WORRY

 

Definition of worry:
Feel or cause to feel anxious or troubled about actual or potential problems.
The state of being anxious and troubled over actual or potential problems

Synonyms for Worry:
Uneasy state of mind usually over the possibility of an anticipated misfortune or trouble

These notes are from recovery in AA and/or related 12 step programs.
Readers are encouraged to click external links for more detail.
We hope you find them helpful.
Love in fellowship.

When we are not worrying about the future, we may fall into regrets about the past. Either way, we are distracted from our only opportunity to learn from today’s experiment in living in this moment. –Touchstones | More…

Worry is like a rocking chair. It gives you something to do, but it doesn’t get you anywhere. –Anonymous

What if we knew for certain that everything we’re worried about today will work out fine? We’d be free to let go and enjoy life. I don’t have to worry about anything. If I do worry, I will do it with the understanding that I am choosing to worry, and it is not necessary. –The Language of Letting Go | More…

It is not only wrong to worry, it is infidelity, because worrying means that we do not think that God can look after the practical details of our lives, and it is never any thing else that worries us. The cares of this world are the little worries always. I will not trust where I cannot see, that is where infidelity begins. The only cure for infidelity is obedience to the Spirit. –My Utmost for His Highest | More…

How can we stop worrying?
First, we need to determine the root of our worry.

If necessary, it may help to write down our problem. Second, we should answer these questions: How likely is it that this problem will actually happen?

How serious is the problem? How much control do we have over it? Third, we need to make a plan. What could we do about the problem? What would this action solve?

Sometimes the best thing we can do is let go. Fourth, we should talk it all over with our sponsor, someone who has faced worry and stays sober. –God Grant Me | More…

Worrying about the past is not productive. Regret will not fix anything. It will merely keep me from concentrating my efforts on where they belong … on the present moment. –One Day At A Time  | More…

Worrying doesn’t help. Our worries are fear. Our worries are self-punishment, a form of not forgiving ourselves, not loving ourselves, not trusting.

We may think that worrying helps ward off trouble, but that’s an illusion. By neglecting our lives due to worry and fear, we may bring needless consequences upon ourselves.

The lesson is trust. When we’re trusting, we let go of our fear. When we trust, we get peaceful first, before we get what we want, before we see what the future brings.

Worry and fear are the opposite of love. Love yourself more that you ever have.

Love yourself enough to stop worrying. Love yourself enough to give yourself the gift of peace. –Journey to the Heart | More…

Worrying about what’s going to happen blocks us from functioning effectively today. Staying in the now, doing our best, and participating fully today are all we need to do to assure ourselves that what’s going to happen tomorrow will be for the best.

Worrying about what’s going to happen is a negative contribution to our future. –The Language of Letting Go/Melody Beattie | More…

‘Don’t waste your time worrying, that is the HP’s work – not yours’ –Dahn M.

I know I can worry myself into the grave.
I can project an incident into a calamity.

I can make mountains out of molehills. I worried about what people meant by what they said. Today I have a program that helps me deal with this. –Father Leo | More…

Some people are such worriers that they worry about the fact that they have nothing to worry about. The Program tells us that the proven antidote to worry and fear is confidence — confidence not in ourselves, but in our Higher Power. –A Day At A Time 15/12 | More…

Worry saps me of the energy that I need for today. –May 2012/”Say the Magic Words,”/AA Grapevine

What if we knew for certain that everything we’re worried about today will work out fine? We’d be free to let go and enjoy life. I don’t have to worry about anything. If I do worry, I will do it with the understanding that I am choosing to worry, and it is not necessary. –The Language of Letting Go | More…

It is not only wrong to worry, it is infidelity, because worrying means that we do not think that God can look after the practical details of our lives, and it is never any thing else that worries us. The cares of this world are the little worries always. I will not trust where I cannot see, that is where infidelity begins. The only cure for infidelity is obedience to the Spirit. –My Utmost for His Highest | More…