Do you ever find yourself chewing over worries, imagining all the ways something could go wrong? Trying to plan for every 'what if'? Perhaps even worrying about how much you worry? If so, you are not alone - read on for some practical tips on how to beat worry.

Beliefs about worry

Many of us have unhelpful beliefs about worry. We might believe that worrying about someone we love is a way of showing we care. Some people feel that they need to worry to motivate themselves to do things, but excessive worry can backfire as anxiety prevents you from taking action.

It can be tempting to think through every 'what if?', and almost to believe that this over-worrying will stop those 'what if?'s from happening. That's 'magical thinking': just thinking about something doesn't make it more or less likely to happen but it is likely to make us feel more anxious! .

Have you ever noticed how worry can leave you feeling exhausted? Worry is an activity that takes up mental - and sometimes physical - energy. Our attention is limited, and when we are worrying it's hard to focus on other things. And, when we worry and imagine bad things happening, that causes a stress response in the body.

Interestingly, people who worry a lot often report that when something stressful happens, they are surprised by how calm they actually are - it's the unnecessary worry beforehand that causes the distress.

5 ways to beat worry

1 Keep a "worry journal"

• For two weeks, keep write down all your worries. For each worry, note your feared outcome. At the end of the two weeks, next to each worry write down:
• Did the outcome happen - yes or no?
• Did things turn out better, worse, or the same as expected?
• How well did you cope with the outcome if you like, you can use a scale - 1 = did not cope at all well; 5 = extremely well