Taming the Worry Beast: 3 Quick Moves to Reclaim Your Calm
Simple techniques to log, reality-check, and reframe your worries
I you go to bed replaying yesterday’s “What the hell was I thinking?” and tomorrow’s “What if?,” you certainly aren’t alone. Things can get so bad that some of us even end up dreading going to bed.
Worry is our mind’s default warning system. But left unchecked, it fuels stress, steals sleep, and hijacks joy.
Today, I’m showing you how to interrupt the loop with three simple shifts.
1. Name It to Tame It
Why it works: When we label a worry (“I’m overthinking the possible outcomes of my next meeting”), it recruits the brain’s thinking-centre (prefrontal cortex) to down-regulate the alarm centre (amygdala).
How to do it today:
Keep a “worry log” in your phone’s notes or a little notebook, nothing fancy, keep it simple and short.
Whenever you catch a spiralling thought, jot down these 3 things:
Trigger: e.g. “Checking email”
Thought: “What if they think I’m incompetent?”
Intensity: Rate 1–10.
After a few days, you’ll spot patterns and the very act of noting them will pull you out of autopilot.
2. Plausibility Check
Why it works: We’re wired to overestimate threats (thanks, evolution!), but our mind often upgrade from “unlikely” to “inevitable”. We catasrophise. Slowing down helps us recalibrate.
How to do it today:
Pick one top worry from your log (see above).
Ask yourself:
“What evidence supports this?” or “Is this really true?”
“How likely is this, truly?” (Be brutally honest, make it a percentage.)
Compare your gut’s 90% “guarantee” to a more realistic 20% estimate. Seeing that gap can deflate catastrophes faster than a popped balloon.
3. Swap Catastrophe for Contingency
Why it works: Cognitive-behavioural research shows that reframing reduces stress hormones and boosts problem-solving.
How to do it today:
Take the worry: “If I mess up my talk, they’ll think I’m a fraud.”
Reframe it: “If I slip up, it’s a chance to show resilience. I can recover or ask for help.”
Bonus step: Mentally rehearse that healthier script for 30 seconds.
Tiny wins: Yesterday, I caught myself spiralling over a typo in my presentation, logged it, reality-checked it (0.5% chance it mattered), and reframed (“Everyone makes typos, most people won’t notice.”), and sighed relief.
🔔 Ready for the Full 7-Day “Worry Reset” Experience?
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