Ask a group of doctors about the conditions they treat most frequently and they\u2019ll likely place stress among the top ten. The factors triggering all this stress seem endless: pressures having to do with work, home, money, relationships, and even how we respond to a daily commute. It\u2019s important to acknowledge that some life circumstances are legitimate cause for serious concern and worry while others are pointless. Learning the difference is a useful life skill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
How we deal with garden-variety stress and worry is partly under our own control. We can rise to the occasion with a little problem-solving action or we can collapse into anxiety, thinking about nothing except the dire possibilities, wallowing in that useless thinking we call worry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Whether you\u2019ve made worry a daytime activity or it\u2019s keeping you awake at night, you\u2019re certainly enjoying life a lot less because of it. And since you\u2019re agonizing about events that may never occur, you\u2019re also engaged in the ultimate waste of time. Here are a few steps to conquering worry that may well restore some pleasure to your life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Worst-case scenario<\/strong> A tried and true formula for overcoming worry<\/a> is to analyze the situation carefully and list all the dire possibilities you\u2019re obsessing about. Then select the worst eventuality and live it. Truly imagine this possibility occurring and accept it emotionally. \u201cOh, dear,\u201d you can say to yourself, \u201cNow it\u2019s happened. Just what I was worried about.\u201d Next, devote your energy to figuring out what you\u2019re going to do about it, listing the steps you\u2019ll take in the aftermath. In other words, when you start intelligently and objectively solving what once terrified you, you\u2019ve begun to conquer the source of your worry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jane worries constantly that she might lose her job and have no income. She knows she\u2019s a valued employee at her workplace and that her persistent fears stem from a childhood memory of her father losing his job and the family being thrown into turmoil. After working through the exercise above, Jane created a file and hid it away on her laptop. It\u2019s a carefully thought out (and occasionally changing) page labeled \u201cFirst Steps After Sudden Unemployment.\u201d The first line is \u201cTwo weeks in Paris!\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Consider the odds<\/strong> Try to be as objective as possible here. Ask yourself, \u201cReally, what are the chances that the worst case will actually happen?\u201d Fortunately, for the better part of our lives, our worst fears rarely do occur. It\u2019s ironic that the truly awful situations come when we never expect them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Fear of flying? The odds of dying in a plane crash are one in 11 million or the same as being struck by lightening\u2026seven times. That Uber you took to O\u2019Hare is far riskier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Get the facts straight<\/strong> We often become anxious and worry about possibilities that have almost no basis in reality. Take any worrisome situation and list the specific issues that define the sources of your anxiety. Now look carefully at these issues and compare them to the facts of the case. You\u2019ll probably discover that many of your worries are actually quite unfounded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Most physical symptoms are described as functional because they\u2019re a response from your body based on a situation you\u2019ve placed it in. Worried at 2 am about that burning sensation in your chest? Could it be the lasagna and Chianti you had a few hours earlier?<\/p>\n\n\n\n With the facts straight, take positive steps<\/strong> Some worries do have a basis in reality. However, if you sit wringing your hands in helpless despair you\u2019ll never get anywhere. Review the real sources of your trouble and rename them \u201cchallenges.\u201d Simply renaming your worries will place them within your power, not you in theirs. Now go ahead and tackle each challenge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Don\u2019t agonize over the inevitable<\/strong> When the company you work for is doing badly, acknowledge you just might get laid off. Odds are your teenager will experiment with drugs or get a nose ring. The IRS will find something during its audit that will cost you money. And yes, your beloved pooch will likely cross over before you do. The serenity prayer can be a very helpful motto.<\/p>\n\n\n\n God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, Put the subject of your worry into proper perspective<\/strong> It certainly is worthwhile to pause and say to yourself, \u201cWait a minute. How much does this worry item really matter to me?\u201d If you\u2019re agonizing about losing a job you basically hate, thinking about the loss as an opportunity for growth may be a better use of mental energy. Or when you\u2019re stewing over some trifling concern maybe you should be thinking \u201cI can\u2019t believe I\u2019m actually giving this nonsense any consideration at all.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n You can\u2019t change the past, no matter how hard you try<\/strong> Better to not waste a whole lot of time worrying about what you could have (or should have) done. Sorry, but once you\u2019ve turned in your final exam you can\u2019t go back and change the answers. Accept that whatever occurred is now over and learn from your mistake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Nutritional supplements<\/strong> Interestingly, there are two nutritional supplements that might offer some relief from constant worrying:<\/p>\n\n\n\n —St. John\u2019s wort<\/a><\/u> <\/a>(450 mg twice daily) works by raising your brain\u2019s levels of serotonin, one of several neurotransmitters. Serotonin is your \u201cfactory installed\u201d stress buffer, and since excessive worry is really an unhealthy, virtually obsessive over-response to something stressful, boosting your serotonin will help. Yes, this is also what a prescription antidepressant (like Lexapro or Zoloft) does, but is much milder and virtually free of side effects.<\/p>\n\n\n\n —N-Acetyl L-Cysteine\/NAC<\/a><\/u> <\/a>(600 mg twice daily) has become a favorite among psychiatrists who want to try something gentle for their patients who have any form of obsessive thinking. NAC has passed good clinical trials and is getting a thumbs up from many physicians who keep track of such things.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If, despite these suggestions, you simply can\u2019t stop worrying, consider professional help. Obsessing endlessly about the same issues to the point where you can\u2019t move forward with your life might require some counseling to give you a fresh perspective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Christine Savas, LPC, Jennifer Davis, LPC, and Janet Chandler, PhD<\/a>, all have extensive experience with worry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Courage to change the things I can,
And wisdom to know the difference. <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n