Tips for Worry

By Raquel Daniels GRANDcares Site Coordinator, Larimer County

Worry can be described as thoughts and emotions that lead to unease and are negative or troublesome in nature. We all experience worry from time to time, from little worries such as “did I leave the light on?” to larger worries such as “is this car repair going to cost a lot?” With the current pandemic facing the world, the worry that many people may be experiencing may include worry about finances, health, and uncertainty about the future. Worry that may be experienced can generally fit into two categories. Real problem worry involves problems that are affecting you right now and you can act on. There are also hypothetical worries that are the "what if..." worries. Below are some tips for thoughts of worry:

Remind yourself that thoughts are not facts. Thoughts are just thoughts. Ask yourself is this thought helpful or unhelpful? Practice replacing beliefs with more realistic outcomes.

What is reinforcing these thoughts of worry? For example, watching Covid-19 updates every hour has the potential to increase worry. Under what circumstances would these thoughts be reduced in intensity? Tuning in to updates less frequently such as twice a day.

Focus on what is versus what if. When the brain begins to think about cases of what if, these cases tend to snowball into much larger worries. Think of a snowball starting at the top of a hill, as soon as it begins to roll it becomes larger and larger. This tends to happen with thoughts as well. These thoughts become magnified to extremes and the potential worst-case scenarios. Ask yourself what is the realistic likelihood that things will really go that badly?

What are you worrying about? Is this a real problem worry that you can do something about? If yes, then take action. Is this a hypothetical worry? Practice letting the worry go and focus on something you can do right now.

If worrying still needs to happen, set a timer. Decide when your time to worry will be and how long. During this time, perhaps 15 minutes, writing down hypothetical worries you may be experiencing or experienced throughout the day.

Lastly, talk to someone. Telling someone your worries will get them out of your head. When worries are said out loud, they are not as big or frightening as they were as thoughts.