Worry: a four-step pause when your mind will not stop

Worry has a way of circling. The same thought comes round, then round again, and each time it feels a little heavier though nothing new has been added. What breaks the circle is rarely an answer. It is usually an interruption.

This is a small one you can do anywhere, sitting where you are, without anyone noticing.

First, stop. Whatever you are doing, let it wait for a moment. You are not solving anything yet, you are only stepping out of the circle.

Then breathe. Four or five slow breaths, and let the breath out be longer than the breath in. That longer breath out is the part that settles the body, and the body settling is what gives the mind room.

Now ask yourself plainly: what is going round in my mind just now? Name it in ordinary words, the way you would to a friend. Worry that has been named is easier to hold than worry that has only been felt.

You may find it is one thing wearing several disguises, which is often the case.

Then one question, and it is the whole point of the exercise. Can I do something about this right now?

If you can, do one small thing. Make the call, write the note, ask the question. Small is fine; small is usually enough to break the spell.

If you cannot, and very often you cannot, then this: I do not have to carry this right this minute. It is not being ignored and it is not being solved. You are setting it down for now, which you are allowed to do.

Like anything, this works better with practice than on the first try. This is general wellbeing guidance, not medical advice, and worry that will not lift over weeks is worth raising with your doctor.