Worry Tree

The worry tree helps us effectively deal with worrying thoughts.

Worry is a particular problem in Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD). We can spend many hours a day worrying about anything and everything, and that worry is often not helpful, in spite of what we might believe.

The worry tree helps us deal with Type 1 worries which are the worrying thoughts that seem to happen all the time.

Type 1 worries can be separated into two further categories:

* Hypothetical situations
* Current problems

Hypothetical situations are those “what if…?” thoughts about some terrible event that might happen. “My spouse is late home from work – what if they’ve had a serious road accident?” “The ozone layer has holes – what if the end of the world happens soon?” “There’s a traffic jam – what if I lose my job when I’m late?”

These thoughts are usually followed by imagining what would happen in those worst-case scenarios.

These kind of worries then, cause us a lot of anxiety, when there is perhaps little or nothing we can do about that situation, and we are over-estimating the odds of these things happening. They are an imagined future scenario that will most probably not happen.

We might think we’re helping by worrying and planning what to do in the even of this feared event happening, but it doesn’t happen, so all that time and distress has not been helpful.

Current problems are those worries that relate to a real situation, that we CAN do something about. In which case, we can decide what to do, when and how – which will be much more helpful than just continually worrying about it.

Worry Tree _ Steps

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• Notice the Worry

• Ask yourself “What am I worrying about?” e.g. traffic jam – I might lose my job

• Ask: “Is this a hypothetical situation or a current problem?” and/or “Can I do something
  about this?”

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• If the worry is a hypothetical situation:

Let the worry go or postpone your worry until later

Change your focus of attention – NOW

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• If the worry is a current problem:

Make an action plan

• What to do
• When to do it
• How to do it
• Schedule it

Let the worry go in the meantime

Change your focus of attention – NOW

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Let’s make ourselves worry free with worry tree!