Worry is something nearly everyone experiences. Between deadlines, relationships, health, bills, family responsibilities, and more, there are many reasons why it feels like worry is something you may never escape. Worry often involves feelings of anxiety and unpleasant thoughts about potential negative events that have not yet happened. Worry exists on a spectrum and can show up in many different ways. For some, it’s a light nudge that comes and goes; for others, it becomes an ongoing challenge. Each person’s capacity is unique, and what feels light to one person may feel much heavier to another. However, even though worry may be a common emotion, it doesn’t have to impact you in a negative way. In fact, there are small techniques that we can try to implement in our daily practice to support us with minimising the impact.
We also recognize that people have come to believe a few myths around worrying. These myths suggest that it’s beneficial for people to worry because it:
However, years of research, including the work of psychologist Thomas Borkovec, show that worry doesn’t sharpen our thinking. In fact, neuroscience research demonstrates that worry does the opposite by draining mental energy and reducing mental performance.
There are effective strategies that can be helpful for people who are looking to reduce the mental load that worrying has on their daily lives. In this article we’ll explain these strategies and provide insights into:
Before you read: We understand that the information, and support we provide in this article may not be helpful for everyone. If you are in need of additional support or resources, please reach out to a professional or a member of our team to learn more at contact@layla.care.
Worrying is more than just “feeling anxious.” It’s a neurological state that can overload the brain and heavily involves the limbic system – this is part of the brain that is responsible for decision making, memory and regulating emotions.
You can think of the limbic system as the brain’s alarm system, broadcasting information out (to other areas of the brain) and taking it in to optimize the most important part of the system: YOU!
When the limbic system senses something might go wrong, it sends out strong warning signals, even if the threat isn’t real or immediate. It needs to feel connected and calm to let other parts of the brain function effectively. When worry prevents the limbic system from relaxing it creates dysfunction in other important parts of your brain. This tells us that worry is not just an emotion or feeling state. It is also a biological, neurological response that disrupts high value mental processes.
In short, worry makes your brain burn fuel inefficiently. It’s like driving a car that guzzles gas, you may still get to your destination, but you’ll waste a lot of energy along the way.
So how do we work towards staying more grounded when we notice we’re worrying? First, let’s explore some myths about worrying.
A common myth is that worrying sharpens our thinking, helping us see problems from new angles and improving our problem-solving skills. In reality, worry isn’t something we choose, it’s an automatic mental response to stress. While we can’t always control when worry arises, research shows it can actually interfere with our cognitive functioning, making it harder to start tasks or follow through with effective problem-solving.
What does this mean? Worrying without a clear plan for how we will work through problems or tasks can clog our mental processing system, reducing creativity and making it harder to problem solve.
One helpful way to break the cycle of worry that pulls us away from focus is to set clear boundaries around non-urgent concerns. A practical tool for doing this is the Postponed Worry Zone (PWZ). This is a dedicated space and time to put worries aside until later.
Why is this helpful? When the limbic system is triggered, we activate that fight or flight response, which makes it hard for us to respond calmly, and thus results in worry. After we have had some time to settle, we can likely come back to this worry with a clearer mind and more balanced perspective.
1. Create a PWZ: Set aside a daily “worry time,” for worries that aren’t urgent or needing immediate action, such as 7:00–7:30 p.m., and keep it outside of your usual core focus or work hours.
2. Delegate Worries to Your PWZ: When a non-urgent worry pops up during the day, jot it down on a dedicated list.
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3. Review Worries in Your PWZ: When your scheduled time arrives, revisit your worry list. You’ll often notice that many worries feel less urgent than when they first appeared. Allow yourself to think them through, but only within that window.
Having a PWZ teaches you how to not react to worries throughout the day. When we don’t react, our cognitive bandwidth is freed up to focus on the problem and task at hand.
Another common myth is that worry fuels productivity – that anxious energy “lights a fire” under us. In reality, worry arises automatically as a response to stress rather than being a tool we intentionally use. Research has shown that worry can be a preemptive coping mechanism to help us brace for bad outcomes. It can also lead to avoidance of larger tasks and a focus on lighter ones to create a false sense of progress, like cleaning your entire room before a looming deadline. But worry can also progress into heightened anxiety, where the brain’s limbic system triggers fight, flight, freeze, or fawn responses. In this way, avoidance is just one of several ways worry may influence how we respond to stress.
So, what does this mean? Worry can redirectenergy toward avoidance, giving us the sense that we’re productive when we’re really just sidestepping what matters most.
One way you can channel motivation when in the state of worrying is through structured work or task sessions. This approach helps direct your energy toward tasks with higher importance or priority, instead of letting worry scatter your focus.
Phase One: Planning
* It’s important to note that this strategy is most effective when worries are linked to performance or achievement tasks. If your worry is about situations outside your control (such as a loved one’s medical condition), this planning approach may not apply in the same way, and other coping strategies might be more useful.
Phase Two: Action (Restricted Work Sessions)
Phase Three: Re-do this exercise, and complete another restricted work session after this long break. Keep going and watch your “big worry” to-do list disappear.
By recognizing worry for what it is, a reaction rather than a deliberate choice, you can create space for clarity, focus, and real problem-solving. Start by reframing old myths and set simple boundaries to give you back control, so that your energy goes to the tasks that matter the most.
Worry will always show up, it’s part of being human. But you don’t have to let it run the show. By setting boundaries, practicing focused work, and retraining your brain to respond differently, you can loosen worry’s grip on your day. By doing this you can start to find that you have more mental bandwidth, sharper focus, and the confidence that you’re moving forward with purpose instead of spinning your wheel.
A message from Layla: If you require any immediate support, please reach out to a professional, or click here to explore our crisis and community resources. If you’d like to inquire about finding mental health support that’s right for you, a member of our team is happy to assist you. You can email us at contact@layla.care for any inquiries or complete our intake form to reach out to a member of our care team.
