What's Got You Worried?      Worry is supposed to deliver a return for the investment.  We can spend a lot of time hyper-focusing on an individual situation only to come away feeling we’ve made no progress at all.  Some of us return again and again with the notion “I must rekindle these thoughts frequently in order to solve them.”  Dr. Albert Ellis lists this pattern as one of the 10 most self-defeating.     Common advice we are told is to simply stop thinking these thoughts. Yet have you noticed how resistant some thoughts are to be dismissed?  In fact, I have never found it very successful to manage “sticky thoughts” by focusing on stopping them.  Persistent thoughts are usually in some way a stubborn fear.  We can’t automatically quit these thoughts because they customarily they pop right back into our minds.      Helpful treatment is found in the paradoxical truth of “less is more.”  Fueling fears and sticky thoughts only strengthens them.  They grow more resistant to minimizing their influence. Diverting attention to other more productive thoughts or physical activities gradually strengthens alternatives. Sooner or later we find those nagging anxieties slowly disappear. We can learn to successfully retrieve and maintain our life’s energy and direction.      To find assistance with managing out-of-control thoughts and preoccupations, call Dr. Gates at 793-6144 to set up an appointment.