Introduction to the Worry Trance

The “Worry Trance” can be described as a “chronic or base-line state of hyper-vigilance that has, over time, become a habitually dissociative way of being in the world.” The challenge in teaching mindfulness-based skills to people is that so many of them are stuck in and continually distracted by this trance of hyper-vigilance. For the person experiencing Worry Trance, the yellow light is always on. You can imagine it as though there is a repetitive program looping through the brain continuously like a voice that says: “Be Scared, Be Careful, Be Safe.”

In this lesson, Karen shares an overview of factors involved in chronic worry and panic, along with a background to her approach for “waking people up” from the Worry Trance.