Hi. I’m new here. I am a workaholic. When I started to notice my mental decline I was working in very important role at one of the largest companies in the world. All I could see was the end prize, financial freedom. A few years in I knew I was going through health issues because sleeping was rough, I always felt on edge. All I wanted to do was make sure my wife would be set up if I died.
One day I could not take it anymore. I went to a different company. Took less than a week and I had the big one. A complete breakdown. I didn’t know what it was until a friend told me it may be panic attacks.
I got let go in about a year. I’ve been bouncing around jobs since. I get back up, I apply myself, I’m determined; or more like super productive due to stress.
Then I heard about a friend’s spouse who died of cancer. They were younger than myself. It just breaks me with a lot of what-if questions. If this happened to me, I didn’t enjoy life. I just worked. I got little progress to show for it except money in what feels like a doomed economy. I worked to make sure my wife can live an enjoyable life when I am gone. I don’t have a clue how to have fun.
I am now stuck with a lot of what-if questions that don’t have answers. I start my new job in about a week. It’s a good company, pays well, allegedly they care a lot about their employees. I just wish life would slow down enough to process things; deal with the anxiety issues. Now that I can breathe a bit again and about to regain my footing I feel more stressed.
Tl;dr I don’t know how not to have my life revolve around work.
Edit: feel free to offer advice. I’m kind of just in my own anxiety right now.
I wanted to share with you what my therapist told me. I was doing the same thing after my child was born. I kept having these terrible thoughts like “what if I trip and drop her and kill her? What if I wake up and she’s not breathing in the morning?” What my therapist told me is that I had to stop thinking about the what if’s. She said that every time I realized I was thinking about those I had to stop and tell myself to stop.
The brain likes to nonstop think and if you start to think about those irrational thoughts all the time it starts to default to those. What she reminded me of something I really read in a Tibetan monk’s book. He talked about how the brain has a primitive side that is like a monkey that just chitters constantly. You have to learn to quiet it sometimes.
So every time you have these what if thoughts, stop and breathe, and tell yourself that “these are thoughts of scenarios that aren’t real and the chances of them happening might be slim.” Yeah, there is a chance they could happen, but you are capable and you will handle them if it comes to that. But most likely, they won’t happen. And you need to change something because these thoughts are not useful or helpful to you.
Something to go along with this, some people will have a “magic word” or gesture they do that goes along with this. When they realize they are thinking these thoughts they will say “banana” or something or snap their fingers. Whatever they use, it signals their brain to immediately stop thinking that way and move on. I tend to say “I don’t give a shit!” when I start thinking like that.
I know it’s tempting to think “but it’s still possible they will happen, if I prepare then maybe I can stop it.” But it’s not worth worrying about all the time. I have life insurance so my family is covered if I pass. I wear tennis shoes when I carry my daughter when we go out the front door. I keep the floor clean so I don’t trip. I do things that can actually make a difference. Worrying about those things constantly won’t.
I hope you find some peace with this. Anxiety is a bitch. I know this thing my therapist told me to do didn’t fix everything, but it helped immensely. It’s one step in the right direction, one step towards progress, and mental health is one of those things you need to combat one little step at a time.
That’s a very valid Statement, that I will need to reread in the morning. It’s a lot to take in.