Module 6 · Worry, rumination & thought patterns · Moderate evidence

Worry vs problem solving

Problem solving ends in a next step. Worry goes round and round without one.

6 min read · Level: Beginner · Free — no account needed to read

The idea

Worry and problem solving both involve thinking about something that might go wrong, so they feel alike. The difference is where they end. Problem solving ends in a next step: “I’ll email the tutor tomorrow.” Worry goes round and round: “what if I fail… what if they think I’m stupid… what if…” — and ends nowhere.

Researchers who study worry suggest it can work as a kind of avoidance: going over and over a problem in words feels like doing something, while keeping you away from the harder feelings or actions underneath. That is partly why worry is so sticky — it feels useful.

A simple test sorts them: is there something I can do about this now? If yes, turn it into a step. If not now, choose when you will come back to it. If it is out of your hands, the work is learning to carry it more lightly — not thinking harder.

Why it works

Worry feels productive but rarely is. Learning to tell it apart from problem solving frees hours of mental energy and points you at what actually helps.

A real example

The situation

Every night, Zara lies awake worrying about her mother’s health, running through frightening possibilities.

What happened

She sorts the worry. Part of it is actionable: her mother hasn’t had a check-up in two years. She helps book one the next morning. The rest — what might happen in the future — is out of her hands, so she practises putting it down each night. She sleeps better and her mother gets the appointment.

The takeaway

Sorting the worry turned one part into action and freed her from carrying the rest all night.

Use this when you are…

• you keep going over the same worry
• thinking about a problem isn’t getting you anywhere
• you can’t tell whether you are planning or worrying

Common mistakes

• Believing that worrying more will prevent bad things.
• Trying to solve problems that can’t be solved, instead of learning to carry them.
• Worrying about problems you could actually act on today.

What the evidence says

Moderate evidence: Several studies support it, but the effects are smaller, the studies are fewer or less rigorous, or results vary between groups.

Research on worry, especially by Thomas Borkovec and colleagues, supports the idea that worry can function as avoidance and that separating it from problem solving helps. Treatments for excessive worry build on this and have good evidence.

Where this comes from: Worry and anxiety research; Problem-solving therapy research; Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) research.

Fields that study this: Clinical psychology.

Try it now: Sort one worry

1. Write down one worry in a sentence.
2. Ask: is there something I can do about it now, later, or not at all?
3. Write the next step, the time you’ll come back to it, or one way to carry it more lightly.

Practise with a guided technique

• Worry time — (15 min · Moderate evidence)
• Six-step problem solving — (10–15 min · Moderate evidence)
• Bedtime to-do download — (5 min · Emerging evidence)

Questions to think about

• Which of your worries have a next step you haven’t taken?
• Which are out of your hands, and how do you usually carry them?

Try this today

Sort one worry today into now, later or out of your hands.

Afterwards, ask yourself

What happened to the worry once you sorted it?

Words in this lesson

• Worry — Repetitive thinking about possible future problems. Unlike problem solving, it tends to go round in circles without reaching a next step.
• Problem solving (structured) — Working through a problem in steps: define it, list options, weigh them, choose one, plan, then review.