The habit of worrying

Rose65 said:
Why do I worry so much about things I cannot possibly affect?

This is a question to which I have no answer.
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I worried about cashing out my 401K, it cashed out fine.

I worried I wouldn't make it to August 2022, I made it.

I worried my SS wouldn't come on time. It did.

Now? I don't worry. I've not benefitted from ANY worry. So now if something pops up, I consider it, decide how to handle it, then continue on.

I sleep good too
 

Sometimes we pick up traits from our parents and sometimes we go in the opposite direction.

My father was a compulsive worrier. He had a book called "How to Stop Worrying and Start Living". I saw how worrying about everything made his life miserable. He was frequently depressed.

I learned many things from my father, and one is that worrying doesn't make a difference. He worried about his PSA levels and the possibility of having prostate cancer, and he would go to the Mayo Clinic every 6 months to have it checked. But when he passed away at 78, it was from something completely different and unexpected.

I do occasionally think about where I will be 10 or 20 years from now and make the necessary preparations, but worrying about it won't change the outcome. It is what it is.
 
I am a worrier. My parents were not worriers so I didn't get it from them. My mother always told me to write down the pros and cons of the situation. Then write down what I could do about it. I still do that and it does help. Sometimes I start worrying about something else and then forget about the other worry till some time later. Then it has ceased to be a worry.
 
When I find myself worrying, I change the subject in my head, find something to do, or read for awhile. It works for me. I no longer worry very much, especially about things I can do nothing about.

I do worry about the things I procrastinate about. There is a solution for that - do the things, instead of avoiding them.
 
I’m a constant worrier; so much so that I had to go on medication for anxiety….. and I still worry!
I’ve tried literally everything to stop : therapy, mindfulness based stress reduction, meditation, walking in nature, muscle tensing and releasing, tapping, supplements, medical marijuana, exercise and now medication. I don’t know what else to do.
 
No, I don't worry anymore about things that may happen or that I cannot control and work at teaching others to do the same. Living in the moment helps. A lot of what you fear will never happen and you've wasted a lot of time in misery and stress when you could have been more positive and happy. I'm all for making people happy because most folks are their best selves and most productive and self fulfilled when they are happy.
 
I agree with @chic

It's a very bad habit to get into .... my mother was the 'Queen of Worrying' ...

Whenever something bothers me at all, I just think of her, and the wasted time she spent while living.
Thanks to her attitude, that gets me past overthinking any situation that comes along.

And living in the present helps so much.
 
Not a worrier. Years ago, I would be concerned that someone would misinterpret what I said - as a supervisor, I want to be a fair and just boss. I let go of that worry. What will be, will be. As long as one tries to do the right thing, that’s all you can do.
I do think worrying has something to do with control issues. Perhaps.
And yes, living in the now is a big help in avoidance of worry.
 
I'm on the fence. I don't follow the news and don't worry about all that, in a general way. I can't do anything about it.

However, when it comes to making decisions where my meager resources *might* intersect with impending doom, I worry a bit. For example, what will I do if the economic situation affects my pension or my rent? Should I be preparing in this way, or that way?
 

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