48 Don’t Let A nxiety Run Your Life
Figure 2.1. Under What Conditions and How Attention Causes
A nx iety
In a psychological study (see Desrosiers et al. 2014), we
and our colleagues examined various emotion regulation
strategies to determine whether they might be responsible
for the attention– anxiety relationship. We identified several
important processes, including worry and rumination.
Although we will describe each of these in further detail in
later chapters, it’s important for now to note that people use
both worry and rumination to try to control or manage
unwanted emotions.
Worry may seem to be a useful problem- solving strategy,
but it is in fact self- defeating. Worrying excessively about
future uncertainties or distressful circumstances often
results in greater anxiety and suffering (Borkovec, Ray, and
Stöber 1998). Rumination entails repetitive, self- ref lective
thought about the causes and consequences of emotional
distress (Nolen- Hoeksema, Wisco, and Lyubomirsky 2008).