Riding The Worry Wheel

✅ It feels like doing something
Worry is mentally active. When we worry, we analyze, plan, imagine scenarios, and mentally rehearse responses. That feels productive to the brain, especially when facing uncertainty. The brain prefers activity over helplessness.

✅ Illusion of control
Worry gives the sense that we’re exerting control over the future. Even though we’re just spinning mental wheels, the act of thinking through possibilities makes us feel better prepared.

✅ Problem-solving and worry overlap
The brain uses similar cognitive pathways for problem-solving and for worry. Healthy problem-solving has an endpoint (you make a plan). Worry loops keep spinning because they don’t lead to decisive action. The brain sometimes can’t distinguish between the two.

✅ Anxiety “rewards” worrying
Sometimes, worry seems to “work”:

• The feared event doesn’t happen (purely coincidental), and the brain concludes that worry helped avert disaster.

• Worrying leads to planning small steps that actually are helpful, further reinforcing the link between worry and feeling safer.

✅ Evolutionary protection
From an evolutionary standpoint, humans who anticipated danger (and mentally rehearsed how to avoid it) were more likely to survive. Worrying is the modern brain’s attempt at scanning for threats—even when those threats are more psychological than physical.

✅ Avoidance of feelings
Worry often distracts from deeper emotions. Instead of feeling grief, anger, or helplessness, the mind shifts into thinking mode. It’s an unconscious attempt to avoid emotional discomfort.

🔎 The problem: Worrying feels useful, but it rarely fixes uncertainty or guarantees safety. Instead, it drains mental energy and increases anxiety.

A healthier alternative: Shift from worrying into active problem-solving:

• Identify the specific problem.

• Ask: Can I do something about this right now?

• If yes → make a plan.

• If no → practice letting go, grounding, or redirecting attention.