The Worries: Sohal Finds a Friend

Product Information

Overgeneralization. Generalizing from a single negative experience, expecting it to hold true forever. “I didn't get hired for the job. I'll never get any job.”

By using HelpGuide’s free Emotional Intelligence Toolkit, you can tune into your emotions and start to accept your feelings, even those that are uncomfortable or don't make sense. Tip 4: Interrupt the cycle of worry and stress If you suffer from chronic anxiety and worry, chances are you look at the world in ways that make it seem more threatening than it really is. For example, you may overestimate the possibility that things will turn out badly, jump immediately to worst-case scenarios, or treat every anxious thought as if it were fact. You may also discredit your own ability to handle life’s problems, assuming you’ll fall apart at the first sign of trouble. These irrational, pessimistic attitudes are known as cognitive distortions. Practice progressive muscle relaxation. This can help you break the endless loop of worrying by focusing your mind on your body instead of your thoughts. By alternately tensing and then releasing different muscle groups in your body, you release muscle tension in your body. And as your body relaxes, your mind will follow. It may seem like a simplistic solution, but talking face to face with a trusted friend or family member—someone who will listen to you without judging, criticizing, or continually being distracted—is one of the most effective ways to calm your nervous system and diffuse anxiety. When your worries start spiraling, talking them over can make them seem far less threatening.It’s tough to be productive in your daily activities when anxiety and worry are dominating your thoughts and distracting you from work, school, or your home life. This is where the strategy of postponing worrying can help. Here are the opening lines of the book: «Sohal was full of worries. He had been for as long as he could remember. His parents and teachers often called him ‘a worrier’, but he wasn’t really sure what that meant. It didn’t sound good, though, and this made Sohal worry even more.» There are a million reasons why it’s not good to label children as worriers (and so much harder to avoid than we think!) but neuroplasticity is definitely one of them. We can all learn to modify our experiences and memory of worries, so no one is ‘a worrier’ for life. Look how robust we and our children are at dealing with a global pandemic?! Yes we all have our dark days and there are people out there having deeply traumatic experiences right now. But what I am constantly astounded by is just how resourceful we humans can be. In children’s mental health week, let’s show this to our kids. Let’s do this by starting a mental health conversation now with them . And where better a place to start than stories?! Hypothetical event worry. Hypothetical event worries are about things which have not yet happened, but which might happen in the future. People with GAD tend to ask more “What if … ?” questions, and to worry about unlikely and remote future events. Their hypothetical worries often ‘chain together’, for example: notices daughter has a rash on her arm > "What if it’s meningitis?" > has image of daughter lying in hospital in intensive care > "I couldn’t bear it if she died" EXPLORE - Explore the present moment, because right no, in this moment, all is well. Notice your breathing, and the sensations of breathing. Notice the ground beneath you. Look around and notice what you see, what you hear, what you can touch, what you can smell. Right now. Then, SHIFT YOUR FOCUS OF ATTENTION to something else - on what you need to do, on what you were doing before you noticed the worry, or do something else - mindfully, with your full attention.

Create a “worry period.” Choose a set time and place for worrying. It should be the same every day (e.g. in the living room from 5:00 to 5:20 p.m.) and early enough that it won’t make you anxious right before bedtime. During your worry period, you’re allowed to worry about whatever’s on your mind. The rest of the day, however, is a worry-free zone.It’s tough to break the worry habit if you believe that your worrying serves a positive purpose. Once you realize that worrying is the problem, not the solution, you can regain control of your worried mind. How to stop worrying tip 1: Create a daily “worry” period Make a list of all the possible solutions you can think of. Try not to get too hung up on finding the perfect solution to a worry. Focus on the things you have the power to change, rather than the circumstances or realities beyond your control. Jazmin's mum is about to have a baby and Jaz is SO excited! She's been waiting forever to be a big sister and knows she's going to be brilliant at it. Okay, it might mean some changes to their family, but Jaz is sure everything will be just fine. Emotional reasoning. Believing that the way you feel reflects reality. “I feel like such a fool. Everyone must be laughing at me.”

Focus on an aspect of your breathing, such as the sensations of air flowing into your nostrils and out of your mouth, or your belly rising and falling as you inhale and exhale. Problem solving involves evaluating a situation, coming up with concrete steps for dealing with it, and then putting the plan into action. Worrying, on the other hand, rarely leads to solutions. No matter how much time you spend dwelling on worst-case scenarios, you're no more prepared to deal with them should they actually happen. Is your worry something you can control?The Worry Decision Tree can be used to help clients to conceptualize and manage their worries by following the steps of the flow diagram: Set Worry zones or postpone your worry to take control of your worry & discover that you don't need to worry all the time. The mental filter. Focusing on the negatives while filtering out the positives. Noticing the one thing that went wrong, rather than all the things that went right. “I got the last question on the test wrong. I'm an idiot.”