Comments on: How to Stop Worrying

on 10/2/2008 comment for 8/8/06 by Anon. Funny, when I think of phrases my mother always sez is "A womans work is never done", "Idle hands are tools of the devil", "Busy hands are happy hands". Also, if I don't do it it won't get done. Which I feel is true in my home with my husband. It is draining sometimes, yet we have alot of fun. I am worried am I having to much fun? Ha, that was a joke.

on 9/25/2008 i just worry that im having a heart attack and i've had ekg's and all is good but i still worry and then it makes me all freaked out all over again...help me with some simple technigues....i take celexa ...

on 8/27/2008 I have a hard time not worrying... I don't worry about a lot of things, I just worry after like 8 or 9 at night every night that I've somehow forgotten to take care of something... its sounds really stupid I know but I really bothers me. I'm going to try and remind myself that I never really forget to do stuff, so I probably haven't fogotten anything. So far, I have always resorted to writting down everything I have to do the next day. Its obessive because if I don't write it down, I have a hard time NOT worrying about it. Any advice?

on 8/23/2006 Receive a massage from a trusted friend or professional at least once a month. I feel fully relaxed and renewed for a few days after each session.

on 8/8/2006 The same people
always seems to bear the bulk of responsibility.If we stop
to tell them, in a positive tone" if it's that
important, others will see it, and help. It's less stress
than thinking "if I don't do it, it won't get done".

on 8/8/2006 I think it's important to memorize short, helpful hints to use when the going gets rough. Thinking about them calms me down. Here are a few of my favorites:

My Mom (probably like your's) had lots of sayings when I was growing up. This one was almost a mantra:

"This too shall pass."

In 'The Course In Miracles', there are a couple of phrases that really help, too:

"I can see peace instead of this."

"Be not afraid and let your world be lit by miracles."

Finally, this came from Ralph Blum's Rune Interpretation:

"We do without doing and everything gets done."

Finally, as I've gotten older, I've realized that most of the stuff I worry about generally works out, and if I just focus on the solution, the problem or worry goes away.

on 7/2/2006 "A man who suffers before it is necessary, suffers more than is necessary."
~ Seneca

on 3/31/2006 All the tips here are great! And I have tried them all, I have all the books too. I learned worry is like a rocking chair; it gives you something to do, but gets you nowhere! I'm 65 and been worrying all my life, does that makes me a professional? After years of exhausting myself with Worry (and he sometimes brings his friend Fear with him) I decided to make Worry a friend. I thank it for coming, but let it know that it cannot stay long; "Oh, I see your back, you weren't gone long were you? OK, I proved to you that my son was going to get through his problems, so now you want me to worry about my health? Fine, I will wallow in worry and work myself up to cancer until your friend Fear comes over, then we will all go to the doctor and let him settle it, (worry and fear really hate logic) then you really must go because I have a lot to do." I have a hard and fast rule that he can only stay until 4 o'clock on Friday (and believe me, if you do it often enough, no matter where you are you will suddenly feel better,look at your watch and it will say 4 o'clock). I always thank Worry for coming, because he is trying to tell me something about myself. Usually that I am too wrapped up in myself of late and I should go and give a cookie to a kid or something.

on 3/28/2006 I used to worry a lot. Then I decided that I would worry on Tuesday morning at 10:00 AM for one hour, every week.
So when worry came to me I would say "Nope I can't worry now, it's not Tuesday morning."
Sometimes I would forget to worry on Tuesday morning and I would say "Darn I missed it. I'll just have to wait till next Tuesday".
Sounds crazy...but it worked for me.

on 11/22/2005 I'm a huge worrier. I tend to worry about little, silly things. Usually, what helps me is to think of five or ten horrible things that could happen. I could be homeless, lost in the middle of a dark, huge forest at night, etc. I then think back to the little things I'm worrying about. 9 times out of 10, I end up feeling better that I'm not in one of those situations I conjured up.

on 11/22/2005 Completely surrender yourself to God. Talk to Him about your problems. He will take care of them. Have complete faith in Him.

on 11/22/2005 Don't worry about bridges you may never have to cross. Worry about things like, what movie to rent or where to go on vacation this year. Watch the sun set, listen to beautiful music, make love to your significant other. The world is a beautiful place and I honestly don't think that this suddenly appears in the darkness without some help. I believe there is someone out there looking after us.
It's silly to spend your life dwelling on what could happen when it is so unlikely. If you're worried about something like, what killed off the dinosaurs?, that's just silly. I don't remember the dinosaurs landing on the moon or sending a probe to Mars. The difference with us is that if in the outrageously unlikely event that we faced a problem like that, we can do something about it! We would know about it 20 years in advance, and by then we can probably just fire a laser or nuke at it and simply vaporize it. Honestly, you should be more worried about your microwave oven exploding for no apparent reason.

on 11/22/2005 Get indulge yourselves with your dearest friends. Talk with them, share anything with them. Then your mind will not bother about past that is killing you. Give some time in picnics or any social activities.

on 11/22/2005 A good way to severely increase your amount of anxiety is to load your body full of all sorts of flavor-of-the-minute wonder drugs that can only damage your synaptic cleft permanently. Then you'll never feel good.

The best solution to worry of any kind is retrospective analysis. Think about something similar that you have worried about (and solved) in the past. Then, imagine yourself looking back on today from a time in the future. Find a way to utilize the same strategies that have worked in the past to solve today's worry, but think about it as if you were in the future, way after the problem has been solved...This provides a realistic mental goal.

If constant worry is your thing, eliminate reinforcement schedules. Chronic anxiety is often self-serving. You may feel bad/guilty for NOT worrying. Find a way to reinforce every thing that you do that involves trust, initiative, risk-taking (the smart kind, like approaching a potential date), and the like. You will soon realize your own potential for self-determination. Also, you'll develop coping strategies for situations that don't go as you planned.

on 11/22/2005 If you worry too much over every little thing all the time, you may have an anxiety disorder that is easily treated with medication like Paxil or Buzbar. If you have other symptoms of an anxiety disorder like frequent cold hands and the need to pee a lot, read up on it and go to your doctor.