Distinguishing between Productive and Unproductive Worry

Many worriers believe that their worry will prepare them, prevent surprise, and help them
solve problems before they get out of hand. Indeed, some worry can be useful. For example,
if I need to get from New York City to San Diego, California, it would be useful for me to
“worry” about having plane and hotel reservations and ground transportation in California.
The question is how long this worry needs to be sustained. Productive worry is a set of
questions leading to solutions to a problem that can be addressed today. For instance, I can
get reservations for a flight, hotel, and rental car today. Unproductive worry involves a series
of “what-if” questions about problems over which I have no control and that I cannot really
solve today. In the present example, these might include “What if my car breaks down in
California?” or “What if my talk goes badly?” You can classify the worries as productive or
unproductive, using the following list as a guide:

Signs of unproductive worry:

You worry about unanswerable questions.

You worry about a chain reaction of events.
You reject a solution because it is not a perfect solution.
You think you should worry until you feel less anxious.
You think you should worry until you control everything.

Signs of productive worry:

There is a question that has an answer.

You are focused on a single event, not a chain reaction.
You are willing to accept imperfect solutions.
You do not use your anxiety as a guide.
You recognize what you can control and what you cannot control.