I have been thinking about different tools I used to deal with anxiety. One of my favorites is called worry time. The idea is that you have a designated time each day that you set aside for worry. If something comes up that causes you to worry you aren’t allowed to think about it right then. You save that worry for your designated worry time.
I love using this technique because of how effective it is. Whenever I would start down the anxiety spiral I would remind myself that it wasn’t my time to worry. So I would write down my worry and save it for later.
I would usually set my worry time for evening after the kids were in bed. By then I would be so tired that I wouldn’t want to deal with it. So I would throw away my notes for the day and start clean for the next day.
The trick to making this technique work is distraction. You have to be able to distract yourself from focusing on that worry until your worry time. I would usually do this by reminding myself that it wasn’t my time to worry. Because it was usually at work when I would need to distract myself I would focus on something else that needed done.
This distraction technique works wherever you are. You just need to find something else to think about. I would use anything I could; the kid’s schedule, a new book to read, a craft I was working on or one I wanted to start. I just needed anything to distract myself.
Then once your worry time comes you sit and think about everything that is on your list. But you are only allowed to think about it until your worry time is over. You can set your worry time for as long as you like but 10-15 minutes is ideal. Anything longer than this gives you too much time to focus on your worries.
Worry time is one more tool that you can add to your toolbox for fighting anxiety. I would love to hear how this helps you. Please message me or comment below how worry time works for you.