Are you spending your time worrying about the right things? Dr. Pooja Lakshmin, a psychiatrist specializing in women’s mental health, explains the difference between productive and unproductive worries. She challenges us to re-frame our worries to find what we can actually control and master to find some relief.
When it comes to worrying, there's plenty to go around. But, there's the productive kind of worry, and then there is the nonproductive kind.
Decisions that are time-sensitive such as whether your child will be returning to a classroom, how you will handle at-home schooling if remote learning is involved, and how you will handle childcare, "then that is a worry that actually could be productive -- if you have control over it," says psychiatrist and women's mental health expert Pooja Lakshmin.
However, you can't control everything. For example, Dr. Lakshmin says you can't control the other kids in your child's class or how their families deal with the pandemic.
When you run into a situation you can't control, Dr. Lakshmin suggests reframing the situation to focus on the information you do have, the steps on which you can take action.
For more on controlling worry and managing stress during this troubled time, watch Dr. Lakshmin's full episode of Mom2Mom here.
