WHY WORRY YOURSELF?
It sounds counterintuitive, but worry can help you beat stress
How do you know when something’s really got to you? For me, it’s when my tongue meets a rough spot on my upper lip, indicating that I’ve been attacking it with my lower left canine for hours. In case you haven’t already guessed, I don’t deal well with worry. As a 26-year-old woman with ambition and mercilessly high standards, I worry quite a lot. And chances are, you do too. British women are worrying significantly more than their male counterparts, according to a report by The Physiological Society earlier this year. But hold the hand-wringing – it’s not all bad news. Because, contrary to what you might assume, worry isn’t always toxic. In fact, a review of studies from the University of California found that worry can fuel, rather than hinder, success. Professor Kate Sweeny, who led the review, defines worry as ‘an aversive emotional experience that arises alongside repetitive unpleasant thoughts about the future’. As these low-level fears often have a specific target, if harnessed properly, they can help you focus and achieve your goal. Like all emotions, worry has a function. ‘It draws your attention to a situation on the horizon that may pose physical or emotional danger,’ says Professor Sweeny. ‘Armed with this awareness, you can then do something about it.’ In essence, worry is a safeguarding mechanism, whether that’s making you apply SPF daily or veto unsafe sex. A study in the journal Brain, Behavior And Immunity found that people who were nervous, conscientious and sensitive had low levels of interleukin-6, which is linked with risk of heart disease. In short, their bodies were better prepped against stress.
FEEL THE FEAR
There’s also the risk that if you bury your worries, no matter how small, they’ll become something bigger – and far more damaging. Buried negative feelings can, according to the Journal Of Personal And Social Psychology, boomerang back. ‘Anxiety disorders often occur because worries you haven’t dealt with reach an unmanageable level,’ says psychotherapist Deborah Warman-freed. So, to face your worries and deal with them productively, you need a strategy. The first step, according to hypnotherapist Chloe Brotheridge*, is to manage your fears so they don’t seep into parts of your day when you’re not fit to deal with them. ‘Instead of pushing them out of your mind, jot each one down – on paper or in your phone – then schedule 15 to 20 minutes a day to go through them,’ she suggests. Then assess whether it’s possible to alter the outcome of what’s worrying you. If it is, Professor Sweeny advises filling in a sort of mental checklist. ‘Ask yourself: is there something I should be doing? Are these nerves alerting me to something I might have missed? If the answer to either of these questions is yes, then great: worry has served its purpose.’ Next, make a list of potential ways to tackle it. ‘Just don’t waste time trying to come up with a perfect solution,’ advises Brotheridge. ‘There never is one – and you’ll only overwhelm yourself trying to find it.’ NO SWEAT
If you can’t actively solve the issue and it’s out of your hands, it’s time to distract yourself. An immersive podcast, such as S-town, or a mind-quieting sweat session (try Alice Liveing’s plyometrics workout on p23) should do the job. Concerns ever creeping in? Don’t fret; worry can still pay off. The University of California review shows that people deal worse with bad news – everything from medical test results to not being hired – if they haven’t considered that things might not go their way. So, next time you feel that nagging sensation in the pit of your stomach, don’t fear it. That’s your emotional security system talking – and it pays to listen up.