Psychologist says having ‘worry sessions’ can help with stress management

If you’re facing a lot of stress and losing sleep at night because of it, one psychologist says putting pen to paper and writing down those worries can help you manage them.

There’s no shortage of things to worry about right now -- from the pandemic and inflation to the war in Ukraine, it’s a stressful time. Everyone has things that keep them up at night.

Dr. Stephen T. Cole, who is a licensed psychologist, says a “worry session” can go a long way in helping you manage it all.

“Pick a time -- like 15 minutes -- same time of day for about a week. And just writing down, simply making a list of all the things that are troubling you, and setting a timer and when the timer goes off, it’s pens down, and that’s it,” Dr. Cole explained. “And in the interim between then and the next session, you just tell yourself that you’re going to postpone those worries and take it up in the next session.”

Dr. Cole said doing this consistently the same way each day for a week is key.

“But as they keep doing it, then the worries start to lose their sting. And they find they get much quicker at it, which is a good thing, because they’re getting desensitized,” Cole said. “And then what they can do is go through the list again and think about what is a small action step that they can take in the direction of a solution. You don’t have to solve it. Just have to take an action step.”

Dr. Cole says the process should help you determine whether you have control over the things that are worrying you, make that worry more productive, and hopefully get the sleep you need.

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