Worry Boxes

In my practice I have come across a rise in anxious patients.  I can speculate on the changes in our world that seem to be causing this rise in anxiety and, unfortunately, none of them seem to be going away any time soon.  Since anxiety seems to be a pervasive problem that is here to stay, I have been working with my patients to develop tool boxes of techniques that are helpful in managing both symptoms of anxiety and their underlying causes.  For patients who have anxiety-related sleep difficulties, one tool that I find especially helpful is the Worry Box.

Most patients who have anxiety struggle to fall and/or stay asleep.  This break in the sleep cycle causes sleep deprivation, which has multiple emotional and physical detrimental effects.  Often the reason for a patient’s inability to have sound sleep is their sensation that they are laying in bed running through worries and concerns or to do lists when they should be settling down and falling asleep.  While the eventual goal is to teach patients how to mentally “wipe the slate” so that they can rest peacefully, the worry box is the intermediate step that can help develop this positive life habit. 

The technique is fairly simple.  I ask patients to find a box with a lid.  For some it can be as simple as a shoe box with a slit cut in the top.  For others it has to have more symbolic meaning than that.  For one patient, it had to be a solid wood box with a hinged lid because that “felt solid enough” to hold in the worries.  Just pick the box that’s right for you.  Right before bed, as you are running through the litany of worries or overwhelming lists, write them each down on an individual piece of paper and put the paper in the box.  As you put them into the box use self-talk to tell yourself that you are “putting that worry away for tomorrow”.  In essence, you are symbolically wiping your mind of these concerns knowing that they will be there for you to pick up in the morning should you choose to do so. 

While this is not likely to work the first time you try it, this is something that, with practice, you can do successfully to really improve your sleep.  There is also a modification I often use that works with kids that worry.  In their case, I use a worry doll or stuffed animal.  They get to talk to this worry buddy every night and let their worry buddy handle the weight of their fears and anxieties while the child sleeps soundly.  At the end of months of practice, the worry box can be retired and this can become a mental exercise where you can visualize your worries floating into the box in your head and getting shut up tight for the night.  This is a wonderful metaphoric way to teach yourself how to compartmentalize your worry so your body and mind can get what it truly needs: a good night’s rest!

For other helpful tips for dealing with anxiety you may want to read some of the articles posted here www.betterhelp.com/advice/anxiety