Two beliefs holding it in place

People stuck in this almost always hold two beliefs at the same time, and they pull against each other, which is why it is so hard to put down.

The first is that the worrying is dangerous, or that it is out of your control, or that it is going to make you ill.

The second is that the worrying is necessary. That it is the responsible thing to do. That if you stopped, something would be missed, and that a person who was not worrying about this would be a person who did not care.

Hold both and you cannot move. Stopping feels reckless and continuing feels harmful.

Lesson four does not ask you to argue with either belief. It does something duller and more useful, which is to give the worry a time and a place so that it stops running the other twenty three hours.