Don't Worry, Be Happy

The stress of worry can lead to a downward spiral. We become stressed because we are worried, and then even more worried because we are stressed. Get the picture?

Worrying can be the result of sudden problems which may arise unexpectedly or a reaction to deep concerns with long duration. Either way the anxiety we feel – manifest as cold sweats, rapid heart beat, breathlessness and dry mouth – can be highly disturbing.

The key is to become accustomed to checking the feelings of worry enabling you to put the cause in perspective at a time when you feel calmer.

Creating mental barriers can be an effective means of controlling worry. As you feel anxious think immediately of "pink elephants". This may seem silly but at any one time we can only hold one thought in our mind. By concentrating on a non-threatening subject we deflect our thoughts from the cause of anxiety.

Once you feel calmer, go off and do something not only enjoyable but which requires your full concentration. Only return to the cause of or situation provoking anxiety when you feel calm.

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Dr Sims is the Medical Director of FitStop, the UK's foremost group of health and fitness centers, and an expert on matters relating to fitness of body and mind. Having trained as a GP, he now works full-time in health promotion and has written extensively on the subject, including a monthly medical column in Mensa magazine with the TV psychiatrist, Dr Raj Persaud. Dr Sims was the original Virgin.Net online doctor.

Article courtesy of MediaPeak.com