I’m laid up right now and I’m an anxious mess. I’m worried about finances and now my car. My mom said the engine sounded funny when she brought it over to her place, where I’m staying.
I’m getting surgery to fix my ankle tomorrow and I’ll hopefully be wfh a week after that. But I will have missed an entire pay period. My big bills are coming up next week, and idk if I’ll have enough to pay them. I also can’t afford a new car, and I’m afraid I’ll need a new one soon.
I’m so overwhelmed. I’ve been close to tears for almost an hour. I’m sure the excruciating pain of my severely broken bones isn’t helping. I’ve been trying to distract myself with TV, games, and crafts, but the anxiety is still persistently at the back of my mind.
Ask yourself some questions about the situation, and give yourself honest answers.
- Can I do anything about it right now?
- Might I be able to do something about it when I’m better?
- Could I spend some time thinking of potential temporary solutions while I wait, instead of spending that time worrying?
- Is it happening now, or do I have time to come up with something?
- If I think I can’t do anything about it, does worrying help the situation or make it worse?
These are sample questions. Ask yourself about specific concerns that worry you. Sometimes, the responses will require follow-up questions. Point is to end pointless worrying and start looking at the problem logically and realistically, without the emotion clouding your thinking.
one way that works for some is to trick your mind by schedule your worrying to a time and date in the future and tell yourself you will handle it then. this gives you a “solution” for your mind to stop worrying about it now, as you have a plan to do it later…
worked for me quite a few times actually…
good luck, and hope you get it sorted eventually either way.
I feel you. I’ve had struggled with worrying a lot, too. Biggest insight for me was that worries are first of all just fantasies about the future. Start asking yourself more often: “what if everything goes well?” Instead of “what if everything goes wrong?”. Realize, in the realm of fantasies those two questions are equals. Your mom said that she thinks the engine sounded funny. And that’s it for all we know. Maybe she even just misheard. Also, start tackling real problems that may arise step by step. Stringing along worries before they have even arrived is of course paralyzing because fantasies are endless. You often will realize that all those “follow up” problems you fantasized about will never arise because you are very well capable of solving the real problems right away. Friends and family will love to help you if you ask.
Not with a broken leg and ankle but I’ve been overcome before by situations like this. I know there’s a lot of advice in here already to manage the anxiety, but here’s a few things you can actually do:
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Make a list. Write down everything that needs to be taken care of. Pets, bills, work, rent, school work…just write down everything that comes to mind. Write down deadlines and where you are going to come short.
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If you are not on heavy pain meds, start communicating. There’s a good chance that some deadlines can be pushed back, work can find you extra hours, friends and family can spot you. Even creditors may be willing to help. You have a situation that is entirely provable with hospital records.
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Depending on your life situation, you may be able to find government resources, charity groups, etc. Just by calling around you could find a connection inadvertently that can help. I found pro bono legal services once when an someone tried to sue me because a charity group i called knew someone from another group.
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Adjust your list and prioritize what needs to be done first. I think just putting things down on paper/word doc takes a lot of burden off your mind. You know you won’t forget what needs to be done and it helps to have all the info in front of you when you need to communicate.
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Sudoku. Optional, but highly advocate that or some kind of problem solving game.
Good luck to you, friend. Speedy recovery.
Spend some time meditating. Doesn’t matter what meditation practice you start with, really. (You may develop preferences later, but for right at the beginning, just try one. And if you’re overwhelmed with options, I’d recommend starting with a noting practice. Just watch what arises in your awareness without judging, holding onto it, or pushing it away. “Itch”, “thought”, “emotion”, “breathing”, “mental image”, etc. If multiple things are in your awareness, just pick one. Set a timer when you start and do the meditation practice until it goes off. Start with 10 minute sessions. (If that’s too much, try 5 minutes.) Also, it can be done in any relatively comfortable bodily position.
