Less Worry Now: Two Key Tools

Do you find yourself worrying all the time? Do you find it hard to concentrate because the same thoughts keep going around and around in your head like clothes in a dryer? Do your worries keep you from enjoying life, getting things done, and falling asleep at night?

Now there is hope. Real hope.

You are about to discover two fantastic ways to win your battle against worry. How do I know this? I am a practicing psychologist with nearly twenty five years of experience. In my professional opinion, these are the two most powerful, simple tools anyone can use to reduce or eliminate worry.

ARE YOU WORRYING OR ARE YOU PLANNING?

If your worries are driving you crazy, remember what Robert J. Hastings said, "It isn't the burdens of today that drive men mad. Rather, it is regret over yesterday or fear of tomorrow. Regret and fear are twin thieves who would rob us of today."

And remember what Mark Twain wrote, "I am an old man and have known a great many troubles - but most of them never happened."

Maybe you learned to worry from a parent or superstitiously found that worrying seemed to prevent disasters. Whatever the reasons, here are two things can do about it.

Before you use either of these methods to stop worrying, though, here is an important question to ask yourself. Am I worrying or am I planning? If you are planning, sit down with a pad and paper and plan. If not, you are wasting your time which means you are wasting your life. Do something else with your life. Use one of the following tools or combine them to stop worrying!

TOOL #1:

Postpone worrying. What do you mean? Set aside thirty minutes each day at the same time each day to worry. To worry? Yes, that's right, to worry. When you find yourself worrying at other times, postpone it and focus on something productive or pleasurable.

Researchers have found that if you worry more than ten minutes and less than twenty at one time, worrying only increases. Worry less than ten minutes or more than twenty and your worrying will stay about the same or decrease. When worriers in another study set aside a 30 minute worry time each day and postponed worrying until the appointed time, on average they worried 35% less time than those who did not use this method.

What about the 30 minutes of worry time? In the study, many worriers would get to their worry time and decide they didn't want to worry or felt silly worrying, so they didn't worry. Even factoring in the time taken by some during their worry time, overall time spent worrying decreased by 35%!

TOOL #2:

Use the STOP technique. This is another simple but very powerful technique. First, think of a wonderful time and place in your life, such as your favorite vacation, your wedding, your graduation, or another special moment.

When you find yourself worrying, yell "Stop" to yourself as loudly as you can. Imagine a large red stop sign in your mind's eye. Feel yourself slamming on the breaks. For extra effect, taste something awful that you would immediately spit out if you ever put it in your mouth. Imagine smelling something that would instantly stop you from moving forward. Then switch your thinking to the spcial time in your life. Vividly see, hear, feel, smell and taste the special scene. Do this every time you have the worry.

You can expect to start with about 500 stop-and-switches the first day, reduce to maybe 480 the second, 450 the third, and then drop to fewer rapidly thereafter. In my experience, this won't fail unless you give up trying.

Here's to worry-free living!

Would you like to relax for six minutes using a free sample of the new relaxation training program Dr. Nathan developed? Visit: www.ShortSample.info

© 2008 by Ron Nathan, Ph.D. and UpwardPress.com