01/12/2024

An Expert's Four-step Method to Kill Worry and Find Some Inner Peace

A Harvard expert explains the roots of your anxiety

Stress, University of Texas researchers recently found, can literally shrink your brain. And as any inveterate worrier will tell you, it also clouds your mind and robs you of your peace. Dealing with an endless chatter of worries and what-ifs in your brain is both exhausting and unpleasant. So given this physical and psychological toll, why are so many of us prone to anxiety?

That's the subject of a recent Atlantic article by Harvard happiness expert Arthur Brooks. In it, he explains why so many of us tend toward anxiety, from biological differences in how our brains process neurotransmitters to common superstitious beliefs about the utility of worrying (you might feel that fretting about the bad thing makes it less likely to happen, but that's just not true).

The whole article is well worth a read if you tend toward worry, but Brooks's biggest practical takeaway is a simple but powerful four-part plan to finally kill your constant worry and bring some calm to your brain. Here are the basics.

Please select this link to read the complete article from Inc.