Pause, Notice, Choose
Anxiety and the need to stay busy — are you solving tomorrow’s problems today?“I think the cure for it for me at the moment… is giving myself more to do.” Anxiety often arises because we are trying to solve a problem that has not happened yet — and since it hasn’t happened, there is nothing concrete to resolve. The mind stays busy without becoming productive.
This worksheet uses both CBT and psychodynamic tools to help you notice when your thinking has drifted into the future, distinguish activity that nourishes you from activity that is simply keeping feelings at bay, and gradually build the capacity to remain with the present moment. You do not need to complete it in one sitting — your answers save automatically as you go.
Anxiety frequently involves anticipatory thinking — rehearsing conversations that haven’t happened, anticipating failures that may never occur. Simply noticing where your mind spends its time is often the first step towards understanding your anxiety.
Take the recurring worry you named above and examine it against these three questions. Many people discover that much of their worrying belongs to the third category — seeking certainty about something that cannot yet be known.
When we become fully engaged in an activity that requires our attention, mental resources are redirected away from repetitive worrying. This is not simply distraction — it is a shift from abstract thinking into direct experience.
Remaining constantly busy can reduce anxiety in the short term — but sometimes busyness becomes part of the problem. Donald Winnicott observed that some people find it difficult simply to be, because silence or rest allows unwanted thoughts and feelings to emerge. The question is whether you are choosing activity, or whether activity is choosing you.
Before reacting to a worrying thought, pause briefly and ask yourself these three questions. This is not about eliminating anxious thoughts — it is about gradually increasing your capacity to notice anxiety without immediately responding to it.
Pause before reacting. Notice what is actually here. Choose your next step deliberately, rather than automatically.
Anxiety is not the enemy — it is information. Sometimes it alerts us to genuine danger, sometimes it signals unresolved emotional conflicts, and sometimes it reflects uncertainty that simply cannot yet be resolved. The task is learning to distinguish between these rather than responding to all of them the same way.
What does this anxiety seem to be asking for?
Lasting change comes not from eliminating anxiety altogether, but from changing your relationship with it. Self-help strategies help interrupt cycles of worry — but where anxiety is connected to deeper emotional experiences or longstanding ways of relating to yourself and others, therapy offers a space to understand what it means within the context of your own history.
If working through this worksheet has brought something into focus that you would like to explore further in a confidential setting, an introductory conversation is available at no charge. Psychodynamic and CBT-informed individual therapy is offered via secure live video in English, French, and Greek.
Arrange a confidential introductory conversation → Individual & Couples Therapy via Live Video • CBT & Psychodynamic Work • UK Practice • English · French · GreekA Note for Your Next Session
If you are working with Ari, bring this completed worksheet to your next session. The moments where you noticed yourself reaching for another task, or where sitting with a question felt uncomfortable, are often at least as useful as the answers that came easily.
To book a session or make an enquiry, contact: enquiries@online-therapy-clinic.com
The future will still be there tomorrow. Today only asks for today.
© Ari Sotiriou MA PGDip | UKCP Accredited | enquiries@online-therapy-clinic.com
This worksheet is for personal reflection only and does not constitute clinical advice.