How To Worry Less About Work: Take A Vacation From Worry
Are you a worrier? Do you tend to go to the dark places far too often and far too easily – think about everyday-life and inconsequential matters—and stay stuck there?
How do you know if you have this tendency? Here are a few questions:
* Do you frequently skip to the most catastrophic version of events in your mind?
* Do you often rehearse things that upset you? “Rehearsing” is different from “venting.” Venting means we get stuff off our chests and feel a sense of clarity afterwards. Rehearsing means that we repeat the same story over and over-and that we have the same emotional reaction every time.
* Do you frequently worry about things that have already happened?
* Do you worry a lot about work when you are at home?
* Does your worry sometimes make you so exhausted that you are too tired to take action on the issue?
You Need a Break
If you answered yes to these questions, I’d like to give you a gentle suggestion: take a break from worry. Take a vacation from anxiety. Yes, you read that correctly. I’m not going to give you a bunch of work to do to improve yourself. I’m going to ask you to let go for a little while. Do what you’d do on vacation-put it aside for a little while.
Vacation 101:
Don’t know what I could possibly be talking about? Here are some examples of vacation from anxiety:
* If you worry about work when you are at home, make it illegal. That means, if you catch yourself thinking about something that happened during a meeting while you’re in the shower, say to yourself “I’m on vacation until I go back into work tomorrow, so I’m not going to think about it.”
* When you’re at home at night, no talk about work (or whatever concerns you) is allowed.
* Be on vacation in your own town. When you come home from a long day of work and are tempted to drop into your chair and watch TV, remind yourself that you are on vacation. Think of something fun to do — whether it’s taking a walk, sitting outside on the patio and grilling dinner, or playing a game. My husband and I bought badminton and boule sets and started playing after dinner in the park every night.
We value and respect the experiences of all of our HERWriters, but everyone is different. Many of our writers are speaking from personal experience, and what's worked for them may not work for you. Their articles are not a substitute for medical advice although we hope you can gain knowledge from their insight.
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