“A book I reread every time my head gets complicated!”
A steady seller in the field of psychology that has earned readers' trust and love.

Psychiatrist Professor Ha Ji-hyun explains
How to Deal with a Lazy Brain and Overflowing Emotions

"Why is it so hard for me to make decisions?" "Why do my worries and anxieties grow the more I worry?" "Is it because my mind is too small to solve problems?" "Why do I always regret making decisions?" Many people, while pondering the numerous problems in life, become frustrated by their own indecisiveness, or feel anxious, regretful, and self-blaming, believing that they lack the ability.
But what if the reason we can't think and make decisions properly is simply because of the way our brains and emotions work?

Professor Ha Ji-hyun, a psychiatrist who has been listening to patients' concerns and finding solutions together for nearly 30 years, explains that lazy brains and overflowing emotions are hindering our rational judgment based on the latest research results in brain science and psychology.
And by understanding how the brain and mind work, it teaches you how to reduce useless worries and focus on what really matters.
In the newly published 2023 book, "Worrying is Worrying," 22 ways to think well are reorganized according to the stages of thinking, decision, and execution, and the latest examples are added.
Additionally, to repay the trust and love shown by readers since publication, we have selected questions frequently asked by readers during book talks and lectures and included them in a Q&A format.

Anyone can manage their worries well if they are not crushed or swept away by the weight of their worries and if they are given enough space for their brains to function.
Although we cannot solve all problems at once, if we solve them one by one, we already have the ability to easily overcome most of them.
But when worries come at you all at once or the burden of making decisions weighs heavily on you, you start to think that your abilities are lacking.
I wanted to tell that story to my readers.
--- p.6, from the “Preface to the Revised Edition”

If I use my limited energy more for execution rather than for worrying, I can be more faithful to the original purpose of 'execution' and better deal with new problems that arise as I execute.
To do this, you need to know a methodology for thinking well, rather than trying to find the best answer through thinking.
We must learn how to secure space for healthy, rational, and efficient thinking, and how to understand and practice the grammar of thinking.
Being good at thinking means thinking efficiently and quickly, making decisions, and keeping your mind in an optimal state so that it doesn't get in the way of your thinking.
This also means that trying to find a 100 percent perfect answer is not very meaningful.
--- p.28~29, from “Chapter 1: The Process of All Worries is the Same”

When an emotional memory arises, the limbic system, which is the system that processes emotions, becomes activated, and the rational logic and systematicity that had been operating the brain until then instantly become useless.
And then, the emotional situations from the past that were buried in my memory come to mind and destroy all the frameworks of thought I had built up until then.
The situation becomes even more serious if memories of embarrassing events, shocking incidents, or people who left deep wounds in the past come flooding back like flashbacks from a movie.
This is called a 'flashback', and this phenomenon occurs when the prefrontal cortex's function is impaired in response to a traumatic emotional memory.
The prefrontal cortex, the largest part of the frontal lobe, attempts to consciously and verbalize the memories that have emerged in this way. If successful, they are reorganized as memories of past events, but most of them are not processed by the prefrontal cortex.
The same scene is repeated over and over again like a loop, even though it is not possible.
Cognitively speaking, flashbacks occur when we recall and compare similar past experiences and memories while we are thinking, and when we make logical inferences, vivid emotions buried in our memories are linked to the present situation and recall past emotional memories.
--- p.69~70, from “Chapter 2: Overflowing and Insufficient Emotions”

When faced with a situation where one must choose ambiguous and uncertain information, the orbitofrontal cortex and amygdala in the prefrontal region of the brain were observed to be activated.
Researchers have dubbed this "ambiguity aversion."
Humans perceive uncertain situations as dangerous enough to activate areas associated with the fear response, and use the orbitofrontal cortex to make quick decisions and plan avoidance behaviors.
Two major factors that increase stress are uncertainty and lack of control.
Worrying is something that ends when a decision is made.
However, if the variables in front of me are uncertain and predicting the future is uncertain due to changes in the surrounding circumstances, making decisions becomes much more difficult.
In the end, you can't help but continue to worry without being able to end it.
It's easy to get into a situation where you just worry and become exhausted.
A waste of energy occurs.
--- p.136~137, from “Chapter 3: The Lazy Brain Hates Worrying”
When you reclassify things that were in the realm of pain as discomfort, you will feel an increase in your sense of stability as the overall realm of pain decreases.
Even though it didn't solve the problem.
Since there is no reason to worry, there is no need to solve the worry, and the space and energy needed for worry are secured.
When we become accustomed to comfort and perceive many everyday tasks as a realm of pain, calling them problems to be solved quickly, even the slightest disturbance triggers our "survival sensors" and brings out powerful solutions.
Sensors for changes in the external and internal environment also become very sensitive.
It is very difficult to maintain inner peace and harmony.
Imagine that the scale that was supposed to detect a change of 1 kilogram was replaced by a scale with a smaller scale that would shake even if the change was 1 gram.
The way we view the world is like using a large scale used in the market, but replacing it with an electronic scale used to measure seasonings like salt when cooking.
--- p.190, from “Chapter 4 Strategies for Dealing with the Brain and Mind”

If there was a switch for emotions, it would be nice to turn it off every time we feel troubled, but that's impossible.
In times like these, let's think about occurrence and control separately.
The feelings that have arisen now are unavoidable.
Rather than this, you should focus on properly managing and controlling the emotions that have arisen.
That way, you won't be swept away by the big wave of emotions.
I call this 'building a breakwater'.
It's about building a breakwater on the shore of my mind to focus on my worries.
Only then can the great waves of emotion that surge in from the distant sea not sweep away the foundation of our worries.
To do this, I need to be able to control my behavior, acknowledge the existence of my emotions, and read their patterns.
When I experience an emotion, I pinpoint exactly what that emotion is and allow the thoughts mixed with the emotion to pass through my consciousness.
Then, emotions and thoughts are somewhat separated, as if they are being filtered.
You can experience emotions as emotions, while also paying attention to and focusing on thoughts that are not mixed with the emotions.
It's difficult, but if you just try, you can achieve significant separation.

--- p.219~220, from “Chapter 4: Strategies for Dealing with the Brain and Mind”

After much thought, I made a decision.
But sometimes the results fall short of expectations or turn out to be a failure.
At this time, it is easy for thoughts to flow in the direction of 'Maybe it is because I am not thinking properly.'
If we look back at our worries with a focus on the results, we end up in a strange situation where we judge the quality and correctness of our worries by the success or failure of the results.
Worrying and deciding should be viewed separately.
If you look at the process of worrying about the outcome, if it goes well, it's easy to think that it's because you thought about it properly, and if it fails, it's because you didn't think about it properly.
However, the results should not influence the process of thinking.
Whether the result is good or bad, if there were no problems in the process of thinking, it is better to accept that the result was inevitable.
Reviewing and reflecting is enough to check for any mistakes, omissions, or errors in the process during the process of thinking.
--- p.278~279, from “Chapter 5: Being Good at Thinking”

Many people fear that the big waves of life will come and sweep them away.
But what really bothers us are not the big waves, but the small waves of everyday life.
Big waves are an unavoidable fate, and fortunately, they don't happen very often.
If we just don't get caught up in the small waves and don't mistake small ripples for big waves, life becomes much more comfortable.
Rather than wishing for our worries to disappear, let's make sure our lives aren't swayed by them.
The way is to acknowledge the inevitable existence of worries, strengthen the core muscles of my mind, and focus on the worries that are truly necessary.
I hope this book will serve as a navigation system along that path.
This is where it all begins.

--- p.290~291, from “Epilogue”