One way out of this puzzle is to reframe worry. People can find a myriad of ways to worry about worrying too much. They can even worry about worrying about worrying. But people typically don't worry about problem-solving too much. Furthermore, if patients' structure problem-solving, they can put worry to constructive use.
Patients record a worrisome thought.
They can list evidence that supports it, and can rate the degree of influence they have over it, the probability of its occurrence, and the likelihood they can cope with it. Furthermore, patients can list and weigh the costs and benefits of each option. She was then able to assess if the advantages outweighed the disadvantages, whether they were about equal, or whether the disadvantages outweighed the advantages. Proceeding in this manner, she was able to generate and test a variety of alternatives, and moved from worrying about the problem to working on the problem and finding an appropriate solution.