How to manage worry

It’s normal to worry sometimes.  Maybe worrying about an interview, a driving test, or meeting someone for the first time.  When it becomes constant and you feel that it is out of control, keeping you awake at night or causing anxiety it can affect your daily life and we need to think about how to manage worry.

Sometimes we can worry about things outside of our control, for instance, ‘what if’ type worries that snowball and stop us enjoying new experiences.  Making decisions becomes difficult and ‘switching off’ can become impossible.

Types of worry

Constant worrying, negative thinking, and always expecting the worst can take a toll on your emotional and physical health.

How might I feel?

It can sap your emotional strength, resulting in feeling restless and jumpy.  In addition, worry can cause insomnia, headaches, stomach problems, and muscle tension, and make it difficult to concentrate. As a result, you may take your negative feelings out on the people closest to you, self-medicate with alcohol or drugs, or try to distract yourself by with TV, screens or social media.

What do other people say about it?

Clients often talk about not be able to make sense of worries.  For instance, each worry feels like a long thread and they have all become intertwined.  They say that they start with one worry and before they can think it through, another one has come into their mind, then another and another.  Clients often feel worried that they have forgotten what they were worrying about in the first place, resulting in further worry.  In addition, clients say that they experience ‘what if’ type worries; multiple worries about what ‘might’ happen.

Ways in which this could affects me…

Constant worrying can negatively impact your sleep and ability to relax.  Some people keep themselves constantly busy so that they don’t have time to worry.  However, when the distraction of business stops, the mind can take over and the stillness of night can be when worry can feel overwhelming.

Often worry can feel draining, sap energy and lead to constant exhaustion.

How to manage worry self help, what can I do?

By learning how to manage worry, you can calm your mind, feel more in control and start enjoying life.

1. You could try writing down your worries. Writing them down starts to make sense of what is going on in a busy mind
2. Make some time to go over each one and identify if you can control it or influence it in any way. This helps to focus on the things that you can do something about.
3. Talk your worries through with a friend. By saying things out loud it helps us to clarify what is that is worrying you. It could be one aspect of something rather than the whole thing

How can we support you…?

We have counsellors who are experts in supporting clients with these issues.  Often anxiety goes hand in hand with worry and getting support can help you feel more in control, worry less and help you to relax and sleep better.