Yes, It’s OK to Worry Sometimes—If You Do it Right. Here’s Why

Worry is powerful

Worrying has gotten a bad rap in our society. We strive to be chill and level-headed and consider people who worry to be alarmist or too tightly wound. While no one is saying that pervasive, generalized anxiety is a good thing (it’s a mental illness actually), everyday worrying has some real advantages. According to a recent study, published in Social & Personality Psychology Compass, a little anxiety is healthy—helping people recover from trauma, be better planners, prepare more thoroughly, live a healthier lifestyle, and even overcome depression. The challenge is to reap the rewards of worrying without going over the edge. The trick, according to Shelly Smith-Acuña, PhD, professor and dean of the Graduate School of Professional Psychology at the University of Denver, lies in how you use your worries. “Adaptive worry alerts you to dangers and threats, clarifies the problem, can lead you to seek help or more information from others, and then helps you solve the problem,” she explains. Here’s how you can worry “the right way.”