How to keep from worrying

If you’re wondering how to stop worrying, you’re not alone.

Many people feel constantly worried – about work, relationships, health, or the future. What starts as a small concern can quickly grow into overthinking, worst-case scenario thinking, and a sense that everything feels overwhelming.

Worry can take up a lot of mental space. It can affect your focus, your mood, and your overall mental wellness – making it harder to feel calm or present in your day-to-day life.

In this article, we’ll explore why we worry, how it connects to anxiety, and practical ways to start reducing anxiety and managing anxious thoughts – drawing on insights from psychotherapist Owen O’Kane.

Quick answer: how to stop worrying
Why am I constantly worried?
Why worry can feel overwhelming
Practical ways to feel calmer
Watch a free lesson from Owen’s course

Why am I constantly worried

Worry is a mental response to a specific concern – but it often grows into something bigger.

Owen explains that worry is linked to identifiable problems, while anxiety is a broader state that can exist without a clear cause. Over time, the mind can get into the habit of worrying because it believes it’s helping. “Whatever the cause,” he says, “we have learned to believe that worrying will help keep us safe.”

This is why you might feel constantly worried – your mind is trying to protect you, even when there’s no immediate danger.

Why worry can feel overwhelming

Worry doesn’t stay small for long. In his course, Owen explains that anxious thoughts tend to escalate quickly. This can look like:

A small concern appears
The mind builds a story around it
It jumps to a worst-case scenario
You feel overwhelmed and exhausted

This is why anxiety symptoms can feel so intense.

For some, this can also show up physically too. You may experience:

Stomach discomfort
Feeling restless or on edge
Difficulty focusing
Panic attacks, including racing heart or dizziness

The body reacts as if there is a real threat, activating fight, flight or freeze.

How to keep from worrying: 7 practical ways to feel calmer

So how can you alleviate some of those feelings and feel calmer? Here are some ideas designed to help cope with anxiety in everyday life from Owen.

1. Notice anxious thoughts early

“The anxious thoughts that play around in your head and mess with your mind? They are not who you are,” he says.

The earlier you catch a worrying thought, the easier it is to manage.

In A Life Less Anxious, Owen compares worry to a snowball, small at first, but quickly growing if left unchecked.

“The more you roll it around in your mind, the bigger it becomes. What you should do is pick up that snowball while you still can, while it’s still small enough to hold in your hand, and throw it away. It’s a snowball – nothing more.”

Try simply noticing: “This is a worrying thought” or “This feels like anxiety.”

This small step builds awareness – the foundation of reducing anxiety.

2. Separate thoughts from facts

Anxious thoughts can feel convincing, but they are not necessarily true. As Owen says, “The problem is that many people engage with their anxious thoughts as though they were facts.”

The anxious mind is a skilled storyteller. Many worries are driven by imagined worst-case scenarios, not reality.

Learning to pause and question those thoughts is a core CBT technique explored in the course.

3. Interrupt worst-case scenario thinking

The mind can naturally jump to extremes, but most worries never materialise – and when they do, they’re rarely as bad as expected.

Instead of following the thought all the way through, you can gently interrupt it.

Ask yourself “is this certain?” or “Do I have the facts to support this?”

This can help break the cycle of overthinking.

4. Use “worry time” to create boundaries

If you feel constantly worried, this technique can help to contain it.

Here’s one simple exercise Owen takes viewers through in his course:

Spend 10 minutes listing your worries
Ask what you can control
Leave the rest on the page

This stops worry from taking over your entire day.

5. Come back to the present moment

Worry pulls you into the future. Practices that anchor you in the present – like mindful breathing or simply paying attention to your surroundings – can help you feel calmer.

Even small moments of presence can reduce the intensity of anxious thoughts.

6. Pay attention to physical symptoms

Anxiety isn’t just mental – it shows up in the body first. “In fact,” says Owen, “the body should be our starting point. The more adept we become in reading the signals it sends us, the more readily we are able to navigate our thoughts and feelings and find a way through our anxiety.”

He outlines some feelings you might notice if you are feeling anxious:

A knot in your stomach
Tension or restlessness

Recognising these physical symptoms early can help you respond before it escalates.

7. Treat your anxious self with compassion

Trying to fight worry often makes it stronger. Owen encourages a different approach: working with your anxious self, not against it.

Your anxious self has only one purpose: to protect you.

When you respond with understanding instead of criticism, you reduce internal pressure – and that helps ease anxiety.

When worry becomes anxiety

Worry becomes more than just a passing thought when it starts to affect your daily life.

This might look like:

Feeling anxious most of the time
Struggling to switch off your thoughts
Avoiding situations
Experiencing panic attacks

The key message from his course is simple: Anxiety is not something to “fix” – it’s something to understand and manage.

A more helpful way to think about worry

If you want to stop worrying, the answer isn’t to get rid of thoughts. It’s to change your relationship with them.

That means:

Not believing every thought
Not reacting to every feeling
Not judging yourself for being anxious

And instead:

Becoming curious
Building awareness
Learning how your mind works

In A Life Less Anxious, Owen brings these ideas together into a practical toolkit – helping you understand anxiety, work with it, and feel more in control.

Explore the full course with a BBC Maestro membership and start building your own toolkit for managing anxiety in everyday life.