Worry

If you’ve ever felt extremely nervous about an upcoming test, or got in a car and felt uneasy about the safety of driving, you’ve felt worried. We all worry at different points in our lives and for different reasons. Usually, the thoughts are temporary or we can divert our attention to something else. 

But, if those thoughts stick around and it's hard to think about anything else, worry can become consuming. Focusing on the present is challenging when you’re constantly thinking about the “what-ifs” in the future. 

Our body was evolutionarily designed to predict threats and run from a threat, which is exactly what worry and anxiety tell us. If we learn, for example, that a bear will eat us, we biologically prepare to run from a bear if we see one (in how we breathe, and how our muscles tense up, for example).

It makes sense why we evolved these responses as a way to protect us and help us survive. Worry and anxiety are not just normal for all of us–it’s often necessary. 

That being said, sometimes our internal detectors get out of whack and we perceive more threats (or potential threats) than there actually are. We might have difficulty stopping ourselves from worrying, and start physically preparing to protect ourselves and run. 

Understanding that you are experiencing worry, anxiety or panic and learning ways to focus less on the future and more on the present can be a helpful step in decreasing your mental and physical responses. 

This is hard to do in the moment and takes practice: It might be something as small as taking a few minutes out of the day to focus on how you’re breathing, learning to be mindful of your surroundings and safety and practicing being more grounded. 

Taking small steps to be kind to yourself by learning to both self-soothe and interrupt negative thought cycles can pay huge dividends in your quality of life.