A Mindful Approach to Worry: How to Find Calm in the Chaos
Worry is a natural human emotion that we all experience from time to time. However, when worry becomes excessive or starts to interfere with our daily lives, it can lead to anxiety and stress. Fortunately, there are many strategies for managing worry that can help us to feel more calm and in control. Read the list below, and figure out which strategies you’d like to try.
Identify the source of your worry
The first step in managing worry is to identify the source of your concern. Once you know what's causing your worry, you can start to take action to address it. Try writing down your worries or talking to a trusted friend or family member about what's bothering you.
Practice mindfulness
Mindfulness is a technique that involves focusing your attention on the present moment, without judgment. This can help to reduce worry by helping you to stay grounded and centered. Try practicing mindfulness meditation or simply taking a few deep breaths and focusing on your breath. If you need some guidance, there are a lot of great apps that can help. (insert link toblog article about the apps). If you’re new to mindfulness, know that mental health therapists can also introduce you to mindfulness techniques that can help you calm your worry and anxiety.
Challenge your negative thoughts
When we worry, we often have negative thoughts that can spiral out of control. Try challenging these negative thoughts by asking yourself if they are really true. For example, if you're worried about a work presentation, ask yourself if there's any evidence to support your belief that you'll fail.
At times, we don’t realize that our thought patterns are problematic, or we don’t understand how we can change our thoughts. Mental health therapists who are trained in Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) or Acceptance Therapy can introduce you to different techniques for recognizing unhelpful thought patterns and changing them.
Develop a plan of action
If there's something specific that you're worried about, develop a plan of action to address it. This can help to reduce worry by giving you a sense of control over the situation. For example, if you're worried about a job interview, practice your interview skills and prepare responses to common interview questions.
Engage in self-care
Taking care of your physical and emotional needs can help to reduce worry and improve your overall well-being. This might include getting enough sleep, eating a healthy diet, exercising regularly, and spending time doing activities that you enjoy.
Seek professional help with a mental health therapist
If your worry is persistent or interfering with your daily life, it may be helpful to seek professional help. A mental health professional can provide you with strategies for managing worry and help you to develop coping skills to deal with stressful situations. At times, mental health therapists may also recommend that you meet with a psychiatrist to see if medication management would be helpful for addressing your persistent worrying.
As mentioned earlier, worry is a natural human emotion that we all experience from time to time. When our worrying is frequent, intense, or impacts our ability to function, it’s important to seek out professional services with a trained mental health therapist. They can provide you with education about what you are experiencing as well as helpful coping strategies to help you manage your worries and feel more in control.
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Interested in Online Counseling for Anxiety, Stress, and Mindfulness?
If you’re a Marylander who knows that counseling is the direction you need to take, the therapists at LifeSpring Counseling Services are here to help. We offer online counseling services for mindfulness, depression, anxiety, trauma, and grief and loss. We also offer Brainspotting as a specialized service, and Brainspotting can be done online, too!
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The counselors and social workers at our Maryland office also offer counseling services for trauma, grief and loss, boundary setting, communication skills, and difficult life transitions. We also offer specialized counseling services including Brainspotting and spiritually-integrated counseling. Because we are located next to several local universities, we also work with college students and international students.
Photo Credit: Karolina Grabowska, Pavel Danilyuk, and Alex Green
Date of download: 4/10/2023
