Why do we worry? What Can We do about it?
Why do we worry? What Can We do about it?
Unpacking science behind why we worry and evidence based strategies of what we can do about it.
In today’s world, whenever we imagine the future, many of us would have gone through a very bleak image which stares at us. Especially if you are living in a major city around the world, inflation, unaffordable housing, pandemics, employment uncertainty adding to it everyone screaming about age of AI on your face, there are countless things which help us paint a bleak picture about our imagined future. But are things really that bad? Why do we worry about the future? Why do we worry in the first place?
Let’s dive in!
Anxiety researchers define worry as a series of repetitive thoughts and mental images that are focused on threatening issues with uncertain (and often negative) outcomes. It's a cognitive process that our minds have adapted to help us handle uncertain situations more effectively. In a way, worry can be seen as a coping mechanism, attempting to protect us from potential harm by keeping us on high alert.
The human brain is wired to detect and respond to threats, which served as a survival advantage for our ancestors. Worrying is a product of this evolutionary response, as it keeps us engaged with potential dangers and motivates us to take action. By repeatedly thinking about the worst-case scenarios, our minds try to identify potential risks and prepare us to face them. 1
To understand more about how our brain has evolved to cope with worry, we need to understand how our environments have changed over a year to move towards Delayed Gratification.
Welcome to the new world of delayed gratification…
Consider, a deer living in an African Savannah, had to worry about more immediate threats it had to face, whether it be a lion it is running away from, availability of water to drink or protection of itself from environment hazards.
Today, most of the situations and worries we have are in are delayed return environments. For instance, will they get paid at the end of this month if they are a salaried employee, will my kid ace their exams at school, will I be able to buy that house, will my entrepreneurial venture succeed…
A research2 shows that why we worry is associated with a core belief of problem solving and motivation. We feel like worrying may make us more prepared to face a situation and also act as a catalyst for getting things done. We see worry as a tool to make us more productive. One possible explanation for this perspective is that worry can create a sense of mental engagement and alertness. When we worry, our minds become focused on a specific concern, and we analyse different scenarios and potential solutions. This mental activity can give us a false sense of productivity, making us believe that we are actively working towards a resolution.
So, now we know that worry is primarily due to our relative inability to adapt to a delayed gratification environment and also, an unconscious belief that it helps solves problems.
What can we do about it? As the saying goes, action relieves anxiety, let’s look at some strategies that can help us stay focussed on our goal without worrying on an everyday basis. You can do this by ‘Directing your Worry’
-Build a routine of habits that keeps you going on an everyday basis. This shifts your worry from the long term goal to the immediate actions that is under your control. Making it easier for you to keep going everyday.
-Ensure that your daily routine aligns very well with your long term goal as well. The sum of your everyday contributions should add up to your larger goal.
For instance, I’ll share a personal example, how I form my daily habits
-Yoga: I really worry about all the slow diseases that can potentially harm my health. My yoga routine is one of those methods I use for coping with this worry as that is something under my control and that just helps like an antidote to my worries of health. It brings me everyday fulfillment compared to other health enhancing activities like going to the gym (immediate benefit) and it also contributes to my well-being of maintaining good health long-term
-Writing: I ensure that I contribute enough time to this newsletter. Writing is one of my energy giving activity. Writing twice a week ensures that I get an immediate feedback of feeling fulfilled and at the same time contribute towards my long term goal of becoming a writer.
Each of the above can be easier said than done, we’ll cover some of the how can these be done better in upcoming newsletter editions.
In conclusion, worry is a cognitive process that our minds have developed to handle uncertain outcomes and our brain’s unpreparedness to deal with delayed gratification.
it’s not wrong to worry, it is something that we use to cope, and we are allowed to cope in ways we want. Worrying is an uncomfortable feeling but sometimes it’s okay to do that to understand ourselves and our thoughts
However, by ‘Directing your worry’ to the right habits/routine on an everyday basis you can handle worries better. Hope you found this article insightful, do subscribe for more such insightful strategies.
https://www.towson.edu/news/2020/tu-psychology-covid-worrying.html#:~:text=%E2%80%9CWhile%20many%20of%20us%20are,emotionally%20prepared%20for%20negative%20outcomes.
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0191886903003696
We have transitioned a lot from being a forager to a sophisticated human species with the hopes of better life. However, as a collective, human species thrived but individually we might not be as fulfilled and happy as our forager ancestors.
Most of the worry / anxiety comes from thinking about future which our forager ancestors need not do much. They lived like the deer mentioned in the article.