Worried again? You have a choice

The birds are laughing at me and how seriously I often take life…..

Ah, anxiety! To feel this emotion is to be human, isn’t it?
Birds and other animals certainly do not tense up and worry the way we do.

All emotions (sadness, anger, jealousy, stress) are part of the human experience. And it is healthy to honor and feel our emotions. The theory is that once an emotion is “felt” and acknowledged, that it will dissipate. At least that is the theory that I go by as a therapist.

Here is the kicker, though. We often hold onto worry/stress/anxiety MUCH longer than we need to. This manifests repetitive, worried thoughts and a tendency to overplan and control our lives in effort to “protect” ourselves from the negative outcomes we worry about.
This can also lead to constant tension and difficulty being “present” for life. Right?

I want to make two things clear:

1) anxiety/worry can be our friend. It can be a “call to action”. For example if your health insurance has expired and you find yourself having trouble falling asleep at night because you keep worrying "what will happen if I get swine flu?", this worry could be helpful. You are more likely to solve a problem if it worries you (i.e. re-new your health insurance policy)

2) We do have a choice about how much we worry.
If no action can be taken with regard to a worry, why continue to let it swirl around, disrupting the present moment?

Here are some tools that may be helpful:

--There is a technique called “thought stopping”. Every time the worried though creeps up, picture a stop sign. STOP.
“Why am I paying attention to my worry now—is it time to take action?” If there is no action to take, let the worry go.

--If that doesn’t work, imagine the worry as a monster or ugly creature that keeps appearing before you, uninvited. Stand up to the monster and say, “Dude- go away. I don’t need you right now. I am trying to enjoy the present right now.”

These tools may or may not work for you. And there are other ways to calm worry such as exercise, laughing, listening to music, meditation.

Want to worry less?
You can.
It is your choice.