Learn How to Breathe

This may sound silly, but as Dr. Martin Rossman writes in his new book The Worry Solution, "I never imagined when I went to medical school how much time I was going to spend simply teaching many of my patients how to breathe." (Dr. Rossman is a long-time mind-body specialist who teaches at the University of California; the book has garnered praise from the likes of Drs. Andrew Weil and Dean Ornish.) Breathing, of course, is automatic. But when we worry — especially in these impoverished days, when we sense a threat to our jobs the way prey animals fear being eaten — we freeze our breath, however momentarily. But humans have the ability to control breathing. Diaphragmatic breathing — sticking out your belly when you inhale — is one simple way to do this. It activates the parasympathetic sympathetic nervous system, which relaxes you.

Exercise — Then Relax

Exercising is one of the best stress-relievers around, so this may sound counterintuitive, but Rossman points out that muscles can often feel tense a day or two after hard workouts. Tension causes lactic acid to accumulate, which contributes to stress. Ways to relieve that stress are relaxation techniques like light yoga (which is ancient) and a simpler one developed by psychiatrist Edmund Jacobson in the 1930s: when people suggest to themselves that their muscles relax, they do so reliably, compared with those who suggest to themselves that they, say, walk or chew. His "progressive muscle relaxation" technique is still widely used in complementary medicine, and it's a good idea after a day at the gym.

Write Down What You Are Worried About

Psychologists have shown that simply jotting down all your worries (big or small) can help you separate those that are fixable from those that aren't. Rossman recommends setting a timer for 10 min. and listing everything that worries you. Then sort the stressors into three categories: ones you can possibly change (if you are worried about that odd sound that has knocked around in your car for weeks, make an appointment today to have it looked at); ones you aren't sure about (will that company actually hire me?); and ones you can't change (terrorists could blow up the building where you work). At this point, Rossman gets a little vague for my taste — he says to find your "inner wisdom" to fix worries you can possibly change. But writing exercises alone are a proven technique in evidence-based psychotherapies.

Track Outcomes of Worries You Can't Do Anything About

See how many of your fears actually come true. You can do this for two weeks or two years. Rossman notes that Robert Leahy, who directs the American Institute for Cognitive Therapy, has found that 85% of worries don't have the bad outcome that the worrier had feared. Even when that bad outcome arrived, 79% said they handled it better than they thought they would. (Leahy also recommends writing down your worries.) Prayer can also help believers realize that many worries don't have bad outcomes.

Clarify Your Goals, or Set New Ones

Don't just go along with the same routine every day, because the same routine will produce the same worries. Changing things up will help you generate new ideas. Rossman advises against jumping into those new ideas right away, and suggests striving for a great quantity of new ideas rather than trying to come up with the perfect one (which would just generate worry). After some time, which will be different for everyone, pick the best option and affirm it. Make a plan. And don't worry about it.