What causes toxic worry? When you feel vulnerable to the perceived threats in your world, and you feel that you have less power to control your world, your level of worry and anxiety will often increase. In mathematical terms:
Increased vulnerability + Decreased power = Increased worry
A sense of increased vulnerability causes you to exaggerate danger, so that a small problem becomes a huge nightmare. For example, if one month your department's direct costs exceed its budget, you might imagine that the entire year's budget will be engulfed by unforeseen costs. A feeling of decreased power causes you to underestimate or forget the power you have to combat danger. For example, when confronted with the cost overrun, you might forget that you have the power to assess the causes of the overrun and make adjustments to remedy the situation in the following months. Increased worry hinders you from making rational decisions and taking positive actions to resolve problems.
This basic equation of worry expresses how toxic worry can arise not from actual danger but from imagined peril. It helps explain how a worried mind can be very creative in anticipating threatening situations that are unlikely to occur