Worry delay experiment

Worrying is a state of mind in which you have a lot of thoughts of a negative nature about either potential or actual problems. You can worry about all kinds of subjects, but also about what is causing you to worry: why am I worrying so much? And about the consequences: all this worrying is going to drive me crazy! You may feel like you are stuck in negative thoughts and no longer know how to get rid of them. You can, for example, be convinced that you are not able to manage the worry and that you no longer have control over the worrying. If this is the case, a worry delay experiment can be performed in consultation with your professional.

The purpose of a worry delay experiment is to find out whether worrying can be delayed. You will investigate whether the worrying is manageable and can be controlled.

Exercise:

• When you start to worry, write down the topics you are worrying about.
• Next, postpone your worrying to another moment (for example, at 7 pm, but not right before going to sleep). Try to find a way to remind yourself of the ‘worry period’.
• At the agreed time, recall the topics you wrote down. Investigate whether it is still necessary to worry about these topics.
• Worry about the topics you still want to worry about for a maximum of half an hour.

Source:

Keijsers, G. P. J., Van Minnen, A., Verbraak, M., Hoogduin, C. A. L. & Emmelkamp, P., (2017). Protocollaire behandelingen voor volwassenen met psychische klachten.