It can be useful to think of worry as an aspect of anxiety that lives in your mind. If you’re being plagued by ‘worry’ thoughts, they will force your mind into overdrive. And, because these ‘worry’ thoughts dominate all other types of thoughts, you can soon feel overwhelmed by them.
One strategy that can help you manage these ‘worry’ thoughts is to externalise them. By separating yourself from your worry, you are reminding yourself that worry isn’t a part of you. Worry is simply something you are experiencing, like a delayed train or a queue at the supermarket.
Try externalising your worry by picturing the part of your brain where your ‘worry’ thoughts are coming from – and then taking it outside your head. Once you’ve done that, give
this imaginary ‘worry part’ of your brain a name and shape. Many people like to imagine it as an animal of some kind. Your ‘worry animal’ loves to feed on your ‘worry’ thoughts. But, if you give it that food, you are only making your ‘worry animal’ stronger.
Instead, acknowledge the presence of your ‘worry animal’ when it arrives. For example, ‘Oh hello Sydney, it’s you again. Hoping for some food, are you?’ Now you have the option of feeding it less, or not feeding it at all. As your ‘worry animal’ receives less and less food, it becomes less and less demanding of your attention. It’s the beginning of letting your worry go.
Whenever your worry animal begins to appear, you can have a conversation with it while you decide what to do. Often, giving your animal a funny name will lighten the mood and bring an element of humour to your dialogue with it. ‘Edna, I thought we had agreed you’re on a diet? So what are you doing back? Shoo! Go away!’ It’s also a subtle way of reducing the feelings of heaviness that worry creates.
By addressing how you are thinking and feeling, I’ll help you develop an awareness of how, in your body, psychological events and physical sensations are so closely connected.
As The Mind & Body Guide, my aim is to explore these connections to help you gain insight into yourself. This could be looking at present problems or those that are more deeply seated: things you’ve been told or events you’ve experienced which have shaped who you are now.
I have decades of experience in health care. Years spent working as a senior physiotherapist in the NHS. I’ve taught Pilates to hundreds of people. And I’m a qualified psychotherapist with a suite of therapy skills to draw on.
My approach to therapy is to help you to understand yourself mentally and physically. Then, working together, we can plot your pathway to a healthier, happier life.
The Mind & Body Guide.
Therapy for the whole of you.
