Learning To Let Things Go When You're A Chronic Worrier
Whether you're a chronic worrier, over-thinker or not I think we can all relate to the feeling of not being able to let things go all that easily. And when something has really upset you and got under your skin it is very difficult to move past it and let it lie. Something that I've been working really hard towards this year especially is letting things go because in the past I've had the tendency to dwell and overthink about everything which isn't a fun way to live as it makes you miss things that are happening now because you're so far in the past. So if you also struggle from dwelling on things and not letting them go then here are a few things that I make myself remember when I feel myself slipping into a bad thought pattern.
DON'T FEEL BAD FOR WORRYING
If you're a worrier or an over-thinker then you will know how rubbish it is when people talk to you and say 'why are you so worried?'. Some sort of level of worry is completely normal in life and there is nothing to apologise for and even if you do worry a little more than the average person it's still nothing to say sorry for. I'm pretty sure none of us likes to feel this way and we can't help it without the added worry of other people judging us because our minds don't work the same way.
THERE ARE PEOPLE OUT THERE WHO UNDERSTAND
When you're deep in the midst of a worry spiral it can be so hard to even think about the fact there are many people out there who completely understand your thought process. Even though we feel so alone when we're deep in it we never are and even the strangest thoughts that we've ever had someone else has also had them. Finding the people that understand you isn't easy but they are out there. And this is what I think the online world is so wonderful for because it allows us to connect to like minded people who will more than likely understand without question. Especially as of right now when it seems nearly impossible to meet people that aren't online.
CONTROL THE THINGS YOU CAN CONTROL
One of the things that has helped me so much when it comes to worrying is knowing that there are so many things I can't really control in life. I have no problem admitting that I like to be in control as much as I possibly can but we can't control everything and it's hard to deal with there is no denying it. Knowing and remembering that you can only control your controllables isn't easy at all but so important when it comes to getting lost in a list of worries.
WORRYING WON'T CHANGE THE OUTCOME
When I really worry my mind likes to convince me that the more I worry then maybe it will change things but it never does. Worrying yourself into oblivion never does any good and just makes the whole situation feel a lot harder than it probably already is. And it's all too tempting and I'm sure that we've all been there in a situation that we don't want to be in and worry until we're in such a state that the situation has become so much bigger than it probably ever was.
LIMIT YOUR THOUGHT TIME
If you're an over-thinker you will know how easy it is to waste hours upon hours on a situation without realising. And I know because I've done it myself so many times where I've wasted hours or even days to one situation and that's no way to live. If you know that you're never going to be able to completely block worry out of your mind then maybe limiting the time you allow yourself to spend on a thought is something that could work? I allow myself a few hours to get all my worry out and then very forcefully make myself move on because I know that it's just wasted time as much as my brain might make me think otherwise.
KEEP YOURSELF AS BUSY AS YOU CAN [WITHOUT BURNING YOURSELF OUT]
Addressing and acknowledging something that is making you worry is something I believe is very important as just squashing everything down might seem tempting it will come back one day to haunt you and then it will feel a hundred times worse. But keeping busy when your mind is crazy overactive is something I know can help, it doesn't always work of course but for the most part, it does. When I'm really worried my favourite things to do are; exercise, tidy, work or walk the dog.
Do you have any tips for letting things go?
