Why You Need a Worry List
We think, therefore, we worry.
We all have those painful, irritating thoughts — the doubts, the what ifs, the anxious speculation — thoughts that pop up like whack-a-moles and will not be beaten into submission.
I worry about everything from the wellbeing of my child to the additives in my breakfast cereal. But I’m an extreme example; I’ve lived with OCD and anxiety for most of my life. I am not an expert or a therapist (though I’ve been helped tremendously by a few), but I’ve built up some serious stamina and figured out a few secrets to managing worry that can benefit almost anyone.
The best one I’ve found? The worry list. Like its cousins, the grocery list and the to-do list, it helps free your brain for much more important things.
Make that list
Sit down at a time when you’re not likely to be interrupted and write out every last worry that pops into your head. Financial woes? Write it down. Marriage on the rocks? Add it. Haven’t vacuumed in weeks? Add that, too, if it bothers you. No worry is too small to make the worry list.
When you’re finished, file the list away, but take it out and add to it as needed. Getting all those worries and fears out of your head and onto the page is freeing. It’s cathartic. And it’s a finite, tangible way to quantify your…
