Worry — the repetitive, difficult-to-control stream of “what if” thinking about possible future threats — is the cognitive engine of anxiety. Worry is so prevalent that most people accept it as a feature of their personality rather than a learned cognitive habit that can be changed. Research by Thomas Borkovec at Penn State and others has established not only that worry is a maintainable learned behaviour but that there are specific, evidence-based techniques for reducing it significantly.
Why Worry Persists — The Maintenance Mechanisms
Worry persists for reasons that are psychologically understandable, even if ultimately counterproductive. Research by Borkovec and by Adrian Wells identifies several maintenance mechanisms.
Positive beliefs about worry: Most chronic worriers hold implicit beliefs that worry is useful — that it helps them prepare for threats, prevents bad things from happening through vigilance, motivates them to solve problems, or demonstrates that they care about the people and things in their lives. These beliefs are reinforced every time bad things fail to happen (confirmation bias: “I worried and it was fine — so the worry worked”) and every time the worry is followed by even partial problem-solving. The beliefs are largely inaccurate — most of what we worry about never happens, and the worry rarely improves our responses when it does — but they are strongly held.
Cognitive avoidance: Wells’s metacognitive model proposes that worry functions as a form of cognitive avoidance — the verbal, abstract nature of worry prevents the more vivid, emotionally intense imagery that would produce genuine emotional processing of the feared scenarios. Worry keeps things at an abstract, manageable level — but at the cost of never resolving the underlying emotional distress.
Five Evidence-Based Approaches to Worry Reduction
1. Worry Postponement
Designate a specific 15–20 minute “worry period” each day — a fixed time and place where you allow yourself to worry about whatever concerns you. When worries arise outside this period (which they will, constantly), note them briefly and deliberately defer them to the worry period. At the worry period, bring the noted worries to mind and spend the time engaging with them.
This technique works through two mechanisms: it establishes deliberate control over when worry happens (demonstrating that worry is a controllable activity rather than a passive experience), and it frequently reveals that worries feel less urgent or important when they are brought to mind at a scheduled time rather than arising spontaneously.
2. Distinguishing Productive from Unproductive Worry
Ask two questions of every worry: Is the problem I’m worrying about actually within my control? Is there a specific action I could take in the next 24 hours that would meaningfully address it? If yes to both: take the action and let the worry go. If no to either: the worry is unproductive — it cannot be resolved by thinking about it more.
3. Cognitive Defusion (ACT)
Create psychological distance from worry thoughts: “I’m having the worry thought that X might happen” rather than experiencing X as a likely reality. This defusion reduces the emotional impact of the worry without requiring you to argue with or suppress its content.
4. Behavioural Experiments
Test the specific predictions that your worries make. If you worry that expressing an opinion will cause rejection — express an opinion and observe whether rejection actually occurs. Worries make predictions; behavioural experiments generate evidence. Most worry predictions fail to materialise, and each failure begins to update the underlying threat assessment.
5. Addressing the Beliefs About Worry
Examine the positive beliefs that maintain worry. Is it true that worrying prevents bad things from happening? Is there any causal mechanism for that? Is it true that worrying helps you prepare better than non-anxious planning would? Genuinely evaluating these beliefs — rather than accepting them as obvious — typically reveals them to be significantly less convincing than they initially appeared.
This content is for informational purposes only and is not a substitute for professional mental health advice. If chronic worry is significantly impacting your daily life, please consult a qualified mental health professional.