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Adapted as an interactive tool from the Worry Decision Tree by Gillian Butler & Tony Hope, published in Managing Your Mind: The Mental Fitness Guide (Oxford University Press, 2007). This is their process, presented here in an interactive format.

Worry Decision Tree.

Move through this one decision at a time. You do not need to solve the whole worry at once. Just answer the question in front of you.

Is this something I can act on, or something I need to release?

Your progress Step 1 of 5
Step 1

What are you worried about?

Step 2

Is this worry something you can act on?

Choose the answer that feels most accurate right now.

No. There is no useful action I can take on this worry right now.
Yes. There is something practical I can do.
Step 3

What can you do about this worry?

Write the action down in your journal. Name what you can do and what taking that action would actually look like. We will decide when to act in the next step.

Step 4

Can you act on this worry now?

Yes. Take your first step towards the solution.
No. I can act on it, but not right now.
Step 5

Do you know when you can act on it?

Yes. I know when I can take action.
No. I do not currently have the bandwidth or opportunity.
Return to Now

There is nothing you need to solve right now.

You have checked whether there is an action available to you, and right now there is not.

That does not mean the worry is silly, irrational, or that you should be able to simply switch it off. It means more thinking is unlikely to give you anything new to do.

Instead of forcing the thought away, give your mind somewhere else to go.

1. Name what is underneath the worry

What are you actually afraid might happen?

What feeling is this worry trying to protect you from?

2. Notice what kind of worry this is

Is this happening right now, or is your mind predicting something that might happen?

It is happening now. I am responding to something that is actually occurring in the present.
It is a future fear. My mind is predicting an outcome that has not happened.
Something difficult may genuinely be happening. You still do not need to solve every part of it in this exact moment. Bring your attention back to what is immediately in front of you and what you can safely do right now.
Your mind is trying to prepare you for an outcome that has not happened yet. You do not need to prove that it will never happen. You only need to recognise that there is no action required from you in this moment.
3. Return to what is true right now

Bring your attention back into the present.

You do not need to argue with the worry. Orient yourself to what is actually here.

3 things you can see
2 things you can physically feel
1 thing that is true in this exact moment
4. Choose where your attention goes next

If you do not need to solve this right now, what would you like to return to?

Choose something small and concrete: your work, your breakfast, a shower, a walk, a conversation, music, rest, or the next thing already in front of you.

You do not have to make the worry disappear. You are simply choosing not to keep solving a problem that cannot be solved in this moment.

Let the worry go.