As human beings， our ability to predict trouble—and outwit it—is one of those 1）cerebral superpowers that set us apart from birds and beasts. But nonstop worrying can be 2）crippling to your life and your immune system.

“Just having a thought about some potential bad thing that might happen—everyone has those，” says Dr. Michelle Newman， director of the Laboratory for Anxiety and Depression Research at Pennsylvania State University. “But if you have difficulty stopping the worry once it starts， that’s one of the ways we define what’s called 3）pathological worry.”

Newman， who is also editor of the journal Behavior Therapy， cites more characteristics of out-of-control worrying， like fixating on things over which you have no control—or which have a low probability of happening—and “4）catastrophizing” them. Worrying about a loved one who’s driving and picturing the horrible 5）ramifications of an accident is one example； imagining a string of events that might lead to your losing your job and your home is another.

Anxiety is a related feeling that often goes hand in hand with worrying. While it can be a little tricky to separate the two， Newman says the technical difference is that worrying is “verbal-linguistic” while anxiety is “physical.” If you feel tense or on edge while thinking about your job security or your child’s long car trip， you’re experiencing both worry and anxiety. Feel those emotions “more days than not” for a period of six months， and you meet the American 6）Psychiatric Association’s criteria for a diagnosis of generalized anxiety disorder， or GAD. Basically， you’re a7）chronic worrier.

“I like to say that chronic worry is a process looking for content，” Newman says. “You’ve gotten into the habit of looking for something to be concerned about， and you always find it.”

That’s bad news for several reasons. First and foremost， 8）incessant worrying and anxiety can increase your blood pressure and heart rate and has been linked to an elevated risk for 9）cardiovascular disease. “Anxiety can also overactivate your immune system，” says Dr. Wesley Moons， formerly of the University of California， Davis， and now CEO of his own consulting firm， Moons Analytics.

While at UC Davis， Moons and his graduate student Grant Shields found that people who reacted to stressful situations with anger experienced a smaller immune system response than those who reacted with anxiety. Shields says the sorts of immune system responses his research linked to anxiety could hurt the body’s ability to fight off infection or disease and have been tentatively linked to higher mortality rates.

“That’s not to say getting angry is a healthy reaction to stress，” Moons adds. “But in terms of your immune system， anxiety appears to trigger some different and potentially more 10）detrimental responses.”

But isn’t there a benefit to lots of worrying？ After all， if your mind is tackling 11）contingencies and potential threats， you can act now to prevent them—right？

Unfortunately， Newman 12）refutes this idea. “Mostly worrying becomes a process unto itself that doesn’t lead to problem solving or helping you in any way，” she says. If you’re worrying about something， she says， you’re not taking steps to address the source of your worry， if that’s even possible.

When you 13）boil it down， worry is really a failure to live in the moment， Newman says. Activities that attempt to anchor your mind to the present—including yoga and meditation—may help combat incessant worrying. Exercise， massage and other things that 14）alleviate physical tension are also helpful， she says.

Another great way to reign in your worrying is to set aside a specific time and place for it. Select a spot you can get to easily every day， but that isn’t a place where you normally spend time， Newman advises. （A quiet bench in your backyard， maybe， or a chair in your guest room.） Your goal is to give yourself 20 or 30 minutes a day in that space， devoted only to worrying. “The rest of the day， you tell yourself you aren’t going to worry because you will at that time and place，” Newman explains. “The idea is that by isolating your worry， you can control it.”

She says that focusing on a favorite relaxing setting—your “happy place”—also has proven worry-reducing benefits. “Close your eyes，” she says. “Try to vividly picture that place—the sights and smells and sounds you would feel and hear.” Hopefully the place that you see is worry-free.

預(yù)測及戰(zhàn)勝麻煩的能力是令我們?nèi)祟愑袆e于動(dòng)物的大腦超能力之一。但無休止的擔(dān)憂會降低你的生活質(zhì)量，損壞你的免疫系統(tǒng)。

“只是想想某些可能發(fā)生的潛在壞事，我們每個(gè)人都會如此。”賓夕法尼亞州立大學(xué)焦慮與抑郁研究實(shí)驗(yàn)室的負(fù)責(zé)人米歇爾·紐曼博士說?！暗绻阋婚_始擔(dān)憂就停不下來，那便是所謂‘病態(tài)擔(dān)憂’的癥狀之一?！?/p>

紐曼也是雜志《行為治療法》的編輯，她列舉了擔(dān)憂失控的更多特征，例如關(guān)注那些你無力控制或發(fā)生可能性很低的事情，并將其“小題大做”。比如擔(dān)心自己所愛之人的行車安全，并想象出車禍的可怕后果；又比如想象出一連串可能導(dǎo)致你失去工作或住房的事件。

焦慮是一種常常與擔(dān)憂緊密相連的情緒。盡管要區(qū)分這兩種情緒并不簡單，但紐曼表示從學(xué)術(shù)層面上說，二者之間的差別，在于擔(dān)憂是“口頭語言”，而焦慮是“身體表現(xiàn)”。如果你在想到自己的職業(yè)保障或是你孩子要乘坐長途汽車時(shí)感到緊張或煩躁，那么你就是在體驗(yàn)擔(dān)憂和焦慮的雙重感受。以六個(gè)月為一個(gè)周期，如果在這個(gè)周期內(nèi)你多數(shù)時(shí)間都感到擔(dān)憂和焦慮，那么你就達(dá)到了美國精神醫(yī)學(xué)學(xué)會對于廣泛性焦慮癥，即GAD的診斷標(biāo)準(zhǔn)。也就是說，你基本上長期飽受擔(dān)憂之苦。

“我認(rèn)為，長期擔(dān)憂是一個(gè)尋找慰藉的過程，”紐曼說?！澳阋呀?jīng)養(yǎng)成了一種沒事也要找事來擔(dān)心的習(xí)慣，而你總能找到?！?/p>

從很多方面來說，這都是個(gè)壞消息。首先，不停地?fù)?dān)憂和焦慮會令你血壓增高，心跳加速，且提高患上心血管疾病的風(fēng)險(xiǎn)?！敖箲]還可能會使你的免疫系統(tǒng)處于過度興奮狀態(tài)，”韋斯萊·姆恩斯博士說，他曾任職于加州大學(xué)戴維斯分校，如今開辦了自己的咨詢公司——“姆恩斯分析”，并任CEO。

在加州大學(xué)戴維斯分校工作期間，姆恩斯和他指導(dǎo)的研究生格蘭特·希爾茲發(fā)現(xiàn)，在面對壓力時(shí)，與表現(xiàn)出焦慮的人相比，那些表現(xiàn)出憤怒的人的免疫系統(tǒng)應(yīng)激反應(yīng)要小得多。希爾茲說，他研究的這些與焦慮相聯(lián)的免疫系統(tǒng)反應(yīng)會損害身體對抗感染或疾病的能力，但究竟是否也會導(dǎo)致更高的死亡率還有待進(jìn)一步的研究確定。

“這并不是說生氣是一種正確應(yīng)對壓力的方式，”姆恩斯補(bǔ)充說?！暗兔庖呦到y(tǒng)而言，焦慮似乎會引發(fā)一些非同尋常且潛在危害更大的生理反應(yīng)。”

但憂慮過多就一點(diǎn)好處都沒有嗎？畢竟，如果你一直在思考如何應(yīng)對突發(fā)狀況和潛在威脅，你就可以未雨綢繆，防患于未然，不是嗎？

不幸的是，紐曼否定了這個(gè)觀點(diǎn)。“大多數(shù)情況下，擔(dān)憂只停滯于這一過程本身，并不能使問題得到解決，也不能在任何方面對你有所幫助?！彼f。如果你正在擔(dān)憂某件事，那并不表示你在采取措施解決問題，即使這個(gè)問題可能確實(shí)存在解決辦法。

歸結(jié)起來，擔(dān)憂實(shí)際上就是無法活在當(dāng)下，紐曼說。做一些試圖將你的思維固定于當(dāng)前的活動(dòng)——包括瑜伽和冥想——也許對戰(zhàn)勝不停的擔(dān)憂有所幫助。鍛煉、按摩和其他能夠減輕身體壓力的事情也很有幫助，她說。

另一種能很好地壓制憂慮的方式是為其預(yù)留出一段特殊的時(shí)間和空間。選一個(gè)你每天能夠輕易到達(dá)的地方，但并非你平時(shí)消磨時(shí)間的地方，紐曼建議。（也許是你家后院里一條安靜的長椅，或是你家客房里的一張椅子。）你的目標(biāo)是每天給自己20或30分鐘待在那個(gè)空間里，全心全意地只用來擔(dān)憂?！霸谶@一天的其他時(shí)間里，你告訴自己不會擔(dān)憂了，因?yàn)槟銜谀嵌螘r(shí)間、那個(gè)地點(diǎn)擔(dān)憂，”紐曼解釋說，“這個(gè)做法是要隔離出你的擔(dān)憂，好讓你能夠控制它?！?/p>

她說，專注在某個(gè)你最喜歡的放松環(huán)境，即你的“歡樂空間”，這也被證實(shí)有益于減輕擔(dān)憂。“閉上你的眼睛，”她說，“試著在腦海里生動(dòng)地描繪出那個(gè)地方——在那兒你能夠看到美景、聞到香氣、聽到妙音?！毕Ｍ憧吹降哪莻€(gè)地方?jīng)]有憂慮。