Why We Worry

Scholars say that it is impossible to be anxious if we are thinking about what is going on right now, in the present.  They say that anxiety comes from thoughts about the past and the future.  Anxiety is a healthy response to perceived danger about the future (and the past because it influences the future).  When we worry or become anxious, we try and figure out ways to keep danger away or how to prepare for the worst.  Anxiety is healthy when it prepares us for danger.  However, it is not healthy when the dangers we anticipate are a figment of our imagination.  Or when the worry and anxiety reache a level that it is not longer problem solving.  For example, if I am worrying and anxious about the fact that I need to make a certain amount of money and in that state I come up with some solutions such as finding a new job, this is good.  But when the worry is with you all the time to the point that you are not coming up with any creative solutions but simply just worrying, this is not good.  Furthermore, the worrying and anxiety can become paralyzing.

The answer is to attempt to remain in the present moment and move away from past and future thoughts about what did happen and what will happen.  You can worry or prepare for danger in the future for a limited amount of time, but after that it becomes debilitating.  It is better to keep yourself present focused most of the day.

Read the posts on mindfulness to get an idea on how to remain present focused.