<janneljones>does anyone know any good entry level ruminations for someone new to worrying?
This is a super personal question that needs careful attention. You wouldn’t want to get it wrong.
Do you know what sort of things you’d like to worry about? Are there some things in your life that you deeply value, and would like to ruinously exhaust yourself over?
What sort of feelings would you like your worry to bring up? A sense of existential helplessness? The fear that you might be judged for your caring intervention?
A great beginner worry is “did I leave the stove on?”. Many people practice this worry for their entire lives, but to start, ask yourself just as you’re leaving the house. Stand at the door, feel it out, and then go check. Over time you can wait until you’re physically far from home to start worrying; you might then choose to experiment with catastrophising.
If that doesn’t suit you, pick a small interaction like a conversation with a cashier, and ask: did I say something silly? Did I physically fumble bagging an item? Hold the unresolved feeling a while, then say to yourself “ah well, no way of knowing” and let it go.
Over time, you can apply interaction worries to people closer to you, and ask yourself whether you should reach out and clarify. But that’s a more advanced practice.
At first, it’s important to have ways to safely resolve a worry. Worry practice is powerful but dangerous, beware!
Advanced worry practitioners can not only juggle multiple worries but thread them together. If you want to experience heightened mental states such as “analysis paralysis” or even bodily effects such as nausea, consider going to a retreat with a teacher experienced in undermining confidence. But make sure you find a good one, otherwise you might end up worse off.