You wake up at night and think about work reports, take a coffee break and feel stressed about tomorrow’s meeting, spend time with your family and worry about inflation or something happening on the other corner of the globe.
Is it about you? Ever catch yourself drowning in a sea of thoughts, feeling anxious, drained, and missing out on life’s simple joys? If the answer is “yes,” it’s time to change something!
Today, I’ll share some tips on how to stop worrying about everything. Keep reading to discover how to start breathing freely and improve your overall well-being.
Why Do I Stress About Everything? 101 Explanation
Kristen Stewart, Demi Lovato, Lady Gaga, and Adele — all these celebrities faced problems with constant anxiety. There’s nothing wrong with the fact that you can’t manage worries.
Especially in the 21st century — the age of clip thinking, the buzz of information, and digitalization that speeds up communication.
But why am I worrying about things around?
The story is older than you think. Thousands of years ago, when our ancestors felt stressed or in danger, their bodies released hormones that helped them either run or fight. This turned on the emergency systems in their bodies.
In the age of constant physical threats, it was reasonable to mobilize energy and resources. Worrying and feeling nervous meant that the danger was close and people needed to be ready in order to survive.
Stress was a signal that helped them deal with challenges and adapt to an unfriendly environment. Besides, the time has changed.
What about now?
We still live in stress, and more and more stress factors appear every day. However, we aren’t supposed to be in the “fight or flight” state as often as we are in 2024. We can’t fight. And we can’t deal with most things that make us feel nervous, which leads to constant anxiety.
How to not worry about everything around?
This simple question requires a complex answer. Hormonal reactions may be out of our control, but managing the stress factors is within our grasp. How? Keep reading to discover.
Possible Reasons for Constant Worrying
Significant stress and chronic worry destroy the lives of people throughout the world. No matter how prosperous you are or how well-developed your country is, you may feel stressed because of hundreds of reasons.
Wrap your mind around this: over 19.1% of the US population battles anxiety disorders. But don’t rush to diagnose yourself!
There may be two possible reasons why you worry too much: non-clinical factors and mental health disorders. Let’s take a glimpse at both variants.
Risk factors
- Childhood trauma. If you witnessed or experienced traumatic events in childhood, worries can follow you for the rest of your life. Start from our articles on what is childhood trauma and how to heal from childhood trauma. You may need a therapist’s help as well.
- Continuous stress. Problems at work, arguments at home, financial issues, and the overall situation in the world. If everything is terrible, you have nothing left but to keep worrying or thinking about something bad. Try to focus on and fix things you can control, and you’ll feel much better.
- Drugs or alcohol. They activate the brain’s reward system, which releases dopamine, and you feel happier using them. However, over time, your body becomes unable to release dopamine without these substances. You start worrying about things you can’t control and get more anxious.
- Sleep or nutrition problems. I’ll focus on them in the next paragraph. Besides, you need to know that poor nutrition, impaired quality of sleep, and coffee addiction can turn you into an anxious mashed potato quite quickly.
Disorders that cause excessive worrying
Nevertheless, maybe you can’t stop worrying because of severe health disorders. You can read them in detail in the article on how to tell if nausea is from anxiety. But let’s enlist them briefly here.
- Phobias
- Panic Disorder
- Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD)
- Social Anxiety Disorder
- Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD)
Disclaimer. Don’t try to diagnose yourself, and start taking some pills. If you have any mental health concerns, please talk to your healthcare provider.
How to Stop Worrying — 7 Simple Tips
Yahoo, you reached the practical part! Check out 7 super easy tips that will help you manage anxiety and take care of your mental health.
Disclaimer 2.0. Some of the tips may sound too simple, but that’s it. Just give them a try, and you’ll decrease your worry and get much happier.
1. Sleep Well
“Why do I wake up tired?” If this is a question you ask yourself every morning, it’s time to ring the alarm bells. Constant worries and lousy sleep are connected like two Oreo cookies. There are several hacks on how to improve your sleep and stop anxious thoughts:
- Choose blackout curtains and a sleep mask. Avoiding bright light helps the body produce melatonin and relax better.
- Choose a comfy mattress and pillow. Provide your spine with proper support to rest after an active day.
- Minimize noise. Turning on YouTube or Netflix to fall asleep isn’t a good idea. Ensure that it’s quiet in your bedroom.
- Keep a sleep schedule. Sounds boring, right? But this doesn’t mean that you need to refuse parties and nights out with friends. Just take care that you fall asleep and wake up at about the same time most nights.
Give these tips a try, and you’ll stop worrying about things you can’t control pretty quickly. Have you already implemented them? Read further.
2. Exercise Regularly
Lace-up those sneakers, hit the gym, and conquer the exercises you dread. Repeat the process at least three times a week. Till the rest of your life. It’s not a horror movie; it’s your path to mental stability.
Sounds scary, right? But sport shouldn’t be a forced necessity; it can bring enjoyment and mental stability to your life. In fact, regular exercises lower the risk of developing anxiety by 60%.
If these stats motivate you, here are some tips to start enjoying sports and calm your worry thoughts down.
- Try different activities. Going to the gym isn’t the only fitness activity in the world. Try Kangoo Jumps, yoga, running, or dancing. Keep going until you find a kind of exercise that you enjoy doing.
- Don’t force yourself. A famous football player, Mike Singletary, once said, “Do you know what my favorite part of the game is? The opportunity to play.” Trust the process and enjoy it. That’s what makes us feel better.
- Understand your goal. You don’t want to participate in the Olympic Games or take first place in international competitions, right? Remember why you’re exercising — it’s a key to how to worry less.
- Praise small achievements. Every time you do some sort of exercise, you take care of your well-being. And you’re doing great. Notice the slightest changes in your mental or physical state and celebrate them.
Track your mood in less than 30 seconds with your smartphone. Try Breeze and watch your emotional swings easily.
3. Ask Your Friends and Family for Support
What is love? Love is support and dedication. Once you understand that you’re not alone, the world becomes a bright and exciting place.
When you worry about yourself and everything around you, share these feelings with your loved ones. They may give great advice or provide a shoulder to cry on, which is priceless.
Harry has Rone and Hermione. Frodo has Samwise. Shrek has Donkey. Even the bravest heroes and the most evil ogres need friends for their accomplishments.
You may start thinking something like, “How to stop feeling anxious about what they’ll think about me?” If you experience trust issues and are shy about your emotions, I recommend contacting a professional. It’s OK to work on it; it’s not OK to stay alone with the problem.
4. Cut Down on Coffee and Alcohol
You drink americano to get up, a cappuccino to start working, and a latte to relax after a tough day. 3, 4, or even 5 cups a day! I feel you.
Sometimes, all of us need “doping” to get more energetic, or vice versa, to relax. But when it comes to the question, “Why do I worry about everything?” remember how many cups of coffee or glasses of wine you drank over the last week.
How does it happen? Caffeine and alcohol impact our central nervous system. They change the levels of dopamine and serotonin in our bodies. As a result, our blood pressure rises, and we feel heart racing, which worsens anxiety.
Thus, I recommend drinking water or herbal tea, as they’ll make you feel much better.
5. Practice Meditation
What does it feel like when you’re nervous? Constant worry, brain chatter, and inability to focus on positive moments. Something like that, right?
Meditation and mindfulness help you stay focused and calm the buzz of thoughts inside your head.
“But I don’t like sitting in a lotus pose and following someone’s voice.” That’s fine! You can find a vast number of practices on the Internet. Start from the guide on how to meditate — it will be enough to see noticeable changes.
6. Focus on the Present Moment
How to stop worrying about things you can’t control? Shift your focus to what you can handle.
Psychologist Victor Shamas once stated, “The present moment is the only one that matters, and what you are doing right now is as delightful as anything else.”
What should you worry about now while walking down the street, staying with your family, or doing this minor task? Nothing.
Most of us feel anxious about the future or frustrated about the past. But when you only try to stay in the present moment, everything feels much better. You don’t need to deal with all your problems at once; you can take baby steps to turn these problems into tasks and complete them.
7. Get Professional Help
Final tip. If you don’t know how to calm your anxiety, and none of the hacks seem to work, reach out to a psychologist. It’s OK not to have all the answers, especially in this rapidly changing world.
In 2023, around 13% of US adults were being treated by psychologists or other mental health professionals. And, often, it is the best option.
In Summary
Good job! Now you know how to stop stressing about everything and can manage your feelings in tense moments. Try tips from this guide to take care of your mental health and notice changes in a few days.
And here is your one more special tip: Use Breeze for your self-exploration journey. Stay healthy and happy with us.
Cimone Safilian, PhD, TLLP comments “Excessive worrying can have many detrimental effects in your day-to-day life — so it is important to manage it appropriately! It’s important to note that managing your worries does not mean completely eliminating all concerns or stresses from your life. It involves developing healthy coping strategies and adopting a more balanced perspective. If excessive worrying persists and significantly interferes with your daily functioning, it’s advisable to seek professional help from a mental health provider.”
