Chad LeJeune, PhD

Do You Worry All the Time?

Have you tried to control your thoughts and get your worrying under control? Did it work? If it didn't, try this simple exercise: Take thirty seconds, right here and now, and don't think about something you recently worried about. Think about anything and everything else, but don't think about that worry.

How did you do? Like most of us, you probably could think of little else except whatever it was you worried about, no matter how hard you tried. This is the problem with trying to control your thoughts: Your attempts to stop worrying very often lead you to repeat and refresh the very worries you're trying to dispel.

Acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT), a revolutionary new approach to resolving a wide range of psychological problems, can help you break the cycle of chronic worry. ACT stresses letting go of your attempts to avoid, change, and get rid of worry. Instead, it shows you how to accept your feelings as they occur, without judgment. You'll learn to "de-fuse" from your worries, observing and then letting them go. Then you'll explore and commit to acting on your values, thereby creating a rich life for yourself—even with the occasional worry.

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