One of the most dangerous emotions we experience is “worry,” which we all deal with. Scientifically worrying is proven to harm us in many ways. Worry hurts us emotionally, physically, and mentally. Worry takes many different forms, and we all have different responses to it. There are some great ways to combat worry.
Listed below are 9 scientifically-backed ways to stop worrying.
Exercise
Exercise helps to produce happiness, feel-good endorphins. Those endorphins make it a lot harder to be worried. Exercise reduces stress in so many ways. You can get your tension out through kick-boxing, yoga, pole fitness, running, swimming, and so much more. Training will give you an outlet to focus on that is not worrying. Exercise lets you focus on bettering yourself. Focusing on health and eating the right foods, you will stop worrying naturally.
Journaling
Keeping a journal can be a great way to stop worrying. By writing down your thoughts, you might see that they aren’t anything to worry about after all. Writing can be very therapeutic, and it helps you get to the bottom of the issue. When we write, we don’t concern ourselves with anything but the words on the page. Write about anything that makes you happy or angry. A study published in Psychotherapy Research showed that participants who journaled their feelings are likely to have lower anxiety levels than those in a more controlled setting.
Venting
Talking to someone about your worries is a great way to stop them right in their tracks. Often, someone else will have advice or something to add to the conversation to make you feel a little calmer. Don’t be afraid to ask people for advice while talking with them. Try to find someone who was in a similar situation as you. Keeping in mind that the worry will end is beneficial.
Volunteer
The best way to stop thinking about yourself is to help someone else. When the focus shifts away from us, we see that our problems are minor compared to the issues of others. Changing your views may change your mind about what is worth worrying about. Author Rodlescia Sneed claims that volunteering is vital to stress reduction. Other studies claim that less than 100 hours a year is enough to make a big difference in how you handle worry. So get out there, find something you are interested in, and see how your worry declines.
Meditate
Find a calming mantra to fixate your mind throughout the day. Whenever you start to worry creep into your mind, let yourself automatically go to that. Eventually, your mind will follow your actions. Meditation teaches us to control our thoughts rather than let them control us.
Create
Creativity, like exercise, gives an excellent vent for stress relief. Put all your emotions into making something beautiful. Creating something is a perfect use of time, unlike worry. Creativity gives us the option to change anything, unlike anxiety. Create a beautiful poem, piece of art, song, or even a recipe. Find something that you can quickly put your heart into! Some people even say that worriers are naturally creative people due to the amount of imagination it takes to create worries.
Pray
Speaking to a higher power about your difficulties is a safe way to get alleviation from worry. Acknowledging that something or someone is looking out for you will give you peace. Find encouraging verses and quotes on anxiety and turn them into prayers. A famous prayer that helps many people release worries is The Serenity Prayer which goes, “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change; courage to change the things I can; and wisdom to know the difference.”
Reflect
Reflection on the worry can help stop it in its tracks. Thinking with a level head brings us peace. Begin by thinking about the thing that you are worried about in a rational manner. Think of what started the problem the first time and what would be a realistic solution. If the worry is something that you can’t solve, let it go. Think about why you continue to worry about the matter at hand.
Keep Your Mind Off It
Try keeping yourself occupied, whether that is writing, reading, or watching a movie. Surround yourself with positive things that will lead your brain in a good direction. Create your own inspirational environment filled with uplifting books, quotes, movies, or music. Surround yourself with happy people who encourage you to live a stress-free life. Clear your life of things that will make you restless. Stay away from negative people that will try to drag you into their own life issues.
When we focus on finding creative ways to address our issues with worry, we will succeed in beating it once and for all.