02 Sep Susan’s Sound Advice #15
A great way to break the habit of chronic worrying is to create a “worry appointment” with yourself. Choose a
set time and place for worrying. It should be the same every day (e. g. In the living
room from 6: 00 to 6: 20 p. m. ) and early enough that it won’t make you anxious
right before bedtime. During this time, you’re allowed to worry aboutwhatever’s on your mind. The rest of the day, however, is a worry-free zone. Postpone your worry. If an anxious thought or
worry comes into your head during the day, make a brief note of it and postpone
it for your “appointment”. Remind yourself that you’ll have time to think about
it later, so there’s no need to worry about it right now. Go over your worry list during the worry
period and reflect on the worries you wrote down during the day. If the thoughts
are still bothering you, allow yourself to worry about them, but only for the amount
of time you’ve specified for your”appointment”. If the worries don’t
seem important any more, cut your appointment short and enjoy the rest of your
day.
Postponing worrying is effective because it breaks the habit of dwelling on worries
in the present moment. As you develop the ability to postpone your anxious thoughts,
you’ll experience a greater sense of control.
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