Always Worrying About Something: Learn How to Stop
Always worrying about something and trying to figure out how to stop? For many people, worrying is a frequent experience. If its not worrying about one thing, its worrying about another. And so the worry cycle goes.
Why Are You Always Worrying About Something?
The answer to why you worry is a combination of both genetic reasons and environmental reasons. For example, some people are simply born with a genetic predisposition toward worrying more than others.
Having a family history of anxiety disorders increases the chance that you will also have a tendency to worry. Likewise, growing up with a history of challenging life circumstances and experiences wrought with unpredictability also increases chances of worrying.
Unpredictability reduce one’s sense of stability, safety and security. For example, being in environments where one’s emotional, physical, or social needs aren’t consistently met reduces one’s sense of stability and security.
When situations and behaviors of others are unpredictable, it is hard to know what to expect. This can bring on a need to predict ahead and worry with intention to manage one’s experiences and reduce potential harm.
Over time, worrying can become a familiar way of trying to preempt danger. One can go from small infrequent worries to always worrying about something and everything on a consistent basis.
While these these are only a few factors that may influence worrying, you may be curious about what is happening for you individually. In order to truly understand why you specifically worry, it is best to meet with an anxiety therapist.
Why Do I Always Feel Worried For No Reason?
Sometimes people worry even when they know things will turn out to be ok in the end. The thing is, worrying doesn’t necessarily mean that you are being negative or pessimistic about life.
It also doesn’t mean that you are worrying about nonsensical things. This can be confusing if you tend to tell yourself that there is no reason to feel worried.
While it can feel that you are always worried for no reason, there is usually a specific type or theme of worrying. One way to tell is to pay really close attention to what your thoughts are.
What do you tend to think about when you feel worried? Is there a particular theme or topic that consistently comes up as concerning or troubling?
In actuality, it is rare that people worry for no reason. Sometimes saying that you have no reason to worry can feel punitive as if there is something wrong with you. Or as if you don’t have the right to feel worried.
If this is the case, be careful not to reject yourself or admonish yourself for worrying. Be kind to yourself as you may find that you worry for what appears to be important or protective reasons.
For example, maybe you really care about a particular event going well such as a baby shower you spent hours organizing for your best friend. Or you really desire that glowing recommendation from your previous employer in order to move into the next stage of your career.
In short, there may indeed be a reason that you worry. The following sections talk about the common worries that most people experience and how to control them.
Always Worrying Something Bad Will Happen
Anticipating events going wrong is the hallmark of worrying. There are commonplace worries that most everyone has. Moreover, the things that people worry about tend to fall into everyday life experiences and into the following categories.
Common Worries:
Work and Employment
Job security and the ability to maintain one’s lifestyle is an important factor everyone can relate to. Doing meaningful work and finding a job that is enjoyable is also becoming increasingly valued and necessary for many people.
Always worrying about something as it relates to work is very common as many people spend the majority of their day at work. The environment, culture, and demands of each job brings about unique challenges.
For example, one must learn how to navigate social dynamics and office politics. One must also maintain good job performance. One must also showcase important skills such as time management, punctuality, meeting deadlines, communication skills, etc.
In addition, trying to figure out a good work-life balance can be a concern. Especially when you are in a place of employment that requires much of your time and dedication. It can be stressful to turn off work and then proceed with also meeting the various demands in one’s person life.
Health
Maintaining physical and emotional wellbeing is important. Worrying can take on a new meaning if you are dealing with current health issues. Or if your doctor has told you to make new and significant lifestyle changes.
Always worrying about something as it relates to your health can be difficult. Sometimes the concern may feel warranted, such as worrying after receiving a real diagnosis from a doctor.
The unknowns and uncertainty surrounding health conditions are best dealt with by having regular medical visits. This gives you an opportunity to receive tailored care that is specific to your body’s needs.
If you feel particularly concerned about a specific medical condition, it can be helpful to jot down questions to ask your medical provider. Taking notes during your appointment or right after helps you retain important information needed to take care of your health.
You may also consider asking someone you trust to accompany you to a medical visit. Having someone that can offer support, boost your moral, and alleviate stress can make a big difference.
Money and Finances
Always worrying about something to do with money or finances is common. For some people, having a lot of money and then worrying about finances and investments is more of the concern.
For others, insufficient funds, lacking access to money, and worrying about sustaining a way of life is mostly the worry.
Either way, feeling that you are in a precarious or unpredictable relationship with money and finances affects ones sense of security. Moreover, having had traumatic past experiences with finances can increase worrying about something bad happening with money again.
For example, a history of job loss, unsteady employment, difficulty paying bills leads to a sense of financial insecurity and instability. Having enough money to provide a healthy, happy, and safe home environment is paramount for most people.
Indeed, many concerns in this area is about taking care of oneself and ones family. Worries include thoughts about affordability, budgeting and planning for food, housing, healthcare, insurance, clothing, etc.
Also having enough left over to build up a savings fund for unforeseeable events, paying off debts, retirement, vacations, or other events. All of these things can be troubling enough to keep people up at night with worries. Finding support and creating a financial plan can be the start to tackling these concerns.
Social Relationships
Social relationships are important for maintaining emotional wellbeing and a sense of social connection and support. It is natural to worry about the ones we care about and love the most.
A common social worry is related to the potential loss of connection or fear of hurting others’ feelings. This is especially the case when dealing with challenging and stressful relationships.
And sometimes the stress or concern arises from one’s own experience in social situations. For example, a type of anxiety, called Social Anxiety Disorder, is associated with the fear of social situations and negative evaluation by other people.
Fear of saying the wrong thing, getting easily embarrassed, and fear of rejection make creating meaningful relationships challenging.
The Future
Wouldn’t you love to have a crystal ball and some level of certainty to guide you in making decisions? Like a hint to let you know if you are making the right decision to end that relationship? Or if you are making the right decision to change careers?
Most often, we want to know the answers so that we can prevent some sort of heartache or pain. We engage in wishful thinking and convince ourselves that knowing it all will prevent hassles. And somehow prevent unfortunate circumstances from occurring.
But this is tricky thinking because none of us holds the answers. While worrying about the future is most definitely unnerving, you are not alone. It is one of the most universal concerns.
We all want to do well, be well, and have things work out in our favor. It is comforting to feel like we are in control. But, the truth is we are not. In times of stress, it’s often helpful to imagine the future with positivity and hopefulness.
Can Worrying About Something Cause Symptoms?
Worrying frequently and more often than not, is a sign of anxiety. Anxiety is a normal part of life and is necessary at times. In fact, some anxiety temporarily serves the purpose of keeping us safe and helps us to avoid danger.
It is like an internal alert or alarm that helps prevent you from potentially experiencing any physical or psychological harm. However, always worrying about something can become a symptom of an anxiety disorder.
Generalized Anxiety Disorder
Generalized anxiety disorder (GAD) is an anxiety disorder that is characterized by excessive worrying, feeling on edge, restlessness, trouble concentrating, difficulty relaxing, irritability, fatigue, and muscle tension.
Excessive worrying refers to worry that is in excess or above and beyond what may be required for the situation. The mind is miscalculating the amount of risk, danger, or potential harm with regards to the circumstances you are facing.
This means worrying about something bad happening regardless of whether or not there is an actual threat. Perceiving danger when there is little or none at all, activates the “fight or flight” mode in the nervous system.
The nervous system prepares the body for action toward safety and in this process, a person will experience physical sensations. For example, increased heart rate, shortness of breath, dizziness, shakiness, trembling, feeling keyed up and on edge, dry mouth, etc.
Worrying too much puts the body in a heightened state of alert and can produce physical and psychological symptoms. It is hard to feel calm or relaxed.
Chronic Worrying
Always worrying about everything can also become a chronic issue. In fact, uncontrolled anxiety can greatly hinder a person from living their best life. This is because a person may stop doing things or engaging in regular life activities due to fear and worry.
A change in functioning in social, academic, or occupational life indicates a need to identify ways to reduce anxiety symptoms.
Learning and implementing strategies to lessen and stop worrying is an important step toward being able to enjoy life’s experiences.
How to Stop Always Worrying About Everything
Forfeit the Need to Always Be in Control
Letting go of control can feel scary. It can be especially challenging if being in control has helped you to feel safe in the past.
Unfortunately, the idea of being in control is often an illusion that we trick ourselves into believing. In the end, there are too many factors in life that prevent us from fully being in control.
Instead of trying to control all aspects of the situation, practice focusing only on the variables that are controllable. And then let go of the rest and practice acceptance.
For example, you can plan all the details of your wedding day, but you cannot control the weather. Practicing acceptance in this case will increase the chances you will have a great day.
Stay In the Present Moment
Always worrying about the future takes your mind away from focusing on the current moment. Notice when your mind wanders away from what you are currently doing.
A worried mind that strays often thinks about things that “may”, “could”, or “possibly” happen at some point in time. Notice when you are future-focused and bring the mind back to the present.
One way to do this is to practice mindful awareness. In other words, notice when you are worrying about something bad happening in the near future. Remind yourself that you are not currently in that position. Only your mind is.
With intention, bring your thoughts back to noticing what is currently in your physical surroundings. What is around you? Take a deep breath. Grounding yourself in the awareness of the present moment can help stop racing thoughts.
Work On Changing Negative Thoughts
Negative thoughts are thoughts that lead us to imagine worst case scenarios. They lead us to naturally look for the bad things that can possibly happen and things going wrong. Naturally this will increase worrying.
When you feel worried, it can make a big difference to pause and notice what thoughts are coming to mind. Are you particularly thinking of something negative or positive?
If the thought is negative, such as, “I won’t get the job anyway so I might as well not apply”, notice the statement. See if there is another way to look at the scenario. Look for a more realistic, neutral, or positive way to help you change your thoughts.
The more you work on changing negative thoughts to more positive or helpful thoughts, the less you will worry. Consider this change, “I possess the qualities required of this job description. I will apply and put myself in the running”.
You aren’t lying to yourself and being fake positive. But, you also aren’t engaging in self-defeating and worrying behaviors. It can put you on a path toward considering things in a more positive light.
Manage Your Stress Levels
Stress and anxiety are interconnected. Stress arises from our everyday experiences. From small hassles like having to wait longer than expected at an appointment, to dealing with a more serious chronic health concern.
In order to reduce your stress, you must first identify the source of your stress. Identifying the things that cause you stress will help you begin to figure out strategies to respond to stress.
There are many different healthy and unhealthy ways to respond to stress. Take an inventory of your current stress relievers. Get rid of the ones that aren’t working or actually have the potential to worsen stress.
Increase the strategies or implement new stress-relieving strategies that will promote overall well being.
As you tackle stress, you will also be reducing the potential for anxiety symptoms from taking over your day.
Improve Your Sleep Habits
Getting a good amount of rest helps your brain to perform cognitive tasks such as processing information and storing memories. Sleep also helps to regulate and manage emotions.
Skimping on a few hours of sleep here and there may not seem so bad. But, when you are always worrying about something, getting some good shut eye can be helpful.
Practicing a sleep routine will prepare your body for bed by relaxing your muscles and quieting the mind. Consider engaging in relaxing activities an hour before your bedtime.
These activities can include things such as reading, listening to soft relaxing music, doing breathing and muscle exercises.
Additionally, assign yourself a consistent bed time. Going to bed at the same time each night helps to train your brain to quiet down. Overall, good sleep habits have a positive impact on your mind and body.
Organize Your Life
Organizing your life can mean different things. It can be organizing your finances and making an effort to increase financial literacy or pay bills on time.
It could be organizing your home and decluttering an area that has become unsightly and overwhelming. Or finally scheduling the doctor’s appointment you have been putting off to take care of your health.
There are so many things involved in organizing one’s life. Sometimes in the fast-paced, everyday moments, we temporarily lose the ability to handle all of the things.
Knowing that we have tasks looming, such as a mental to-do list, can increase stress. And an increase in stress will increase feelings of pressure. And this in turn, will cause more worrying about everything.
Take a moment to sit down quietly with yourself. Identify a some things that need to be organized in your life and are causing you to worry. Make a reasonable plan to commit to getting a few things done.
Getting looming tasks off your plate and out of mind can alleviate the constant concern and excessive worry about them.
Work On Boosting Your Self-Confidence
Always worrying about something going wrong can also be an indication about one’s level of confidence. Confidence refers to belief in oneself.
When we don’t feel confident going into a situation, we are more likely to worry or fret about it. For example, say you have received a promotion at work that requires you to utilize a different set of skills.
While excited, you may also feel worried if your confidence in yourself to step into this new role is low. This can look like self-doubt, worrying that you aren’t fit for the promotion, or some version of imposter syndrome.
Believing in oneself and having a healthy sense of self and self-confidence can reduce worrying. Similarly, so is having confidence and believing in other people. Being able to trust your children for example, can help you worry less about them.
Therapy For Worrying and Anxiety in New York
Trying to figure out how to stop worrying about everything is a common issue that merits a solution. Working with an anxiety therapist in New York can make a difference. Consider scheduling an appointment.
