Human brains are designed to worry.
Scientists believe our brains evolved to worry because it helped us stay alive. If an early human wasn’t worried about getting attacked by a giant cave bear, well, they probably didn’t last that long.
But today, our worrying minds kick into full gear far too often. In fact, a recent study shows our worries are at an all-time high. Thanks, 2020.
This leads to a lot of wasted time and energy. On average, we can spend almost 2 hours a day worrying about stuff.
It’s also detrimental to our health.
Over time, excessive worrying can suppress our immune system, affect our memory, and damage our heats.
Great, another thing to worry about.
In all seriousness, excessive worrying is a pervasive and very real problem.
The good news is that all of us have the capacity to do something about it.
Unpack and Sort It Out
A lot of us deal with worry and negative thoughts by suppressing them.
When an unwelcome thought pops in our head we quickly move to distraction; scrolling on our phones, watching tv, or engaging in a different activity.
What we should be doing is actually the complete opposite. Negative thoughts and worries need to be identified and dealt with, otherwise, they’ll just keep returning.
British philosopher Alain de Botton sums it up nicely.
“Our worries take their revenge out on us for not giving them the attention they deserve. They wake us up in the middle of the night demanding to be heard or they give us twitches, and perhaps one-day illnesses,” de Botton explains. “They need to be unpacked and sorted out.”
“The single most important move is acceptance.”
We’ve discussed how to train your brain to worry less before.
But today, we’ve created a brand new exercise designed to unpack, sort, and release your negative thoughts and worry.
This two-step exercise only takes a few minutes to complete. It can be done anywhere and anytime.
Give it a try by clicking here.