By Melaina Juntti, Men's Journal
Getting sucked into a vortex of worry is pure hell. Besides the
emotional torture, it can make you irritable, restless, tired,
depressed, achy, or nauseous. But worry itself isn’t all negative. In
fact, in small doses, it has some surprising upsides. In a new paper published in the journal Social Psychology and Personality Compass,
psychologists from the University of California, Riverside explain why
we should stop worrying so much about worry and, yes, even embrace it.
[post_ads]According to lead author Katharine Sweeny, worry is a “toxic
combination of anxiety, repetitive thoughts, and not being able to stop
focusing on something specific happening, typically in the future, or a
certain outcome.” If you’re constantly worrying, it can take its toll on
your brain and body and paralyze you from moving forward.
“When worry
gets out of control, it can lead to trouble sleeping, difficulty
concentrating, and physical health problems,” she says. “But some level
of worry is healthy. People often judge it too harshly because they’re
not aware it can be useful.”
One key way worry works in our favor
is by motivating us to take action. “If you’re worried, it probably
means there is a risk of something bad occurring,” Sweeny says. “So it
draws attention to the fact that there is something you should be doing.
It serves the purpose of saying, ‘Hey, you may want to take care of
that.’ ”
If you have some degree of control over whatever it is
you are worrying about, those fretful feelings may lead to protective or
preventive actions, Sweeny says. For example, if you worry about having
a car accident, you’re more likely to wear your seatbelt. If you’re
scared about skin cancer, you’ll wear sunscreen. If you’re worried you
won’t have enough time to finish that project by Friday, you’ll start
early.
In situations that are totally out of your control, such as
waiting to receive test results or to hear if you aced or botched a job
interview, worry might motivate you to prepare for potential outcomes.
“My research has shown that when women undergoing biopsies are worried,
they start telling key family members about the test, check their work
leave policies, or review their health insurance status,” Sweeny says.
“Doing these things won’t change the outcome, but they might make you
more ready for it. They might soften the blow a bit.”
Worry can
also serve as an emotional buffer. “Worry is often so unpleasant that
other negative emotional experiences seem not so bad in comparison,”
Sweeny says. “If you’re freaking out and just can’t stop, no matter what
happens, you can at least be relieved you won’t have to worry anymore.
People often say they don’t care if it’s bad news — they just want to
know so they can stop worrying about the unknown.”
Regardless of
worry’s benefits, it still feels shitty, so it’s natural to want to
quash it. Sometimes you can. “Run a mental checklist to see if there’s
anything you can do to prevent or prepare for a bad outcome,” Sweeny
says. “If you determine there isn’t, try to distract yourself —
socialize, exercise, or do anything that’ll get you out of your head. I
know that’s easier said than done, but getting your mind off of it is
really the only thing you can do.”
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With all this in mind, don’t panic the moment you feel worry
creeping in. Instead, accept the feeling, take inventory of your
situation, and do what you can do to address it and keep it from
spiraling out of control.
And if you notice a loved one worrying,
whatever you do, don’t tell them just to chill. “Is there anything more
annoying than when someone tells you to relax?” Sweeny asks. “That does
not help and it invalidates your experience. All people worry about
certain things.” Just remember the upsides
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