Here are the best ways to stop your stressing:
- Keep a journal
Jot down your worry, then in a few days or weeks, write down the outcome. What you’ll find: Things usually turn out better than you think they will
- Challenge the likelihood of your worry
If your husband is late coming home and you imagine has been hit by bus, think about emotion behind your worry. (You are anxious because you love him and want to keep him around). Once you have identified the emotion at the heart of your worry and allowed yourself to experience it, see if it’s a reasonable worry (hint: probably not). Then let it pass rather than allowing anxiety to ruin your quiet night at home.
- Peel an orange
The next time a thought threatens to snowball into a stressfest, grab an orange or grapefruit. Press your nail into your skin, peel it back and smell the citrus scent, focusing on every sensation. “Rather than worry about the future, you can bring yourself into the moment”, Leahy says
- Get nostalgic
Visualize your key life events of the past 10 years. You probably can’t recall the worries linked with these experiences, or if you can, you may see the most never happened (e.g. you didn’t trip and fall at your wedding). Tell yourself that current worries will fade from memory, too.
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