This article was formed from a group text discussion about “worry” following the second meeting of ‘Good Souls’:
Men worry.
Some men worry a lot.
Good Souls worry. After talking in our group, it turns out that we all worry.
I wonder what the collective noun for people who worry is? A Frenzy of Worriers?!
One Good Soul advised another…
I once read a little something that put worry into perspective, it goes: “worrying is a waste of time- if you begin to worry ask yourself one question: ‘can I do anything about it?’ If the answer is yes, then do something and know you are taking care of it and stop worrying about it. If the answer is no, then there is nothing you can do about it, so stop worrying about it”. I know it oversimplifies the notion of worry, but I always remind myself of this logic.
It really is that simple. But the brain and voices try and tell us otherwise. The brain is elastic and can be trained or rewired. And it takes constant practice of course.
So, we’ve devised a simple Anti-Worry Tool to help!
A diagram and four questions.
(This evolved from a sketch by Carl Richards).
When feeling overwhelmed and worrying about something specific, ask yourself:
If you are still feeling overwhelmed and worrying after going through this process, pick up the phone and talk to another Good Soul and get some support. We all worry, and we can all worry less.