Scheduling time to worry may seem like it will cause more anxiety, but according to Heather Z. Lyons, PhD, founder of Baltimore Therapy Group, it can be very helpful. "Worry time is exactly what it sounds like. Rather than allowing anxious thoughts to consume better parts of days or sleepless nights, you can set aside specific time each day for a specific length of time to allow yourself to worry," she said.
If you experience anxious thoughts outside of your worry time, Heather advised writing down those thoughts and coming back to them during the designated worry time. "Worry time works because of a mechanism psychologists call stimulus control," Heather explained. "When we establish specific times to worry, we stop our brain from being stimulated to worry in response to triggers like specific people or places. This helps us begin to disentangle the stimulus-response link."
According to Dr. Erinna, during your worry time, you should write down everything that makes you anxious. "At the end of the week, go back and visit your journal to see what you wrote. It's important to see and acknowledge your concerns," she said.