People Who Care Too Much: 6 Characteristics That Define Them
Worry is part of human nature; If we don’t care, then we don’t care either. However, people who worry too much can experience constant and intense discomfort that affects their quality of life.
In this article we take care to review 6 characteristics that define excessive worry in people to determine how this situation affects them. it affects . All excesses are negative, even those that have to do with thoughts.
When worrying becomes a problem
As we have mentioned, the ability to feel concern in certain situations is adaptive. But yes the worry is constant and intense becomes a problem. It is paradoxical that something with the function of protecting can become harmful.
In addition to intensity and prevalence, the reason for the concerns should be considered. This means that it is not bad to feel this way when there is real danger, but it is a disorder if the feeling is maintained for no apparent reason .
In the most severe cases, excessive worrying can lead to physical discomfort, as occurs during episodes of anxiety. Worrying about something that hasn’t happened yet is limiting and it is a clear symptom of anxious behavior.
One of the characteristics of people who worry too much is that they have an accelerated and catastrophic pattern of thinking. For example, they study for a test and think they will fail. In anxiety there is no room for optimism, since everything is negative .
Characteristics of people who worry too much
Then we go on to review top 6 characteristics of people who worry too much . These signals are constant, however, they can vary with respect to their intensity. Go for it.
1. Anticipate the facts in a negative way
This is the main characteristic of those who worry constantly and irrationally. It’s about anxious anticipations. AND This happens when people are not able to evaluate the future in a positive way, even if the chances of failure are minimal.
2. Difficulty putting solutions into practice
Those people with an excessive tendency to worry are capable of devising good strategies to solve conflicts, but they are hardly able to carry them out. They are so focused on constantly reviewing the problem that they fail to step toward resolution. In addition, they often have doubts about their abilities.
3. Over-analyze the problems
Excessive analysis of a situation produces states of anguish. Giving a conflict too much thought in your mind does not help you solve it. On the contrary, it intensifies it. So when we repeatedly analyze a situation we are not putting the emphasis on possible solutions, but on the very core of the problem.
4. Low tolerance for uncertainty
Much of the conflicts that we must resolve are of an unexpected nature. Sometimes a troublesome situation takes us by surprise and changes our plans. But uncertainty doesn’t always end in negative consequences. For example, an unscheduled call could be due to good news.
People who worry too much automatically associate uncertainty with a negative outcome . It could be the case of a young man who receives an unexpected notice from his girlfriend and the first thing he thinks is that she is calling him to demand something from him or to end the relationship.
5. Not differentiating the possible from the probable
This characteristic implies a difficulty to interpret the information in a rational way. OR It occurs that people are unable to discern between the events that may occur and those that cannot. .
For example, feeling concern about losing your job without having clear indications that this could happen is an irrational concern, taking into account that it is unlikely on several occasions. While it is true that anything can happen, there are those who do not know how to differentiate the probable from the improbable.
6. They have an external locus of control
The locus of control refers to the perception that people have regarding the circumstances that produce the events in their lives. An external locus of control is one in which the subject attributes the situations that occur to events beyond their control. For example, to luck, chance or destiny.
Recommendations for people who worry too much
Now that we have understood what the thinking pattern of people who worry too much looks like, we will move on to consider some recommendations to deal with this problem effectively. It is important to reaffirm that concerns arise when we feel we have no control over upcoming events.
Taking into account the above, the coping styles to overcome irrational worries are based on a restructuring of belief systems and mental schemas . Some ways to achieve this change of perspective can be the following:
- Communicate the reason for the concerns.
- Acquire healthy habits that allow a break from responsibilities.
- Understand that some things are beyond our control and we must accept them.
- Accept that no situation is final and, eventually, everything passes.
- Learn and practice breathing exercises.
- Focus your thinking on solutions rather than conflict.
- Practice assertive communication.
These recommendations are focused on control. The idea is that people who worry too much begin to acquire an internal locus of control; that is, the ability to positively influence their lives.
Not all concerns are negative
As we have analyzed in this article, worries are natural and we can’t always avoid them . The idea is to maintain a good level of awareness about those circumstances that generate concern so that we are able to objectively evaluate if they are justified.
The therapeutic accompaniment guided by a mental health professional will help people begin to change their coping styles, replacing maladaptive thinking patterns with functional ones.
