When it comes to emotions, there are ones that are useful and ones that are not.

Worry is one of those that is not useful.

So, why do we worry?

We worry because our brain thinks it is useful.

It tricks us into thinking that worrying will help us avoid pain and discomfort

But actually what it does is the opposite.

It causes pain and discomfort because worrying feels terrible! (Can I get an amen?)

wor.ry

According to the Collins dictionary (yep that’s a real thing- I didn’t make it up), “if you worry, you keep thinking about problems or unpleasant things that MIGHT happen.”  —Keyword is MIGHT but probably not–

Worry cannot live in the present. It is always based in the future, It’s based on what might happen. It lives in our Imagi-Nation, right?

Because the main job of our brain is to keep us alive, it is always on the lookout for danger and sometimes, our mind will make up or exaggerate emotional dangers in the form of worry.

I’ve heard worry referred to as Pre-traumatic stress disorder.

The brain likes to worry about and anticipate what is to come- the worst-case scenario. Just in case.

But none of this is really useful.

I love the way Eckhart Tolle says it. He says,

“Worry only pretends to be necessary but serves no purpose.”

So, how do we overcome worry?

Here are 5 things you can do to help you stop being a worrywart!

1.) Allow it!

When we try to resist or push worry away, it tends to grow bigger and stronger and more out of control.

This is where the problem lies. It’s not in the worrying.

It’s when we dwell on whatever we’re worrying about that it grows stronger and escalates into something bigger.

Instead of resisting the worry, allow it to be there and go inside you body and feel it.

See if you can find the physical effects of worry.

Where do you feel it in your body?

You can also give it a color and a texture.

The point of this exercise is to bring yourself into the present.

Remember worry lives in the future.

It’s thinking about things that MIGHT happen.

So, the second thing is to bring yourself back into the present.

2.) Be Present

We do this by engaging as many of our five senses as we can:

SEE-

What do you see right now?

If it’s in the middle of the night, you might not be able to see anything. That’s okay just move onto the other senses.

HEAR-

What can you hear?

TASTE-

What can you taste?

SMELL-

What can you smell?

TOUCH-

What can you touch?

For this one sometimes I like to do what I call a body scan.

I start at my toes and work my way up to my head putting all my attention on each body part.

3.) Schedule Worry Time

You might find it helpful, especially if you’re a chronic worrywart, to try scheduling “worry time”.

WORRY TIME = A certain time and amount of time each day or a few times a week where you allow your brain to worry about anything it wants.

If it’s not worry time, and your brain starts offering you worry thoughts, you’re just going to tell your brain “No- we’re not worrying right now. We have that scheduled for Monday at 3 pm. I’ll see you then.”

4.) Count your Blessings

The brain will focus on what we tell it to.

When we list our blessings daily, we’re sending the message to our brain “Hey! Focus on these things!”

5.) Choose Faith

The opposite of worry is faith.

John Bytheway, in his book How to Be Totally Miserable says:

“Faith is like Compound W. It’s a prescription-strength medicine for worrywarts. Instead of going to the Imagi-Nation to worry, use that brain of yours to dream, ponder, and play. When you choose Faith, you try your best, and then let go and let God do the rest.”

Byron Katie tell us there are only 3 types of Businesses:

Our business, Other people’s business, and God’s business.

The only business we can control is ours.

The rest we just have to choose faith and trust that everything will work out for the best.

Worrying that it might not, won’t change anything. It’ll just make you unhappy and miserable, and possible sick.

So the next time you find yourself stuck in worry, try one or all of these things:

• Allow it
• Get back into the Present
• Schedule worry time
• Count your blessings
• Choose faith