Everyone worries or sees things gloomy from time to time. Worrying is an endless stream of negative thoughts about the past or future that keeps running through your head.
Worrying often also means that you are afraid of something, consciously or not: afraid something will go wrong, afraid things won't go the way you hoped, afraid of how someone else will react.
Unfortunately, worrying often does not lead to new insights or solutions. It actually only costs you a lot of time and energy and can also lead to stress, anxiety, insomnia or depression.
It makes no sense to hide worrying: it always surfaces again and it has a function. You want to solve problems. It is therefore important to give these thoughts space without getting stuck in a viscous circle.
Below are some practical suggestions that can help:
1. Agree with yourself that you can only worry for 15 minutes once a day. Choose a fixed time for this, preferably not too late in the evening. Every time you find yourself worrying, postpone it to this moment. When the time has come, you let loose completely. Then worry to your heart's content!
2. Write down what's in your head: get a notebook to write down all your (negative, unpleasant) thoughts. This can help get the jumble of thoughts out of your head. You may even be able to do this during your worrisome time. Start with a problem description. Ask yourself if you can influence the problem. If not, let it go (because it is totally pointless). If yes, what solutions can you come up with?
3. Seek distraction: When you find yourself starting to worry or notice a negative thought, do something. This distracts you from your negative thoughts. Exercising in particular can help to combat worry and unrest. For example, go for a walk or exercise. But also cleaning, doing something creative, calling a friend, listening to music or gaming can also be a good form of distraction for you.
4. Get out into nature: Nature is soothing. Everyone recovers from a walk outside. Do you take your worrying thoughts with you? Then try this to stay in the moment:
name 5 things you see,
name 4 sounds you hear,
name 3 things you feel,
name 2 things you smell,
name 1 thing you taste.
5. Increase your self-awareness with the help of CBT (Cognitive Behavioral Therapy): learn to become aware of your negative thoughts. These often come to you unconsciously and
automatically and lead to various feelings, such as anger, fear, guilt, shame, sadness, insecurity. It is important to be aware of this and learn to recognize negative thoughts so that you can change them. Feel free to ask yourself: how realistic are my thoughts and how helpful are my automatic thoughts?
