Dr. Edward Hallowell

So never worry alone is a really good watchword.

And another thing,

thing you can do is when you're feeling these bleak black moments where you're sort of ruminating we know from brain science there's a certain network in the brain that takes over it's called the default mode network the dmn which i call the demon what you want to do is don't feed the demon and what do you feed it with your attention well

do something else.

Fry an egg, dig a hole, do a crossword, do something else.

Shut off the DMN's oxygen supply, which is your attention.

And by the way, the reason that we feed it is contentment is too bland.

You don't say he or she was riveted in contentment, but you do say he or she was riveted in despair, loneliness, misery, foreboding.

It's riveting.

And that's why you keep feeding it with your attention.

You got to be ruthless and shut it off.

Redirect your attention onto something else.

And it literally can save your life if you do that.

But try to keep those two phrases in mind.

Never worry alone and don't feed the demon.

It's magical.

It's magical.

And it really is.

Suddenly the worry turns into problem solving.

It is magical.