How to stop worrying: 9 tips to stop anxiety and stress

2. Mindfulness meditation and breathing exercises

While worrying is usually focused on the future or the past—by thinking about what might happen or stressing about what did happen—a good way to combat those fears is to focus on the present. Mindfulness is all about being present in the moment and not getting caught up in thoughts of tomorrow or yesterday. If you do have a worry come up, mindfulness teaches you to first acknowledge the thought. Then, let it move on without becoming too emotionally invested.

To incorporate mindfulness into your life, try meditating every day. Here are a few basic steps to get started in your practice:

• Find a quiet place and sit however is comfortable to you with a straight back.
• Drop your chin a little. Close your eyes.
• Clear your mind as best as you can.
• Begin taking slow deep breaths in through your nose and out through your mouth.
• Notice how your body feels. Individually take note of your fingers, arms, toes, legs, and the various sensations you’re feeling. Pay attention to your abdomen expanding as you breathe.
• If your mind begins to wander, gently bring yourself back to focusing on your deep breathing.
• Continue this for about 5-10 minutes. Be kind to yourself if your mind becomes distracted and bring yourself back to focusing on your breath and body.
• Whenever you feel ready, open your eyes and end your meditation session.

By regularly meditating, you’ll learn how to focus more on the present and how to acknowledge your worries without becoming consumed with them. A good way to get started in this habit is by taking 5-10 minutes daily to go within yourself and take a break from the chaos, stress, and busyness of the world.

Need something simpler than that? You can even use your everyday tasks to get out of your own head and bring yourself back to the present moment. For example, brew your morning coffee and then take five minutes to sit with it. Notice the smell, the taste, and how soothing the warm mug feels in your hands. Focus solely on the sensations involved with that exact point in time—and nothing else.

3. Exercise and physical health

Physical exercise has been shown to reduce anxiety and bump up endorphins to make you feel better. Even something as simple as a 20-minute walk that gets you moving can reduce your worries and help you relax. Or, you could try one of the following easy exercises to move your muscles and get your blood flowing:

• Do simple stretches or yoga
• Go on a bike ride
• Avoid the elevator and take the stairs
• Do planks
• Go swimming at your local pool

Make time throughout your day to get up and move to shake up your body and mitigate your negative thinking. Even better? If you incorporate exercise into your routine until it becomes a habit, your physical and mental health will improve.

4. Practice gratitude

Focusing on the things in your life that you’re thankful for can be a good tactic to calm your worries or divert your attention toward positive thinking. If you find yourself starting to worry, try listing aspects of the situation that you’re grateful for. For example, perhaps you find yourself worrying about getting sick. Switch your thinking to focus on how grateful you are to live in an area with accessible healthcare and your ability to cook a nourishing meal.

If you’re struggling to find gratitude in the midst of a worrying moment, try looking for humor or something that’s interesting about the circumstances you find yourself in. This type of thought process can shift your mindset. Turning your attention to these positive beliefs and thoughts will tune out the negative beliefs and bring at least a little more peace to your mind.

5. Write in a journal

Journaling can be another great way to process your emotions and stop worrying. If you feel anxious about something, writing about your worries and fears can get those negative emotions out of your brain and onto the page. Writing can divert your attention from spiraling into a panic to calmly articulating what you’re feeling. For many people, it feels like a weight is lifted off their shoulders by writing their thoughts down. In fact, psychiatrist Dan Siegel says that explicitly explaining our emotional state can help to reduce its impact—a concept he's coined "name it to tame it."

Once you’ve had some time to calm down from the peak of your stress, you can come back to that journal entry to observe your feelings. You may find you’re able to process your emotions from a more objective perspective and can identify the causes or triggers from that moment that you can look out for (and hopefully avoid) next time.

If you're not so much a pen and paper person, but you want to try journaling to process your worries, try F4S' Journal feature. When you enroll in a free coaching program with F4S, you get unlimited access to the journal. You can use this space to log your thoughts about the day or notes from your coaching sessions. The journal is private to you, so nobody can see what you write about. It's also easily accessible on your phone via F4S' web app, so you can jot down your thoughts whenever you need to! Having easy access to a journal may also help you develop a habit of writing down your thoughts to manage your anxiety.

6. Challenge your anxious thoughts

Here's something that's easy to lose sight of when you're stuck in an anxious cycle: Just because you have a thought or worry about something doesn’t mean it will come true. Many times, our anxieties and worries cause us to look at situations through a more negative lens than reality should require.

As you find yourself worrying, try to break down your thoughts and challenge this viewpoint by asking yourself:

• What evidence do I have to support my reason to worry?
• Will this worry matter 15 minutes from now? In a year? How about in five years?
• Is there a more positive or realistic way of looking at the situation?
• How likely is this worst-case scenario to occur? What is more likely to happen?
• How is worrying about this situation helping me or how is it hurting me?
• What would a friend tell me about this worry?

By stepping outside of yourself and questioning your fears, you may be able to see there is no logical reason to worry about a situation. Or, at the very least, you might be able to see it from a more positive perspective.

7. Accept the uncertainty

Many people worry about things that are unknown to them—the future is one common example for most people. However, many times the worries that seem unknown or unfamiliar are situations outside of your control.

For example, if you have a chronic worry that one day you may become seriously ill, this isn’t a scenario that you have any control over or even a worry that has a potentially productive solution. Focusing on what could possibly go wrong in your life isn’t a good way to live and will only create another problem: spending way too much time worrying.

Instead, when these unsolvable worries come up, accept that you don’t have the answers or the ability to predict the future. It isn’t your job to make sense of uncertainty. Shift your focus to the here and now and tell yourself not to waste time asking yourself, “But, what if...?”

8. Talk openly with your friends or family

Connecting with loved ones with a good strategy for just about any problem in life, especially when it comes to stopping yourself from worrying. When you feel yourself starting to get anxious about something, talk with a close friend or family member about those fears. Explain how the situation makes you feel and why you think those feelings are bubbling to the surface. Usually, these people can help you see the problem in a more positive light or help you check yourself and identify more likely outcomes instead of what you fear most.

When confiding in friends or family, make sure you choose your confidants according to how helpful they’ll be in calming your worries. Many people struggle with anxiety, and they may not have the capacity or energy to address and squelch your fears if they're a chronic worrier.

When bringing up this conversation, be sure to inform your loved one that you would like to discuss some worries you have and are wondering if they are in the right headspace to help you unpack those thoughts. This gives the person an opportunity to decline if they’re not able to be there for you in the way you need. If they do decline, don’t take it personally. Instead, try to find someone else who can listen and support you in your worries.

Many people have also found success with anxiety support groups. While you may not be friends with the support group attendees right away, these relationships may grow into friendships thanks to your shared experiences and understanding of each other’s backgrounds. These types of support groups are usually available at workplaces, churches, or other community organizations.

9. Get help from a mental health professional

If you find yourself stuck in a worry cycle, you could have Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) or another type of anxiety disorder that would benefit from the help of a professional. Think that sounds daunting? It's normal to be a little nervous, but talking with a mental health professional doesn’t have to be scary or intimidating. Even if you don’t have a diagnosed anxiety disorder, a therapist can be a helpful resource to reach out to about your worries. A professional can help you unpack your thoughts and concerns, provide an outside perspective to process your reactions and life experiences, and may suggest strategies or even medication to help you manage your stress.

As you begin to look for a mental health professional, you may have to try a few different people to ensure you’re working with someone who is a good fit. Keep in mind that this is a normal and important part of the process because the right person can help you finally stop worrying and start living life more fully—whereas working with someone who isn't as compatible can prevent you from opening up the way you need to.

To get started in finding a therapist, see if your medical insurance or employer has any coverage for mental health practitioners and, if so, if they have a list or resource of trusted or in-network providers you could look through. Many times, an affordable way to start talking to someone is through telehealth calls. Online programs have become increasingly popular and they may be covered by your workplace or insurance as well. Even if these programs aren’t covered, they are a lower-cost (yet effective) option to connect you to a mental health professional and start taking action if you’re experiencing chronic stress.

Stop worrying and start living

Don’t just take advice from us, take it from a renowned self-improvement expert. Dale Carnegie is an American writer who is well-known for his book, How to Stop Worrying and Start Living. While this self-help book was published in 1948, it has proved over time to be a helpful and still relevant guide for people looking to reduce their worrying. Carnegie details how people can eliminate excessive worry in their lives and start leading a happier existence.

Self-help books can be beneficial for your mental health journey, so don’t be afraid to look into what other literature is out there to inspire you as you work through your worrying habits.

3 signs you need professional help for your worries

Of course, sometimes you may need more advanced assistance with your mental health than simple tips or a self-help book. Again, this is where a mental health professional can come into play. While it may seem uncomfortable to share your thoughts or personal information with a stranger, there are a lot of benefits a therapist can provide to help you cope, manage, and respond appropriately when a worrisome thought comes to mind.

If you’re still not sure if you should reach out for professional help for your worries, here are a few signs to look out for that indicate it’s time to ask for assistance outside of your friends, family, and other trusted loved ones.

1. You experience anxiety symptoms daily

Going through your day-to-day with anxiety symptoms can be exhausting and a sign it’s time to reach out for help. Those symptoms can vary, but include:

• Trouble sleeping due to anxious thoughts
• Feeling restless
• Irritability
• Muscle tension
• Headaches
• Trouble eating
• Chest tightness
• Panic attacks

Make sure you’re in tune with your body and if you notice a new symptom emerge, try to address what prompted the change by taking a step back from stressors in your life. Any or all of these side effects of worrying can reduce your quality of life and worsen if your worries are unmanageable or uncontrolled.

2. You are constantly avoiding worrisome situations, people, or activities

Avoiding some things that worry you isn’t a sure sign of needing help—staying away from certain triggers can be a smart and even self-aware move.

However, if you find that you're beginning to avoid situations or activities you used to enjoy or are having a hard time interacting with others due to anxiety, it may be beneficial to speak with someone about how to stop worrying so much. Social anxiety is a common anxiety disorder that compels people to avoid any type of social situation. This could be the underlying cause of your avoidance of activities or others.

In addition, by avoiding things that make you uncomfortable, you could be missing out on new experiences that may bring you joy. Sometimes you have to get out of your comfort zone in your career or personal life if you want to go after big moves, such as a promotion, new hobby, or new friends. Addressing your worries with someone can help you learn how to break out of your secure and comfortable bubble and not let your anxiety hold you back.

3. Your gut tells you to seek help

If you know deep down you’d like to talk to someone about your worries, that's more than enough reason to take action. Don’t hesitate to reach out to someone you trust. Whether it’s talking with a loved one or a therapist, sometimes it’s helpful to acknowledge that you worry and connect with someone who can listen to what you’re going through.

Plus, you don’t have to have a diagnosed anxiety or panic disorder in order to talk to a mental health professional. No matter what, it can be helpful to process your worries with a third party and identify thought patterns to help you manage your feelings and not be overcome by them. There’s no shame in asking for help. In 2019, nearly 20% of adults in the U.S. received some sort of mental health treatment within the last 12 months and an increasing conversation about mental health and wellbeing is going a long way in reducing any stigma that used to be there.

If you experience any or all of these signs, it’s time to reach out for help with your worrying. Cognitive behavioral therapy (also known as CBT) has been proven to significantly help those who suffer from generalized anxiety disorder and other anxiety disorders or issues. A mental health professional can help you talk through your worries and provide helpful ways for you to manage them in the moment and on an ongoing basis. In some more severe cases, a psychiatrist may also be able to prescribe anti-anxiety medications to help reduce your anxiety symptoms.

Stop worrying and start enjoying the present

Worries are natural. They're bound to come up in your life now and again. We all deal with them. But if you feel like your anxiety has become too overwhelming to manage, you’re not alone. Luckily, there are strategies or life changes that you can implement that have already proven to be successful for others. There’s no need to live in a state of constant worry. Try following the steps listed above to reduce the worries in your life. You may find your negative thoughts decreasing and a weight lifted off of your shoulders.

If you still feel like your worries are controlling your life after implementing habits to support your mental health, there are resources available for you. Whether it’s seeking out a support group or telehealth provider, there are multiple avenues to get the support and guidance you need. Licensed therapists or other practitioners can be game-changers for people who suffer from anxiety, and you shouldn’t be afraid to find someone who can assist you with your own struggles.

And of course, in addition to a mental health professional, you can enlist the help of a life coach to guide you through your worries. F4S' free resources and coaching program, Vital Wellbeing, will help you increase your general wellbeing, as well as put an end to some of your self-sabotaging behaviors (like excessive worrying). You’ll also develop lifelong skills for emotional resilience and self-esteem to handle any stress life throws at you. Plus, the program provides you access to an online journal where you can process your thoughts in a quick, easy way.