Any tips on stopping worrying?

[Hildabaggins]

I am a worrier, I have been my whole life. I will worry about upcoming events for weeks before they happen. And I ruminate over things that have happened in the past. I worry about things I said or did 20 years ago. I worry that I’ve made mistakes at work. I worry about the DC and their futures. I can’t concentrate on day to day activities sometimes cos I’m worrying so much about everything.

I have had CBT and counselling in the past, neither of which I found particularly useful.

Does anyone have any strategies to help with this?

I also need help. I’ve been making stupid mistakes at work and now on thin ice but I can’t stop worrying which makes me distracted 😖

What would you do with the time you saved by not worrying?

Are you against anxiety meds? Because that is the only thing that has worked for me. It’s not a silver bullet but it makes life manageable. I’ve tried therapy and meditation, neither has helped my anxiety.

Yes this is what I get like too. I feel so overwhelmed all the time.

Not at the moment. I was on sertraline in the past but I came off it cos I didn’t sleep well when I was on it.

I don’t know, get on with normal life I suppose?

fluoxetine and cbt for your ocd

Worrying is like sitting in a rocking chair. It gives you something to do, but gets you nowhere and doesn't solve anything.

Mindful meditation until it dawns on you that your worrying is futile. It's a realisation/recognition that you suffer more in your imagination than in reality.

The reason I asked is that the first step is to start imagining life without worrying (apart from 'normal' worrying about actual things). It helps your mind understand that there is a different way to behave, and one that's more useful and relaxing.

I love the rocking chair analogy - thank you!

I did well on sertraline, but I also got a useful tip from a CBT group I attended. Try to distract yourself in the moment, by promising that you will devote an hour to worrying/ruminating later and set some time aside for the - say 7.-8. They said when it to it, people actually struggle to fill the 'worry hour' .

I'm guessing you have a very harsh internal voice. Many people do and it doesn't help with getting over past negative events. A good starting point would be to change this . Start by talking to yourself as you would to a friend who had screwed up. If you feel better over past events you'll probably feel better about the future.

Also try journalling to break down exactly what you're worried about.

Exercise can be great too. Something like yoga, pilates or tai chi or if that doesn't work for you maybe walking in nature or running help to calm the body and clear the mind.

Take a deep breath.
When you exhale say to yourself that you will not think about anything.
When you've exhaled try to think of something.
You won't be able to.
Stay there!

I'm a bit like this. I'm on my own while OH is at work and all I do is feel like I'm ill. i don't know if there's anything wrong with me or if it's all in my head because, when I'm busy or with other people, it doesn't happen. I never used to be like this - just in the last year or so.
I'm very insecure and hopeless at meeting new people so don't want to volunteer anywhere but I just can't seem to get out of the bit.
I'm thinking of making a doctor's appointment but don't want to feel I'm wasting their time,

@RaraRachael - what's happened in the last year or so?

@Eyesopenwideawake nothing at all. My first year of retirement was great but this year I spend all my time worrying about stuff.

I find my brain constantly thinks so I have to find alternative stimuli otherwise I will mull over things in ways that aren't good. Listening to podcasts, music, mindfulness apps, whatever works for you really can help fill that void that otherwise your brain goes into worry mode. It's finding what works for you that is key though.

At night I have to have something to get to sleep, I find In Our Time is excellent (bbc sounds) whereas in the car I put on comedies and so on

Horrible isn’t it. I’ve always had it but this time it started when a woman at work tried to get me sacked and now ironically I might do because the stress is getting to me. I had an informal chat the other week and was getting better then made a mistake last week. My weekend had just been worrying about this.