Strategies to reduce worry

Because worry is an ineffective and harmful mental habit, it's important to learn strategies to reduce it. Here are some practical techniques.

The first strategy is to start seeing the present moments as a time to live, not to obsess about the future.

Practicing mindfulness can be very helpful in grounding ourselves in the here and now.

The second and more powerful strategy is to remember that the best antidote to worry is action.

If there's something you can do now to prevent the problem you're worrying about, do it. If you can't do anything, then worrying is useless. Focus your energy on what you can control.

One interesting technique is to give yourself "worry periods." Instead of letting worry dominate your day, set aside a specific time for it.

For example, ''I'm going to worry about this issue for 10 minutes this afternoon.''

When the time comes, sit down and worry intensely. You'll soon realize that this is an exercise in futility and wasted time. This will help you reduce the habit.

Another helpful exercise is to make a list of all the things you worried about in the past. Then, see how many of those worries actually happened.

And ask yourself if worrying did anything for you. This hindsight is often very revealing.

Finally, with each worry, ask yourself the key question: ''Will anything change as a direct result of my worrying?'' The answer will almost always be "no."

This simple reminder can help you break the thought loop and redirect your attention to something more constructive and helpful in the present moment.

Summary

Worry is a harmful mental habit that takes us away from the present and drains us emotionally. To combat it, practicing mindfulness helps you focus on the present moment and reduce anxiety.

One powerful strategy is to replace worry with action. If you can do something, act. If you can't, worrying doesn't solve anything. Always focus on what's within your control.

Other techniques include assigning "worry periods" to limit your impact and reflecting on past worries that never came to fruition. This helps you see the futility of worrying.