Contents
If you are worried, will you be better prepared to face difficulties?
Myths about psychology
PM4:05The current pace of life, with many tasks to face, work commitments, family, friends, bills … makes the concern be a constant in our lives. Therefore, worries seem to be our best friends and although it is true that they are normal, many times we live them with the feeling of not being able to stop thinking about certain topics that terrify us, those that appear again and again in our heads in the form of ‘what if this happens ..?’.
Really concerns they are chains of thoughts that sometimes come even in image format, very continuous. They all have in common that they make us feel bad and that they appear in an uncontrolled way, that is, when they arise we can easily jump from one topic to another.
But why do we worry if it makes us suffer? According to Borkovec et al., The worrying process represents a attempted mental problem solving on an issue whose outcome is uncertain, although it carries the possibility of one or more negative consequences. That is, it seems that we worry to take care of what is happening.
There are reasons why we think worries are helpful. Some of them may respond to these phrases that may be part of our internal speech: “Worrying makes what I fear less likely to happen,” “It helps me discover ways to avoid what I fear,” or “Worrying about a negative event helps me. to prepare for when it happens. However, these are half-truths, since when worry is excessive, it becomes a constant, we cannot stop worrying and its consequences begin to affect us: problems of concentration y dream, let’s have Fatigue, muscle tension, we are irritated … and also, all this does not help take decisions, If not the opposite.
Studies by the Tallis or Dugas research team have already shown that individuals who worry a lot, when trying to solve problems, are hampered by the high demands of the situation, so they are slower. It is not that they do not know how to solve problems, but that they have difficulty applying their knowledge due to counterproductive reactions to situations. In other words, if I am so worried because I see my partner distant and I do not eat, I do not sleep, I do not concentrate and I live in a constant state of anguish, I will not be able to face that problem, I will not be able to communicate and that will not help so that the problem can be solved.
Living excessively worried will make everything seem like one amenaza and we cannot select well what to address. For this reason, it is important to remember that concern is necessary and normal but always to the extent that it allows us to act and help us to resolve what is happening and help me to direct me towards the search for solutions. Worrying would be the first step to solving a problem, that is, being aware of what scares me, but it has to lead to the implementation of my resources. That is where its value lies.
The psychologist Elena Huguet combines her activity as a health psychologist at the ‘En Equilibrio Mental’ clinic with research on suicide in the doctoral program of the UCM, teaching at the European University of Madrid as a professor of the Master of General Health Psychologist and as trainer in different training centers such as the Miguel Hernández University, the Autonomous University of Madrid and in the working groups of the Official College of Psychologists, among others.
In addition, he has expert titles in Personality Disorders, Immediate Telematic Psychological Attention and also in Brief Strategic Therapy. Trained in cognitive behavioral therapy, systemic therapy, dialectical therapy, mindfulness and neuropsychological evaluation in children, she has collaborated in the preparation of the book ‘Psychological problems in young university students’ and the aid guide for refugees.
For his part, the psychologist Juan José Rodrigo has developed his professional activity in the clinical and health field in various contexts; collaborating with different entities such as the Jiménez Díaz Foundation and SAMUR-Civil Protection. He has also worked in the Comprehensive Network of Attention to Drug Addiction of the Government of Castilla-La Mancha, carrying out prevention and intervention work at the family and individual level.
She has extensive experience with the adult and child-adolescent population in the treatment of anxiety disorders, emotional management, behavior problems, mood, grief, eating problems, addictive behaviors, family and relationship problems. He has specific training in attachment and trauma.
Preconceptions that hurt
Therefore, it is not true that if someone lives constantly worried they are more prepared to face their problems. This is the first of a series of twelve myths about psychology that over the next few weeks we will learn to banish together with the team of psychologists from ‘In Mental Balance’, with Jesús Matos at the helm. Through practical videos and a simple explanation we will know how to feel better and be happier by understanding our emotions.