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What if I cannot do it? What if I fail? What if I lose my job? What if my relationships ends? What if it is too heavy? What if I get sick? Turn your What if into a To Do list!
Worrying thoughts about future concerns can be very overwhelming. Anxiety can cause a variety of physical and mental stress responses such as disturbed sleep, disturbed digestion and stomach issues, increased muscle tension and risk of injuries, increased blood pressure, and increased risk of cardiovascular disease.
Unhelpful behavior
People with anxiety often show avoidance behavior. They avoid triggering situations for example by not going to work anymore, or they avoid unpleasant emotions and feelings by using drugs or alcohol for example. Anxiety can also lead to a freeze- reaction in which a person is not able to take action, or to irrational panic reactions that can create a self-fulfilling prophecy, such as ending a relationship before the other person is expected to do.
Future situations are not yet a fact. They are only conjectures about what might happen. But they might also not happen. Being preoccupied with future concerns brings worries about what is not yet there into the present. This creates stress about something that is yet to come, but may very well also not come.
In some situations, temporary mild anxiety can be helpful, for example to focus more on the task to be done. But, when worrying thought become overwhelming and disruptive in daily life, it is time to take action. Because worrying thoughts are like being on a swing: It can go on and on forever but does not bring you anywhere.
Turn your What if into a To Do!
Action can lead to change. Redirecting your What if into a To Do list with specific actions, can help to break the cycle of worrying thoughts and decrease the level of anxiety. It can even give you a new perspective, positive energy and hope!
For example: What if I lose my job? -> What do I do if I lose my job?
Set up at least 3 specific action that you can do in case you lose your job! For example:
- Contact all your colleagues, friend and family about your search for a new job
- Analyze all your expenses in advance to see where you can save up
- Maybe this is the perfect opportunity to finally plan your holiday or sabbatical or to make that career switch
Try to get out of your head, into your hands: Time for action. Share your worries with others and involve them in your To Do list, because social support is important to deal with anxiety and other mental challenges, and talking to others helps to open your mind for new ideas and solutions.
Create your own health!©
