What managing worries is

Overthinking feels like preparing, but it often only tightens the knot. Managing worries is a way of sorting what you can act on from what you can’t, so that you stop trying to think your way out of everything at once.

It draws on two long-established techniques from cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT): problem solving for the worries you can act on, and worry postponement for the ones you can’t. A meta-analysis of 7 randomized trials (999 people) found that worry postponement modestly reduced how long and how often people worried in daily life.

Pathery’s version is free and interactive. You jot down your worries, sort out what you can do, pick a small action for each, and park the rest for a worry time you choose.

References:

Borkovec, T. D., Wilkinson, L., Folensbee, R., & Lerman, C. (1983). Stimulus control applications to the treatment of worry. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 21(3), 247–251. https://doi.org/10.1016/0005-7967(83)90206-1
Dippel, A., Brosschot, J. F., & Verkuil, B. (2024). Effects of worry postponement on daily worry: A meta-analysis. International Journal of Cognitive Therapy, 17, 160–178. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41811-023-00193-x
Farrand, P., Woodford, J., & Small, F. (n.d.). Managing your worries [Low-intensity CBT workbook]. Clinical Education Development and Research (CEDAR), University of Exeter. https://cedar.exeter.ac.uk/resources/iaptinterventions/

Six steps, about 10 minutes

Capture your worries
Add one worry at a time, in plain words, up to five. You can note how you feel and what you fear might happen.
Sort each worry
Swipe right if it can be solved in the next hour. Swipe left if it’s out of your hands.
Pick one action for each solvable worry
Choose something you can start in the next hour, and decide who with and where.
Set a worry time
Choose a time and a place, the same each day, and leave the worries you can’t solve until then.
Take three breaths
Leave your worries till worry time. Tap the circle to focus on your breaths.
Use your worry time
When it comes, a timer runs. Look back at each worry: has it changed, will it matter in a year, and how strongly does it bother you now?

Worry tree

The worry tree is a CBT technique that sorts a worry by asking one question: can you do something about it? If you can, you pick a small action and start it. If you can’t, you let it wait. Pathery’s sort follows the same idea: swipe right if the worry can be solved in the next hour, left if it’s out of your hands. Solvable worries get a one-action plan, and the rest are parked for worry time.

Worry time

Worry time, or worry postponement, is a technique where you put worrying off to a set slot, at the same time and place each day. When a worry turns up outside it, you leave it until then. In Pathery you choose the time and the place, and worry time runs for 10 minutes by default. A timer shows how long is left and tells you when time’s up.

This is a user-friendly, interactive version of the worry tree worksheet.

You’re waiting on a test result

The same wait, seen through the CBT loop. Tap an arrow, or switch what you do.

BodyTense · AgitatedTired · Settling

ThoughtWhat if it’s the worst · I need to know nowNothing I think can change it · I’ll know on Thursday

BehaviourReread the letter · Keep searching onlineWrite it down · Go back to the day

Tap an arrow.

Emotion sits in the middle, following the other three, which is why we try not to start here.

The ruminations get stuck at your head.

The headaches make the worst case feel real.

Radical acceptance slows down your breath.

A calmer body leaves room for not knowing.

Every check pumps up your cortisol.

The restlessness compels you to do something.

Putting it down lifts some weight off.

Grounding brings you back to the here and now.

Every search opens up more uncertainties.

Needing to be certain is what keeps you looking.

The result arrives whether you rehearse it or not.

You can still think about it for a while, but not now.

Overthinking feels like preparing, but it only tightens the knot.The answer comes when it comes; until then, worry has its time and place.

Send it as homework

One homework link

Turn managing worries into a QR code your client can open straight away. No account or app needed.

They sort in their own time

Your client scans the code on their own phone, captures their worries, sorts them into solvable and unsolvable, and sets a worry time.

Read what comes back

Your client sends you a link when they finish. Sign in to open their sorted worries before the next session: how they felt, the action they chose, and how they rated each worry in worry time.

Fits the work you already do

A natural homework task for problem solving and worry postponement in CBT.

See the therapists page

Common questions

Is the worry management tool free?

Yes. It is free to use online. There is no account.

Is it private?

Yes. Pathery runs in your browser, and nothing you enter is sent to Pathery. Your entries stay in this browser and are cleared after seven days without a visit.

How long does it take?

About 10 minutes to capture, sort and plan. Worry time itself runs for 10 minutes by default.

How many worries can I add?

Up to five at a time. When you have enough, the button tells you so.

What counts as solvable?

A worry you can start solving in the next hour. If it’s out of your hands, it goes to worry time instead.

What if I miss my worry time?

Leave your worries till tomorrow. You can take three breaths to settle in the meantime.

Do I need to know CBT?

No. The CBT tab shows the idea in a short example, but the tool works without any background.

Can I use it with clients?

Yes. Therapists can send this exercise to a client as a single link. See the Therapists tab.

Is this therapy?

No. Pathery is a self-help tool, not therapy. If you need urgent help now, call your local emergency number.

Managing Worries

You keep overthinking,
hoping to think a way out.

How it works