I’m a chronic worrier.
I worry about debt. I fret about being alone. I lie awake at night freaking out about eyeball cancer, my child’s future and how fat I’m gonna be after hogging a heap of holiday fudge.
Big or small — I stress about it all. And I really need to stop.
“Worry can waste energy — you’re trying to fix every possible problem, even if none exist,” psychologist Robert L. Leahy says.
Having trouble calming down? Here are five great tips from Self magazine to get you started:
1. Plan to fret. Take 30 minutes to worry intensively, then move on.
2. Jot it down. Write down your worry, then in a few days write down the outcome. You’ll see that things usually turn out much better than you think.
3. Identify the emotion. If your husband is late coming home and you imagine he has been hit by a bus, think about the emotion behind your worry. (You love him and want to keep him around.) Once you have identified the emotion, see if it’s a reasonable worry (hint: probably not). Then let it pass.
4. Peel citrus. The next time you mentally freak out about something, grab an orange. Press your nail into the skin and focus on the smell. Being in the moment will help you forget about the future.
5. Get nostalgic. Remember your key events of the past 10 years. You probably can’t recall the worries linked with these experiences, or, if you can, you may see that most never happened.
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