But when am I going to find time to set aside time to stress?
All day, every day: It’s stress o’clock. While all you might want to do is push away your worries, if you really want to get a sense of control, you need to tackle them with intention.
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To accomplish this, set aside a designated time to do nothing but stress. Here’s what to know about taking an effective “worry break,” and why it might be the right technique for you.
Why you should designate time to worry
Sure, it sounds counterintuitive to lean into all the thoughts causing you strife. Isn’t that a recipe for spiraling?
The idea behind a designated worry break is not to succumb to all the stress, but to concentrate your worrying time into a productive “session” of sorts. Stressful thoughts find a way to intrude and disrupt your daily life. By scheduling a separate chunk of time to address them all, you’ll be able to focus on other things throughout your day.
It’s all about stressing more effectively—like diving straight into cold water, rather than torturing yourself by wading in and out of it a little bit at a time
I want to emphasize that your worry break will not simply be a terrifying fifteen minutes when your anxiety takes over, and then you’re expected to snap out of when the timer runs out. Instead, your goal will be to identify and attend to each of your worries, hopefully leading to some kind of action plan to help you regain control of your day.
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How to set up your worry break
The first step is the easiest, so long as you actually stick to it: Choose your time to stress. Mark it in your calendar, set a reminder, and don’t bail on yourself. To start out, carve out 15 or so minutes once a week.