Career Coach: Stop the Worry Cycle

Have you ever experienced stress from obsessive or unwanted thoughts? If you’re stressed because of a particular issue or event, it may be hard to get it off your mind. And once you say to yourself, “Today I am not going to think about it,” what was the first thing you thought about? Was it still that unwanted thought?

These negative scenarios can be stopped by a technique called thought-stopping. First, picture a scene that brings up wonderful, comfortable feelings and makes you feel good about yourself. Imagine what it looks like, sounds like, smells like, and feels like. For example, pretend you’re on a beach. You see the sand and water; you hear the waves beating against the shore; you smell the salt water and feel invigorated, yet calm. The scene doesn’t have to be one that you’ve experienced firsthand – it should be any scenario that makes you feel good. 

Every time one of these unwanted ideas occur, yell “Stop!” either in your mind or out loud. This immediately breaks the thought cycle. Then replace your negativity with the positive scene; after a few minutes, your imaginative relaxation destination will recede, but the good vibes it brought you will remain.

After a few days, your stressful thoughts will be less frequent, and when they do come up you have a new tool to control them. It gets easier each time you do it. You can use this technique each time you feel bad about yourself, when you feel guilty about something, when you’re obsessed with analyzing the future or the past, or when you just want to get rid of a thought that is taking up your emotional energy. If you combine this technique with a conscious breathing relaxation exercise, it will help you sleep better at night as well.

Stop the worry cycle, and use your time to enjoy your life and be productive in the ways you want to be. 

–Simma Lieberman, Career Coach