To you who is burdened by daily life and worries without a prologue

PART 1.
Is it weird that I worry about everything?
_Your anxiety is normal

Even I, a psychiatrist, feel anxious.
Is worrying too much also a disease?
There are also anxiety treatments that can help you.
For fear of making mistakes, for fear of not being recognized
If you can manage your anxiety well

PART 2.
My mind is breaking over trivial things
_Worry-Stopping Training for Chronic Anxiety Sufferers

It takes all my energy to send one email.
I'm so nervous about presenting in front of people I know.
I wish my phone would disappear
Why is it so hard to ask for something?
If you don't want to care about what other people think anymore
Why Saying "I'll Give You a Refund" Is Difficult
You end up losing out because you can't say what you want to say.
The personality that can't say no
Patience isn't always a bad thing

PART 3.
I want to be a person who makes good decisions.
How to Look Far Forward to Make a Choice Without Regret

You are entitled to make the choices you want.
"I want to do well" and "Can I do well?"
I want to do what I like, not what I have to do.
Why Emotional Choices Are Dangerous
Second best is also a choice
I don't work hard because I'm afraid of getting hurt.
If your self-esteem is lowered by comparing yourself to others,

PART 4.
There's someone who makes me anxious
_To be free from a relationship that requires you to be mindful of others' feelings

Rejection Tips for the Weak-Hearted
I want to sit in a good seat too
If you want to distance yourself from someone
Why Low Self-Esteem Makes Dating Difficult
If you don't want to be overjoyed or saddened by the other person's contact

Epilogue: Supporting the beginning of those who are anxious

“To you, whose daily life is burdened by worrying about things you don’t need to worry about”
How to Use Anxiety for Modern People Suffering from Overwhelming Worries and Regrets

Pixar's animated film "Inside Out 2," which opened in June 2024 and surpassed 2 million viewers in just two weeks, received favorable reviews for introducing new emotional characters such as anxiety, boredom, and confusion.
In particular, the image of 'anxiety' imagining and preparing for dozens of future events resonated with many people.
I'm worried that I might make a mistake, that I might be hated, that I might do something wrong.
This may be proof that there are many people who are anxious about things that have not even happened.
The new book, "My Prepared Stamina is Exhausted by Useless Worries," is a warm and comforting balm for those who harbor anxiety in their hearts.


According to the author of this book, most anxiety is 'small anxiety', and the word 'small' is added because it is not life-threatening anxiety such as war or disease, but to the person concerned, the size is by no means small.
The problem is that this little anxiety can easily drain your stamina.
Just being conscious of others and being mindful of their reactions consumes a lot of energy.
If you're someone who wants to leave work as soon as you get to work, feels exhausted as soon as you get home, and feels lonely and wants to be alone when you meet friends, this book will teach you how to manage your anxiety and use your life's energy efficiently.


“Sometimes we need anxiety.”
Distinguishing anxiety based on whether it affects me 'here and now' and whether I can resolve it.

Director Lee Kwang-min, a psychiatrist who is familiar to the public through his appearances on MBC's "Point of Omniscient Interfere," tvN's "Unexpected Adult," and SBS's "I Want to Know That," confesses in his book, "I, too, am a person vulnerable to anxiety."
They say that until the delivery app is activated, you can't order by phone and they don't give refunds unless absolutely necessary.
The reason I wrote this book was to provide practical help to readers who are struggling with similar concerns, based on my experience and various clinical cases.


So what's the most important anxiety-management strategy he emphasizes? Distinguishing between necessary and unnecessary anxiety.
The criteria for distinguishing these are two: 'Is it affecting me 'now, here'?' and 'Is it an anxiety that I can resolve?'
If it is an anxiety that does not affect me 'here and now' and cannot be resolved, I also need to practice boldly ignoring it.
On the other hand, if it is anxiety that I need, I should focus on resolving it rather than avoiding it.
An attitude of preparing and checking in advance with a worried mind often leads to recognition from others or great achievements later on.
There is also anxiety that we need.

On the other hand, a representative side effect of anxiety is that it paralyzes the sense of reality.
If you keep having useless worries and feeling anxious, I recommend that you try to sort out the anxiety within yourself rather than being consumed by it.
“The process of distinguishing between necessary and unnecessary anxiety is the process of transforming vague anxiety into concrete anxiety based on the principle of ‘here and now.’
“Remember that vague anxiety can be overwhelming, but specific anxiety can be dealt with.” (p. 63)

“Creating a rejection manual is also a way to systematize rejection!”
From phone phobia to refund phobia, these daily, personalized worry-reduction training exercises are essential for chronic anxiety sufferers.

Many people who come to the author's clinic blame themselves, saying, "I feel like an idiot for not being able to ask for a refund."
However, while some people, like those called the 'Refund Expedition', are sensitive to physical losses such as money or opportunity costs, others are sensitive to emotional losses such as the other person's uncomfortable tone of voice or facial expressions.
It is not that you are too timid to give a refund, but you need to understand that you are a person who feels greater pain in situations where your pride or face is damaged.
Additionally, if a refund is difficult, it is helpful to take a step-by-step approach, starting with an exchange or a non-face-to-face refund online.


In addition to this, this book provides customized solutions for those who experience mental unrest in various situations they encounter in daily life, such as at work or in interpersonal relationships.
For those who worry a lot about writing a single line of an email, I suggest examining 'neurotic perfectionism' and recommending that they set their goals based on 'time' rather than 'completeness' of the work.
Meanwhile, if you have to refuse a friend's request, I suggest systematizing the refusal process by creating a 'refusal manual' that sets the line between what you can and cannot grant.
We carefully select situations that chronic anxiety sufferers easily become anxious about, such as situations where important life decisions such as career paths or job changes are necessary, and situations where a romantic relationship is recurring, and provide guidance on how to calm anxiety and deal with it wisely.


“Your anxiety is perfectly normal.”
In an age where perfection is the norm, the desire to do well fuels anxiety.

People who are easily swayed by small things worry that they are abnormal and need to go to the hospital for being so anxious about such trivial things.
However, the author provides an anxiety status checklist (page 44) in the book that can objectively confirm this, and explains that if anxiety symptoms do not interfere with personal, professional, or social functioning, then this is considered perfectly normal anxiety.


It is true that in today's era, standards for perfection have also risen as society has become more highly standardized.
In these times, the desire to do better and achieve more can lead to anxiety.
The author discusses the self-esteem craze in Korean society and explains that we have now entered an 'era of narcissism.'
If self-esteem is how I look at myself, then self-love is how I look at myself through others.
In an age where the standard of perfection is rising and the "visible self" through social media like Instagram and TikTok has become much more important, it is perhaps fate to feel anxious because you want to look good to others and be recognized.
The author argues that the feeling of anxiety is a precious legacy that humans have developed for survival in terms of evolutionary psychology, and offers a clear prescription: “Your anxiety is perfectly normal.”