I was recently reading an interesting neuroscience article about worry, and how it occupies so much of our minds. The article had a ground-breaking tool which they claimed worked wonders for those of us who suffer from worry. It’s called a Worry Outcome Journal (WOJ).
The way it works is to write down a worry you have, then write down what you believe the outcome will be. Later, it’s important to write down the actual outcome of what happened, so you can compare the two.
This process strengthens the prefrontal cortex of the brain, which is responsible for reasoning and emotional regulation, reducing our fear-based emotions. I understand it works very well for people who, like me, get lost in multiple scenarios which spin around in our heads at vulnerable times.
It’s the comparison to what we thought might happen, against what did actually happen that retrains the brain’s emotional blueprint. Over time, by employing these comparison tools we, apparently, stop seeing uncertainty as a threat, and so worry becomes easier to regulate.
In a 2016 study, 91% of participants found their worries never came true and, they found that using the WOJ helped them retrain their minds, bringing more clarity over time, due to evidence and repetition. In turn, that reduces stress, freeing up our brain’s energy to focus on things that truly matter. Maybe it’s something for you? If so, good luck!