Living life as a chronic worrier is a tough thing to do. You constantly worry about situations that could never actually happen or worry too much over something that’s actually happening. It can cause stress in your life as a whole, in your friendships and in a relationship/potential relationships. It’s tough to live with, but some of us are forced to do so. We find ways to get through it, whether it is writing down scriptures, praying, distracting ourselves with exercise, overworking ourselves in our jobs or turning to alcohol and forgetting about whatever they’re worrying about. My way of dealing with it is typically through scripture or prayer. Worrying is not a healthy habit, and it’s detrimental to our lives. There is no healthy way to dealing with worry on our own.

I write about being a chronic worrier deep down from my own heart. Worrying myself sick is one thing I struggle with on a daily basis. It can be from not knowing what I want to do after college to what I’m eating for lunch that day or even what someone really thinks about me. It’s not just big things that chronic worriers fret about. It can be the smallest thing that a regular person wouldn’t agonize over. Becoming a chronic worrier typically stems from anxiety or depression. If someone has anxiety, then they’re probably a chronic worrier as well.

Living every day with worry is tough. We overanalyze everything. A friend or boyfriend/girlfriend could go a couple of hours without texting us; this could cause the worrier to think they died in a tragic accident or that they no longer love them anymore. It’s just how our brains are programmed to think for some reason. Our loved ones may not understand why we do these things. Well, neither do we.

My advice to those who are also chronic worriers — take a deep breath. Rethink the situation you are worrying about or have an outsider listen to the situation. Chances are you’re over-thinking it and making it into something it’s not. If you’re a religious person like myself, here are some of my favorite verses to help me stop worrying. They are Matthew 6:25-27, Proverbs 3:5-6 and Philippians 4:6-7. Write these down somewhere for easy access to read when you are feeling worrisome. To those who aren’t religious, invest in a healthy activity that could calm you down and put your mind to rest. Some examples are yoga, dance classes or even jogging, but make sure not to exhaust yourself. Doing these things may make a world of difference in your life.

To those who have a loved one you know is a chronic worrier, let them know you care. Show your true feelings to them when they seem to be worrying about you. Not texting someone as much one day as before or because of someone speaking to us in a different manner than usual are some other things that may cause our worrying to spike. To outsiders, these things seem like nothing, but to us, they’re huge things. If you’re a friend or family member, shoot them a quick text asking how they are or let them know you care about them. If you’re a boyfriend/girlfriend or even just crushing, let them know how you feel so they don’t worry about your feelings toward them. This may be the biggest thing we worry about (I know it is for me at least) because boyfriends/girlfriends or crushes could be temporary or forever. Let us know your true feelings so we know we aren’t spending time on someone we won’t end up with in the end. Worrying about friends, our boyfriend/girlfriend or a crush is one of the biggest things because fear of this may stem from being hurt in the past or even just the trust issues the worrier has. Don’t let that get you down though because we may actually care about you and just be too scared to show it or open up to you about it.

Doing these things may seem simple, but to the chronic worrier, it’ll mean the world to them. We regularly find ourselves pushing away those who truly care when there’s no need to. Chronic worriers may seem crazy at times because we’re worrying over nothing, but to us, it’s part of our daily routine.

“Worry ends when faith in God begins.”