Why Worry?

As with all other behaviors that people engage in, worry serves a function. It does not occur randomly. It develops and then sticks around for a reason. Worry refers to future-­focused negative thoughts about a number of different topics, such as your job, finances, family, or health (Roemer, Orsillo, and Barlow 2002). Another way to describe worry is “what if” thinking (Borkovec 1985). For example, when worrying, people may wonder, What if I can’t pay my bills next month? or What if my parents get sick? When worrying, you are essentially identifying a problem that could occur in the future. Now, in some ways, this could be a useful process. If the worry motivates some kind of corrective action, prepares you for a definite upcoming negative event, or helps you come up with a solution to the problem, the worry served a very useful function. In fact, many people say that their worry is actually helpful for these reasons (Borkovec and Roemer 1995).

Before we begin to get into the ways in which worry can work against you, it is important to increase your awareness of what exactly you worry about. The following exercise provides a list of some common things that people worry about (Lindesay et al. 2006; Roemer, Molina, and Borkovec 1997). Check all that apply to you and add any of your own.

Exercise 6.1 What Do You Worry About?

Now, even though people may believe that their worry is helpful, more often than not, worry simply generates more anxiety. Here’s how it works. What will happen to us in the future is unpredictable and largely out of our control. This naturally will bring up some anxiety. As a result, we may start to worry in an attempt to make things feel more predictable and within our control, bringing down our anxiety and all of its symptoms (such as increased heart rate) in the short run (Borkovec, Alcaine, and Behar 2004). However, when we worry, we are really only identifying a future problem that may or may not happen (and often a lot of them don’t), which means that there may not be an easily identified solution. In addition, in the present moment, we really have no idea if the solution we came up with will work. So, basically, worry often takes the form of problem solving without the “solving” part. We are identifying a problem without really being able to come up with a definite solution (Borkovec 1985). As a result, our anxiety will then come back (and sometimes get even stronger), increasing the likelihood that we will worry some more.

Now, if you remember from chapter 1, many of the symptoms of anxiety are normal, everyday occurrences. This definitely applies to worry (Tallis, Eysenck, and Mathews 1992). As mentioned, everyone worries to some extent. However, for some people, worry can become so intense that it feels out of control and may constantly occur, greatly interfering with their ability to connect with and engage in positive and meaningful activities. When this happens, a person may develop GAD.