How to stop worrying

Learn how to move forward with less stress in the first part of this 10-day meditation course. (Full course available only to Headspace subscribers.)

Most thoughts and emotions caused by worry are negative, making us imagine worst-case scenarios, anticipated threats, or anxieties that reflect our lack of self-worth.

For example, we can worry that someone we’re meeting won’t like us, that an upcoming flight will lead to an emergency landing, or that the nagging pain we’ve noticed might be a serious health condition. Most of the time, our worries don’t pan out. That’s because worry is often invented by the mind and is rarely based on fact or truth. Eventually, we come to realize that worrying about the future doesn’t prevent tomorrow’s troubles — it just robs today of its joy. As an old quote goes, “Worry is the interest you pay on a debt you may not owe.”

Occasional anxiety over the future is a normal part of life. In fact, our brains have evolved to make us worry. Our cave-dwelling ancestors, who imagined the worst when they heard leaves rustle, had better odds of surviving a predator by being in this state of constant alert. So worrying, to some extent, is a natural part of life — we worry about paying a bill, how a first date might turn out, or if the weather might ruin a planned barbecue.

But it’s when the “what ifs” are persistent and run rampant, attaching themselves to every possible outcome, that worry becomes a chronic source of anxiety that can lead to insomnia, headaches, stomach problems, and more. At its most extreme, worry can be paralyzing, interfering with how we show up in everyday life. This prevents us from taking action, even if it’s simply to cook dinner for friends (because maybe it won’t taste good, etc.). Chronic worrying can also indicate Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD), so it’s always worth seeking a healthcare professional’s advice if worrying has become a preoccupying mindset.

As Harvard researcher and lecturer Shawn Achor writes in his book “The Happiness Advantage”: “Adversities, no matter what they are, simply don’t hit us as hard as we think they will. Our fear of consequences is always worse than the consequences themselves.”

Worry doesn’t just live in our thoughts; it lives in the body, too. You might notice tension in your shoulders, a tight chest, or restlessness in your limbs when anxiety kicks in. That’s because our nervous system is activated, preparing us to react to a perceived threat, even if the threat is only imagined.

Relaxing the body can send a powerful message to the mind: You’re safe. And that signal helps shift us out of the worry loop.

One simple way to start is with progressive muscle relaxation — gently tensing and releasing different parts of the body to let go of stored tension. Another is breath awareness, where you focus on each inhale and exhale, helping ground you in the present moment. Even a few minutes of physical stillness can create mental space.

Looking for more ways to unwind? Headspace members can access our full library of calming tools — from body scan meditations and mindful movement to sleep content that helps ease racing thoughts before bed.

For some worriers, anxious thoughts are fueled by an underlying belief about worrying — that it’s somehow protective, helping us avoid bad things or preparing us for the worst. Worry might keep our minds busy, but not in a constructive way.

Still, chronic worry is a mental habit that, over time, can be broken. Try these proven methods on how to worry less, so you can break this habit and start living:

1. Practice meditation

A skill to learn how to stop worrying about the future or obsessing about the past is regular meditation practice.

General meditation research shows that mindfulness training can reduce anxiety for those with anxiety disorders. One study showed that 30 days of Headspace resulted in an 11% increase in mental resilience. What’s more, people who used the Headspace app for just 10 days experienced a 7.5% increase in satisfaction with life. It’s clear that regularly setting aside a few minutes — even one minute — to let go, breathe, and recharge can go a long way toward improving mental health.

By sitting quietly and focusing either on your breath or on the physical sensations of the chair or floor beneath you, you can ground yourself in the present moment, allowing for a greater sense of calm.

Meditation isn’t about pushing worries away, clearing the mind, or stopping thought — that’s not possible. But over time, we can train the mind to observe our thoughts and emotions without getting caught up in them. We gently note them, rather than reacting to them, and then let them go.

When we take a step back and observe them in that way, we realize that our thoughts are temporary, that they don’t define us, and we are not our thoughts. This is what meditation is about.

2. Learn to distinguish between solvable and unsolvable worries

Productive, solvable worries are those you can act on right away. For instance, if you’re concerned about your finances, you can draw up a spreadsheet and a monthly budget to rein in your spending. If it’s high cholesterol and your health, you can lay off the fast food, make better choices at the grocery store, and start exercising.

If a worry is solvable, chart a plan of action that starts small. Focusing on things within our reach takes us away from creating a disaster scenario in the mind. Try a prompt like, What’s one part of one step I can take to get started?

Unproductive, unsolvable worries are those that you can’t do anything about. For example, you can’t control the weather for your vacation, force someone to ask you out on a date, or prevent your company’s round of layoffs (though you can update your resume and polish your professional profile).

Uncertainty is one of the hardest things to feel comfortable with, especially for those with anxiety. But life is unpredictable, and learning to accept and even lean into our fear of the unknown can make a difference in our emotional well-being.

So, if you’re focusing on a situation that’s out of your hands, that’s always going to be tough. And what’s tougher is resisting it or trying to control it.

Meditation can help us become more at ease with uncertainty and less stressed when things are not in our control. When we let go of what we can’t control, we can focus on what’s actually in front of us. Life can flow with a little more ease this way.

3. Write down your worries

One powerful way to help us break the cycle of worry is to log each and every worrying thought that pops into our mind. Examining worries written on paper, rather than mulling them over in your head, can help you gain a more balanced perspective.

Committing your emotions to paper seems like it would fuel anxiety, but according to a University of Chicago study published in the journal Science, it actually has the opposite effect. Students who were prone to pre-test anxiety and journaled about their fears before an exam improved their test scores by nearly one grade point.

Go gently with yourself at first. Maybe choose one week to keep a worry diary, making a promise to yourself that you’ll write down every worrisome thought, however silly it might seem. At the end of that week, or whatever period of time you choose, the list will serve as a reflection of where your mind has gone in terms of imagined outcomes. Go through the list and challenge your anxious thoughts:

• What’s the evidence that this thought is true? (Maybe there’s none.)
• Is there a more positive, realistic way of looking at the situation?
• Is what I’m worrying about within or out of my control?
• What’s the likelihood that what I’m afraid of will actually happen? If it’s low, what are some more likely outcomes?
• How does worrying help the situation, or doesn’t it?

Over time, this helps break cycles of overthinking and fear. If you’ve ever wondered how to stop overthinking your worries, writing is one of the most effective tools to begin with.

4. Write down what you’re grateful for

Take a few moments to consider some things in your life that you appreciate. Who, what, and where fills you with a sense of gratitude? Research suggests that when we take note of and cultivate increased appreciation in our lives, we feel happier and more optimistic.

Try listing three things that made you feel good each day or at the end of every week — coffee counts. Listing things you’re grateful for is a great way to acknowledge them and intentionally make space for them within and outside your mind.

5. Try the “worry time” technique to contain your thoughts

Are you trying to stop worrying all the time? When worry takes up space in your mind all day, it can be hard to focus, rest, or enjoy the moment. One strategy from cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is something called the “worry time.”

It sounds counterintuitive and maybe even a little silly, but setting aside 20 or 30 minutes each day to focus on your worries is a first step toward containing them. Studies, including one at Penn State University, found that those who scheduled time to worry showed a significant decrease in anxiety in 2 to 4 weeks. Plus, they slept better.

By scheduling this time just for worry, you give your brain permission to postpone anxious thinking instead of letting it spill into everything else. Over time, this practice teaches the mind to delay — and eventually reduce — its urge to obsess over these thoughts.

Here’s how it might look: each evening, you set a timer for 15 minutes, grab a journal, and allow yourself to write down every worry on your mind. When worry shows up outside that window, you gently tell yourself, “Not right now, I’ll come back to that later.” It’s not about pushing thoughts away, but noticing them mindfully and choosing when to engage.

This is also where meditation can help. Practices like stress resets or thought-labeling meditations train the brain to observe thoughts without reacting. Want support with this habit? Start your trial to explore guided sessions in the Headspace app, and help your mind build healthier responses to anxious thinking.

There are many science-backed relaxation techniques that counter feelings of anxiety and stress. You can try deep breathing, meditation, progressive muscle relaxation, yoga, tai chi, massage, getting outdoors, or just doing things you enjoy. Incorporating them into your daily life can promote a calmer frame of mind and help ward off worry. You just might find yourself spending a lot less time feeling uncertain and concerned about what lies ahead.

Sources

_{Twain, M. (n.d.). Worrying is like paying a debt you don't owe [Quote]. https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/308159-worrying-is-like-paying-a-debt-you-don-t-owe. Accessed on June 11, 2025.}

_{Mishra, A. K., & Varma, A. R. (2023). A Comprehensive Review of the Generalized Anxiety Disorder. Cureus, 15(9), e46115. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.46115. Accessed on June 11, 2025.}

_{Achor, S. (2010). The happiness advantage: The seven principles of positive psychology that fuel success and performance at work. Crown Business. Accessed on June 11, 2025.}

_{Chu, B., Marwaha, K., Sanvictores, T., Awosika, A. O., & Ayers, D. (2024, May 7). Physiology, stress reaction. In StatPearls. StatPearls Publishing. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK541120/. Accessed on June 11, 2025.}

_{Centre for Clinical Interventions. (n.d.). What? Me worry! Module 6: Positive beliefs about worrying. Government of Western Australia, Department of Health. https://www.cci.health.wa.gov.au/~/media/CCI/Consumer%20Modules/What%20Me%20Worry/What%20Me%20Worry%20-%2006%20-%20Positive%20Beliefs%20About%20Worrying.pdf. Accessed on June 11, 2025.}

_{Hoge, E. A., Bui, E., Marques, L., Metcalf, C. A., Morris, L. K., Robinaugh, D. J., Worthington, J. J., Pollack, M. H., & Simon, N. M. (2013). Randomized controlled trial of mindfulness meditation for generalized anxiety disorder: effects on anxiety and stress reactivity. The Journal of clinical psychiatry, 74(8), 786–792. https://doi.org/10.4088/JCP.12m08083. Accessed on June 11, 2025.}

_{Champion, L., Economides, M., & Chandler, C. (2018). The efficacy of a brief app-based mindfulness intervention on psychosocial outcomes in healthy adults: A pilot randomised controlled trial. PLOS ONE, 13(12), e0209482. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0209482repository.londonmet.ac.uk+3. Accessed on June 11, 2025.}

_{American Psychological Association. (2017, May 1). Region in brain found to be associated with fear of uncertain future. https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2017/05/uncertain-future. Accessed on June 11, 2025.}

_{American Psychological Association. (n.d.). Expressive writing can help your mental health. https://www.apa.org/news/podcasts/speaking-of-psychology/expressive-writing. Accessed on June 11, 2025.}

_{Harms, W. (2011, January 13). Writing about worries eases anxiety and improves test performance. University of Chicago News. https://news.uchicago.edu/story/writing-about-worries-eases-anxiety-and-improves-test-performance. Accessed on June 11, 2025.}

_{Diniz, G., Korkes, L., Tristão, L. S., Pelegrini, R., Bellodi, P. L., & Bernardo, W. M. (2023). The effects of gratitude interventions: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Einstein (Sao Paulo, Brazil), 21, eRW0371. https://doi.org/10.31744/einstein_journal/2023RW0371. Accessed on June 11, 2025.}

_{Borkovec, T. D., Robinson, E., Pruzinsky, T., & DePree, J. A. (1983). Preliminary exploration of worry: Some characteristics and processes. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 21(1), 9–16. https://doi.org/10.1016/0005-7967(83)90121-3. Accessed on June 11, 2025.}