The Worry Time Technique (Steps To Practice ‘Worry-time’)
Last Update on May 31, 2022 : Published on May 31, 2022
The worry time technique has a very nontraditional approach to overcome the stress caused by constantly worrying about something or the other. Being a chronic worrier can have a negative impact not only on your mental health but also on your physical health.
Worrying is something that can easily ruin things for you. Worry can come in any form, be it rumination, intrusive thoughts, negative thoughts, dwelling on things not in your control, or anything for that matter.
Most people are seen to be worried about their future. They are constantly trying to make things fall in a certain way which is just right for their future. In order to make things happen your way, you tend to drown in a deep pool of worry.
The worry time technique can help you swim through this pool of worry and not let you down. Let’s have a look at the worry time technique;
What Do You Mean By The Worry Time Technique?
To live a happy and healthy life you need to kick worry out of your life. The worry time technique, although counterintuitive, is a good way to reduce the amount of time you spend worrying about N number of things.
The whole idea of the worry time technique is to initiate the process of not worrying all the time. It’s natural to be stressed about a few things in life but making it a habit to worry about very tiny to huge things or spending long hours worrying about just one thing is a ‘disastrous’ way of living.
In the worry time technique what you have to do is designate a time slot especially to worry about things. So the idea is to worry only during that worry window and for the rest of the day you are not allowed to be worried. Even if you have stressful thoughts you’ll have to wait for your worrying window to reflect upon those thoughts.
Let me introduce you to the steps of the worry time techniques so that you can get a better understanding…
Steps To Schedule The Worry-Time
Professor Sabrina Romanoff (a clinical psychologist) from Yeshiva University has come up with a few steps which can be used if you decide to practice the worry time technique. Here’s what you are supposed to do;
1. Decide the amount of time you want to spend on worrying.
It’s best to choose an amount of time which is less than 30 minutes. Set loud alarms that can tell you when your time’s up.
2. Be consistent with the time and place.
Practice this worry time technique at the same hour of the day, every day and make sure that the place you choose should also remain the same every single day.
3. Use an uncomfortable place.
You can go for a hard chair, bench, ground, etc. so that you don’t feel comfortable. The discomfort will not let you sit there for a long time, so that you never exceed your worrying window.
4. Go for an evening slot:
dusk is the perfect time to set your worrying window because you will have your entire day’s happenings in mind to reflect upon. It’s perfect also because you’ll finish worrying before bed time which gives you enough time to relax and prepare yourself for the next day.
5. Do not worry out of your worrying window:
follow this very sticky, you have to save all your worries for the pre decided time slot for all your worries. Even if a worrying thought pops up, note it down and reflect upon it during the worrying window.
6. Process your worries:
during the worry window you do not have to simply sit and take stress. You have to be very mindful about each thought and feeling, why are you worrying? What can you do to change it? How can you improve your situation?, etc. make sure to note down each solution that comes to your mind.
7. Plan transition activities to get out of the worry window.
You can schedule your exercise after the worry time, begin preparing supper or something that can help you drift apart from the worrying mindset.
| Benefits of Worry time | Limitations of Worry Time |
|---|---|
| Helps in reducing the amount to time we spend worrying | Can backfire if the transition doesn’t happen smoothly |
| You become mindful about your stressful thoughts | It can promote avoiding your problems (if not performed properly) |
| Reduces the dangers of worrying all the time | It is just a tool and can’t be used as a psychiatric treatment |
| Your activities become more productive and purposeful | – |
That’s All Folks!
I hope you found this blog interesting and helpful. If you are someone who worries a lot, you should give this worry time technique a try. Worrying too much is not a good idea, worrying is also natural, why not make worrying a productive process?
Try the Worry-Time Techniques and let us know if it helped you or not. Do share the blog with your friends and family so that all of you can try ‘worry-time’ together and see how well or not it works!
Thanks for reading.
Take care and worry less!
About The Author
Kirti Bhati
I am an English literature (major) and psychology (minor) graduate from St. Bede’s College, Shimla. Postgraduate in Clinical psychology from IIS University, Jaipur. She has published a Research paper on Music therapy in the military population and Workplace stress in a national seminar conducted by Fortis hospital (gurugram) and international seminar conducted by St. Bede’s College, Shimla, Respectively. Authored a dissertation work on ‘effect of social media addiction on the mental and physical well-being in adolescents’ Currently working at calm sage as a writer.
