There's a reason we call them "worry warts"! No one wants to be that person worrying needlessly. As Thomas Jefferson wisely observed in 1825, "How much pain have cost us the evils that never happened?" 

However, during this long and drawn-out slow-boiling SHTF that we find ourselves in, worry is difficult to avoid. What I'm going to share with you today is an evidence-based, quick, and easy practice to INTERRUPT the worry cycle and return yourself to equilibrium and peace. During this marathon of stress, you need your energy for the basics. Worry just drains you. 

Even if a full-out SHTF were to erupt, you could modify this technique to use then. Heck, you could even implement it in your core survival group to improve resiliency and mental health! Interested? Let's start at the beginning, shall we?

What is Worry?

I think we all know that worry isn't a lot of fun. But what is it, exactly? As licensed clinical social worker Kim Pratt observes, it is important to make a distinction between thinking and worrying. Thinking, she writes, is a "good thing.  It involves reflection and analysis that leads to greater clarity and purposeful action, when action is necessary." However, worrying is not marked by clarity and action. In contrast, worrying "tends to be colored by a negative bias. For example, catastrophizing – imagining the worst – is a hallmark sign of a worrying.  Worrying also feels more repetitive and unproductive, in comparison to thinking."