Write a worry script
Write out the outcome you fear in vivid detail, and read it until it loses its charge.
Key takeaways
- Worry is mostly words, and words keep the full fear at arm's length. That's why the same worry keeps coming back.
- A worry script faces the picture instead: the feared outcome as a short story, first person, present tense, with real details and feelings.
- Read it once a day for a few minutes until it feels less charged. No reassurance at the end.
For everyday worries about the future, not memories of trauma. If it becomes overwhelming, stop.
Worry is words, not pictures
In the 1980s and 90s, the psychologist Thomas Borkovec studied people who worried all day long. He noticed something surprising: worry is mostly words, not pictures. Worriers talk to themselves about what might go wrong, but rarely let themselves fully imagine it.
Talking in words, it turned out, dampens the body's alarm. So worry can work as a kind of avoidance: it feels like facing the problem, but it keeps the full fear at arm's length. Because the fear is never fully faced, it never fades.
Facing the picture instead
Building on this, Michelle Craske and David Barlow developed worry exposure. You write the feared outcome as a short story, then read it, once a day for a few minutes, until it starts to feel less charged, even a bit boring.
It feels backward, and the first read can be hard. But a fear you can look at directly tends to lose its grip.
A good script
- First person, present tense
"I stand up and my mind goes blank", not "what if I forget".
- Real details
Where you are, who is there, what they say and do.
- The feelings
What you feel in your body and your mind as it happens.
- All the way
Go to the core of the fear, not just the start of it.
- No reassurance
No "but it probably won't happen" at the end.
Question 1 of 2
Your script ends with: "...but it probably won't happen, so it's fine." What would you change?
Write your script
If you like, try one of your own. Pick an everyday worry that keeps coming back. Write it as if it's happening now, and stay with it to the end.
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Echoes in other traditions
- Stoicism
Rehearse the setback: Seneca pictured misfortunes in advance, so they would lose their power to shock.
- ACT
Willingness: making room for a fear, rather than spending your energy keeping it away.
Theo's first draft
Theo worries his small bakery will fail. Here is his first worry script:
"What if sales keep dropping? Then maybe I wouldn't be able to pay the rent, and I might have to close at some point. That would be bad. But I've got savings, and the summer is usually busier, so it'll probably be fine."
Question 2 of 2
Sources and further reading
- Borkovec, T. D., & Inz, J. (1990). The nature of worry in generalized anxiety disorder: A predominance of thought activity. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 28(2), 153-158.
- Craske, M. G., & Barlow, D. H. (2006). Mastery of Your Anxiety and Worry: Workbook (2nd ed.). Oxford University Press.
Finish the lesson
0 of 2 questions done. Answer the rest to finish.