Really stressed abt smt that may or may not happen
So I’m going to a sleepover at my friend’s place next week, and at first I was really excited as we haven’t had a group sleepover in over half a year.
however, all of a sudden, I thought of something- what if my friend’s parents take us all out for a movie night after we eat dinner? I have a fear of throwing up and I would be terrified to get into their car after eating dinner.
Though I’m not sure how likely it is that they’ll take us out, im really scared bcos my friend’s parents are known for not caring what we want. If you don’t want to go to a movie it’s too bad, you’re going. If you don’t want to do this activity, it’s too bad, you’re doing it.
they don’t like any of us very much either, but tend to take us out for these sorts of activities sometimes. I don’t know why, but they do.
im really scared about this happening, though it’s probably not likely. I’m so stressed that I’m even considering not going to the sleepover, which would be absurd, considering just how excited I was for it. I don’t really know what to do, bcos whenever I try calming myself down, the mere possibility of my fear happening is enough to send me down another spiral of worrying.
@Silentlywishing Hi! I can totally relate to your 'what if' thoughts. As someone with anxiety and OCD, I tend to get them a lot! What has really helped me, is labeling any thought that starts with 'what if' as an intrusive thought (and they actually have a practical purpose by trying to help us prepare for/prevent potential problems). When I have an intrusive thought pop up, I try to work on acceptance (ex. it's just my brain trying to protect me), because when I try to avoid/distance myself from anxiety-provoking thoughts, it only reinforces my worries. I try to remind myself that a thought is just a thought - it doesn't mean that it will happen.