How to use expressive writing to manage worries

In our live expressive writing session last week, we looked at how to stop worrying, and we used a CBT technique called the Worry Tree to start training our brains to manage worry differently. The Worry Tree is a great strategy for worries, but there is another technique that you can use before this. It is called a Worry Zone.

A notepad with the text 'Time to', there is a hand holding a yellow pen, a mug of coffee and a red clock.

Another Way To Deal With Worry – Worry Zones

In addition to the worry tree, another technique you can use for worry is putting your worries into a worry ‘zone’. This can be a helpful strategy if you worry a lot and feel like you have no control over them.

What Is A Worry Zone?

A worry zone is a set time of the day or week where you set aside a specific period of time to go through a list of worries. In this period, you can use the worry tree to problem-solve each one and make a plan for what you will do with each one.

How To Do It?

Every time a worry comes into your mind, notice it as a worry and add it to your worry list. This can be on your phone’s notes app, a handwritten note, or your laptop. Have a method worked out that is quick for you to access and use for your worries. Having a small notepad by your bed can be good, as worries have a habit of popping into our minds whilst we are in bed at night and not distracted by other things.

Make a note of the worry when it comes into your mind. Each time a worry pops in, add it to the list. Then, at your arranged worry time, get your pad and go through each item on the list using the worry tree. Try to make sure you note WHAT you can do and WHEN you will do it, no matter how small the action is. Do this for each item on the list. Stop at the end of your worry period. Give yourself enough time to do this, but give it a clear endpoint. Then, every time a worry pops in, add it to the list for tomorrow’s period.

When Is A Good Time For A Worry Zone?

A good time is when you have 15-20 minutes free, but not while doing something else. Don’t do it last thing at night or when you have just woken up. Just before or after dinner can be a good time.

Alternatively, you could use 7.30 pm on a Sunday and make your worry zone the same time as my YouTube sessions. Then, we can all do our worry zones live and offload and process our worries together.

How Long Do I Need To Do This?

Do this until you start to feel a bit more in control of the worries. You can also stop when you feel like you are already doing the worry tree process in your head as and when the worries pop up.

Where Can I Find Out More About Worry?

Here are some books that I would recommend as they have been written by prominent CBT researchers in the field of worry and generalised anxiety disorder.

How to incorporate this into an expressive writing session

I mentioned above how you could choose to have your worry zone at the same time as my live guided expressive writing sessions on Sunday. You don’t have to do it then, but I’d like to let you know how we use these sessions as a way of managing worries. It works well as a worry zone.

In our sessions, we start with a 7-minute writing session. This is where we get all the worries out in the form of a list, and if there is time left, we write about what comes to mind as we think about these worries. We then pause, breathe and check in with ourselves. Then, we go into a second 7-minute writing session. In this second session, we use the worry tree to problem-solve each item on the list and plan what we can do about them. We then schedule when we will do these things.

In next week’s session, we can check in with what we have done, assess if we have avoided any actions, and set new plans for what to do with any remaining worries.

If you want to see how we do this, take a look at the replay here.

If you would like to find out more about expressive writing, I have written an article about it here.

The Weekly Process Newsletter

If you found this article helpful and you are interested in expressive writing as a method for processing the week, you might like my Weekly Process Newsletter. I send it every Sunday, and each edition covers a topic related to emotion processing, expressive writing and CBT,

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