressing and anti-anxiety outlet used by many to release their nervous energies. Exercise also prompts the brain to release endorphins that make you happy and less anxious. Concentrating on your reps or steps, will also help you to take your focus off your worries for the time being. So whenever you start worrying, hit the road and sweat it out!
