Escape the Worry Cycle —3 Simple but Powerful Techniques

Do you hate getting caught in the worry cycle, that endless hamster wheel of rehashing the same worries over and over? The worry cycle makes us feel anxious, unsettled, and unable to stay focused. That’s why I’m always on the lookout for tricks or techniques that will help us escape the worry cycle.

Here are three simple techniques that can break the cycle and direct your brain to more helpful, intentional thoughts.

Get Moving

Shifting your body, even a little bit, helps jar you out of the worry cycle. When we’re stuck in a worry cycle, we tend to feel immobilized—unfocused, unmotivated, and unable to move on. And the longer we remain immobile, the more sluggish and unmotivated we feel.

It’s a vicious cycle. But the cool fact is that when we shift our bodies from immobile to mobile, it helps our brain and emotions shift, too.

“Feeling stuck on a task? Overwhelmed? Then literally get yourself up and move—any amount, no matter how small, is beneficial.”  from The Power of Agency by Pal Napper Psy.D. and Anthony Rao, Ph.D.

When you get out of your chair and move for even a few minutes, it will improve focus, increase creative thinking, and boost mood. Movement sends more oxygen to the brain, reverses the buildup of stress hormones, and releases tense muscles.

Try it right now. Draw some circles in the air with your nose and stretch your hands above your head. By doing so, you’ve repositioned your muscles. And that sends a signal to your brain that you’re alive, alert, and ready to do something.

Continue the shift by getting up and walking around. As you walk, tell yourself you’re not trapped in your chair, or in your worries. Bring your attention to the present. Notice your body as you move and pay attention to what is around you. Look for something in your space that sparks gratitude or positive thoughts.  Hooray, you’ve shifted perspective.

Guided Imagery

When we get caught up in worries, we become fixated on the problem until it fills our entire mental screen. A trick that helps us zoom out and see the larger picture can help us escape the worry cycle

One way to accomplish the zoom from fixation to the big picture is by using a guided imagery technique like the example here.

Start by imagining you are kneeling in a flower garden, staring at a single flower. [A rose, a daffodil, a dahlia,… choose your favorite.] You see a honeybee on the flower, gathering nectar and pollen. You focus on the bee and see the stinger. That stinger could be dangerous!

Next imagine slowly standing up. The bee is still there, but it’s no longer so close or so scary. Now imagine you are slowly backing away. With each step, you see more and more of the beautiful flower garden, featuring many different flowers, all in joyous bloom.  The bee is still there, but she’s so small you can’t see her.

Finally, imagine you can fly. You float up and can see not just the flower bed, but the surrounding landscape, with other flower beds, and lawns and pathways, and a little stream trickling by. You soak in the beauty and peace and remind yourself that—like the bee—your current situation is not the whole picture.  

As an alternate image, imagine a small crab at the beach and zoom out to a section of shoreline. Or start with a spider web and zoom out to your neighborhood.

By giving your brain a series of concrete images to focus on, you gently lead it away from the vicious cycle of your worries and help it remember that a bigger picture exists.

Speak Scripture

Reminding yourself of who God is and how much he loves you is a powerful antidote to worry.

Most of the time, our worries are a result of us trying to control things we don’t have control over. The solution is to acknowledge we can’t control them, and instead choose to trust God to take care of the situation.

Unfortunately, many of us struggle to fully surrender and trust God. When we’re fixated on our worries, our faith and our concept of God seems to shrink. Speaking his truth out loud can reverse the process, boosting our faith and reminding us of how awesome, capable, and loving God it—regardless of what we are facing at the moment.

I suggest you find some verses that boost your faith and write them down where you can quickly access them. Better yet, memorize a few key passages so you can whisper them to yourself anytime you need to escape the worry cycle.

Here are a few verses I use to escape the worry cycle.

• Romans 8:38-39
• Matthew 11:28-29
• Ephesians 2:8-10
• Philippians 4:6-8
• Psalm 23
• Psalm 31:1-5
• Isaiah 41:10

How will you escape the worry cycle?

The next time you find your thoughts stuck in a worry cycle, try one of these methods to get unstuck and back into a more joy-filled and purposeful day.