On a spectrum of 1-10 with 10 being an extreme over-worrier, I find myself somewhere between a 6 and 7. I usually have a lot on my mind, and in the past, I struggled with finding the off-switch to my thoughts. It’s a struggle of trying to channel good thoughts and positive actions from these worries. For me, I have peace when I know that I gave something a lot of effort. The mentality I try to have is since I can’t control a lot of things in life, the most I can do is my part and then adapt and be flexible after. I find sitting around and worrying about something counterproductive because you don’t accomplish anything, and you’ll probably end up feeling worse afterwards. Here are a couple of things that help me when I’m worried.
1) Find a change of scenery
If you’re sitting in your room and the worries and anxiety begins to creep in, moving somewhere different might be able to help you get your mind off things. I find that I have a clear and blank mind when I focus on little tasks. And recently I realized I can’t sit in one spot for hours at a time. Even if I don’t leave the building, I do anything that will give me an excuse to get out of my seat intermittently (filling my water bottle, printing notes, etc.) This may seem like restlessness, but if you know the amount of time you can stay productive, moving around in between can break up your time into chunks of productivity with a little breather in between. (I think that’s the whole point of class changes in high school). Try going to a different study spot that you don’t associate with stress and all-nighters or move between places of familiarity.
2) Journal or go talk to someone
If the first suggestion is too much movement for you then maybe this can be more effective. I chose journaling or talking to someone to represent the different sides to the spectrum of how people process their emotions and worries. I am an internal processor, so I need time to be by myself to journal and reflect. And then I like to get feedback and support from others. For others, reaching out to mentors, family or friends that you trust to talk through your emotions can be the fastest way to get something off your chest.
3) Make a to-do list
I have a never ending to do list and sometimes it becomes an object of my worries. But when done in healthy doses I think a to-do list can empower you to take small, attainable steps toward your goal. Those small steps will add up and make everything more manageable and hopefully less stressful.
4) Meditate
If you’re religious, this can be a time of prayer or reflection on verses. And if you’re not, I’ve heard great things about meditation apps that just clear your mind of all the things you feel like you have to worry about. This has been come increasingly popular with new movements of mindfulness, and I think forcing yourself to either clear your mind or to think of things beyond yourself can be really powerful in moments of deep stress.
5) List things that you’re thankful for
But we can’t live continuously ignoring ourselves, so this is the suggestion that I would like to emphasize the most. Write down somewhere all the things in that moment that come to mind that you are thankful for. Start with basic things and move into the harder things that you have to choose to be thankful for. This exercise almost always leaves me with the reminder that I have so much to be thankful for which leaves me knowing I’ll be ok.
I’m currently a pretty big ball of stress and sometimes it’s almost like I’m holding my breath with all my muscles clenched from the stress my mind inflicts upon itself. One thing I know with certainty is that I’m scared of the unknown. But I also know that none of my worries about my performance in school or the future can produce anything. The only positive thing I can think of that can come from all this worrying is decisive action.
There will be days or seasons of your life when it just feels like you can’t catch a break. I find myself hanging on to the thought that I just need to make it through the night, the rest of the week or until break. But that’s when I find that I’m wishing my life away. Today Professor Kayye told us that seniors only have 73 days left till graduation. And that is very frightening, because I haven’t solidified my post-grad plans. But writing this is reminding me although I don’t have a lot of things together, I can choose to change my negative attitude for today and be present and do the best I can. Every day is a new day and isn’t that a gift in itself?
Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? -Matthew 6:27