I know this thread is a few months old, but if I may, here are some important things I've learned from years of therapy:
Healing begins with forgiveness:
Forgiveness of self. I'm not perfect, I was never perfect, I will never be perfect. Mistakes are a part of life. Learn from them, and move on. Be compassionate with yourself.
Forgiveness of others. Most meant no harm; they are imperfect too. The malicious ones...well, my stewing over it won't change them.
Worrying is (mostly) pointless. Have reasonable concern, then let it go. For example, check your tires before a road trip, but don't spend every hour on the road worrying about getting a flat. Which leads me to...
Humility is important. You might be tempted to believe that your worry is the only thing staving off complete disaster, but no one is that powerful.
Life is short. I bet there are very few chronic worriers whose last words were, "Gee, I'm glad I worried so much instead of enjoying life more."
Hi Scott,
Your reply hit the nail right on the head. Your tire example is one of the many useless worries I struggle with. Sometimes I check the on board computer several times during the trip. I am not sure why, and I am not really sure what the tire pressor should be anyway. Seeing that we have a longer trip coming up with our pup in a few months again, I will work on it to eliminate this worry and make it a reasonable concern by only checking it once before the trip.
Thank you again. your reply was very helpful to me.
Adelheid 😊