How To Stop Anxious Thoughts: The 10-Minute ‘Worry Time’ Habit Experts Recommend

While it has gotten better in some ways over time, one thing that has been consistent throughout my experience of living with anxiety is that I cannot shake off thoughts and they will always take over my life. From doing monotonous things at home like showering or even the laundry to big life events like weddings, my brain during bad anxiety spells just does not stop.

I have tried so many things to manage this and while some have worked for a short while, my clever anxiety seems to out-smart them. Until this year finally, I seem to have it in a very manageable place and it’s because I, uh, make time for it.

One problem with anxious thoughts is that I am always trying to beat them, argue with them or even push them away. However, saying to myself “we don’t have time to worry about this right now” and scheduling a specific ten minutes to let myself worry and ruminate seems to have finally done the trick. I don’t even need the full ten minutes these days..

Clinical psychologist Annie Mueller explains to Psychology Today: “Scheduling worry time may seem like a paradox (who wants to worry?). One reason worry time is effective is that it consolidates worry into a confined time period, rather than letting unhelpful thoughts run rampant at all times of day or night.”

This rings so true for me. Dealing with my anxious thoughts as if they were another thing on the to-do list has, over time, trained my brain to not ruminate quite so often because it’s not “in the schedule”.

Mueller also recommends taking time to write your worries out, saying: “Seeing worries written out can also help shift the anxious mind from rumination to problem-solving or acceptance. Worry time helps us organise and focus our thoughts rather than letting them spin out of control.”

Taking up journaling has made a huge difference in both how my anxiety manifests and how I see my thoughts. Once they’re written down, a weight is lifted and often, seeing them so plainly helps me tackle them more effectively. I am quite prone to catastrophic thinking and writing out my worst-case-scenarios has brought home how absurd my poor anxious brain can be.

If your worries are out of control like mine can be, speak to your GP for support.

• Mind, open Monday to Friday, 9am-6pm on 0300 123 3393.
• Samaritans offers a listening service which is open 24 hours a day, on 116 123 (UK and ROI – this number is FREE to call and will not appear on your phone bill).
• CALM (the Campaign Against Living Miserably) offer a helpline open 5pm-midnight, 365 days a year, on 0800 58 58 58, and a webchat service.
• The Mix is a free support service for people under 25. Call 0808 808 4994 or email help@themix.org.uk
• Rethink Mental Illness offers practical help through its advice line which can be reached on 0808 801 0525 (Monday to Friday 10am-4pm). More info can be found on rethink.org.