‘Worry Windows’ Got Me Through One of My Most Stressful Years

Scheduling time to stew might feel unnatural at first, but experts recommend it for a reason.

March 26, 2025

Last year, I endured a particularly tough stretch of time where everything that could go wrong did go wrong. A handful of my editors got laid off, which meant I was getting less work (and money). My dog developed pesky hard-to-treat allergies, I moved to a new state, my health insurance refused to pay for some steep medical bills, and then a truck smashed into our car and took off in a classic hit-and-run (to name just a few terrors).

I was suddenly stressing out about something pretty much every second of the day. After a few months of this, my therapist suggested I create a “worry window,” or a scheduled chunk of time during which I could, well, chew over my problems. It felt unnatural at first—after all, my brain was accustomed to panicking at will—but within a couple weeks, I was feeling way less unhinged and much more like myself.

Claudia Giolitti-Wright, MA, LMFT, the founder of Psychotherapy for Young Women in New York City, commonly recommends this technique to her clients who struggle with anxiety or find themselves, like me, perpetually overwhelmed. Why? “A worry window gives your anxious thoughts a seat at the table, but not the whole house, so you can acknowledge them without letting them take over your entire day,” Giolitti-Wright tells SELF. Here’s how it changed my life—and how it could help you too:

What happens when your worries run wild?

This probably won’t come as much of a shock, but worrying incessantly can wreak havoc on your physical and mental health. When you’re stressed out, your body pumps out stress hormones like cortisol and adrenaline (you might know this as the fight-or-flight response). While this physiological reaction energizes you in the short-term so you can tackle whatever threat or problem is in front of you, excessive and long-term exposure to these stress hormones can trigger inflammation in your body and contribute to fatigue, difficulty sleeping, muscle tension, digestive issues, a weakened immune system, and chronic diseases, according to Giolitti-Wright. “Constant worry really wears your body down,” she says.

Mentally, perpetually panicking about your problems can trigger feelings of anxiety or depression, irritability, and make it difficult to focus, pay attention, and make decisions. It can also sour relationships, causing some people to isolate and withdraw and others to lash out at their loved ones. “Stress definitely impacts our ability to connect with others,” says Giolitti-Wright.

Why worry windows can be so helpful

When your worries don’t have any boundaries or limits, they can run the show, says Giolitti-Wright. I can attest to this—when everything was going wrong in my life, I spent every minute of my day puzzling over how to fix things. When I would be in a yoga class, for example, I was physically moving through the poses, but mentally, I was elsewhere, desperately trying to problem-solve.

Having a designated time to worry gives your mind a break from constantly chewing over things. Giolitti-Wright likens this to negotiating with your brain. “You’re basically telling your brain, ‘You know what, you’re going to worry about this today at 6 p.m., so you don’t need to worry right now,’” she says.

When your brain’s stuck in stress mode, you might feel like everything is urgent and needs to be handled immediately. But when you have worry windows, you can rewire your relationship with anxiety and teach your brain that tackling (most) stressors isn’t all that dire, explains Giolitti-Wright. “We learn through practice and consistency that your worries are something you can contain, process, and even let go of,” she says.

According to Giolitti-Wright, many people become so accustomed to constantly being stressed out that it can be challenging to recognize their worries have free reign. So while anyone can benefit from a worry window (even if you don’t spend your entire day spiraling), there are a few key clues you might benefit from penciling in time to fret. Giolitti-Wright says if you have any of the above symptoms—like fatigue, difficulty concentrating, digestive problems, or muscle tension—or if your stress is impacting your ability to function at work, in school, or in your relationships, it’s definitely worth giving this technique a shot.

How to create a worry window of your own

The first step, quite simply, is setting aside 10 to 15 minutes every day to stew. Giolitti-Wright recommends keeping it short—if you worry too long, the practice can become counterproductive and reinforce anxious thinking rather than contain it. Set a timer so that you have a hard out. Any time of day is fine with one exception: right before bed. The reason? Your cortisol and adrenaline levels can spike, which can put you in that heightened, alert state and prevent you from dozing off and sleeping soundly.

How, exactly, you worry during your window is up to you. I simply lay down and let my mind wander. You may prefer to actively journal in a notebook and write about your worries in detail as they come to you. Perhaps you’d rather talk about your concerns in a voice memo and listen back to them or go on a walk, jog, or hike to reflect about the current state of your life through movement.

You may find it helpful to spend your window whipping up an action plan—that way, next time the worry bubbles up, you can remind yourself you’re already taking care of it. For example, during my worry window, I also jot down any steps I want to take in a note on my phone. You can do the same in your journal or voice memo. And for those issues that can’t be solved and hang over you like a rain cloud? Try to accept and acknowledge that some dilemmas are outside of your control—occasionally, the intensity of them dissipates once you recognize you’ve at least tried to fix them.

Whatever your method, Giolitti-Wright recommends wrapping up your worry window with a soothing activity that makes you feel grounded and secure. Treat yourself to a cup of hot tea, take a hot bath, hug your roommate or partner, or call someone you love. Doing so will help you transition back to your day and provide a sense of closure. “It’s like you open the window and then you close the window,” says Giolitti-Wright.

Keep in mind that you’re setting up a new habit, and as SELF previously reported, changing your behavior takes time (66 days on average). In the beginning, planning when to stress out may feel unnatural and, yes, worries will still unexpectedly pop into your mind. That’s okay! Don’t beat yourself up—if you can, try to write your concerns down and go back to your day, knowing you can deal with them during your worry window.

I know I’ll never be worry-free, but having a worry window frees up my brain space so I can spend more time focusing on what’s right in front of me—like my actual work, that yoga class, or the book I’m reading—and less about all the annoying things happening in the background of my life. And what’s better than that?