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There's a lot to worry about these days!
Worry Begets More Worry
The job of worry is to anticipate possible perils, to come up with ways to deal with them, and to rehearse what you will do if the danger does arise. The dilemma is that once you start to worry about your shrinking 401K or if you'll have a job next month, worry begets more worry, setting into motion a vicious cycle of frightening thoughts and anxious responses—worrywarting—out of control worrying.
Worrywarts get stuck in identifying danger as they immerse themselves in the dread associated with the threat, spinning out an endless loop of scary situations, paralyzing themselves by blowing everything out of proportion.
Are You a Worrywart?
1. Do worries keep you awake at night?
2. Do you have a one-track mind when worrying?
3. Do you worry that something terrible will happen?
4. Do your worries sometimes scare you?
5. Do your thoughts race from one worry to another?
6. Do you worry about what you "should" do?
7. Do you worry about small things?
If you answered, "Yes!" emphatically to five or six of the items, you are in danger of becoming a worrywart—where worrying gets in the way of living. Worrywarting is a torment that makes you feel bad, stresses you out, annoys your family and friends, and spoils the quality of live.
Don't try to stop worrying, advises Dr. Beverly Potter, author of The Worrywart's Companion. Worry, it self, is not good or bad, she says. Everyone worries. Worrying is a survival skill because it helps us to identify and prepare for dangers. The problem is that once started, worrying is difficult to control.
The solution is to become a "smart worrier". Smart worriers do the work of worry, then knowing that worry triggers anxiety, which triggers more worrying, which triggers more anxiety—around and around endlessly—smart worriers take active steps to soothe themselves to dispel the anxiety. In The Worrywart's Companion, Dr. Potter explains how worry can hijack our emotional brain and offers twenty-one ways to soothe yourself.
New book:
The Worrywart's Companion: Twenty-One Ways to Soothe Yourself and Worry Smart
Beverly A. Potter. PhD
McGraw-Hill, Sep 08, $15.95
To reach Dr. Potter, call 510-420-3669
