Anxiety is feeling bad now about imagined suffering in the future

Offering this in case it helps anyone, even if only a bit.

I wrote this down on an index card yesterday. "Anxiety is experiencing negative emotions in the present about an imagined situation in the future."

I think you all have a huge, gifted imaginations. You can imagine all sorts of horrible possible futures. But, you can imagine amazing possible futures too. Here's the thing. All futures are imagined. They don't exist. They are just guesses about what will happen next. You might be right, you might be wrong, but just because you guessed right doesn't mean it wasn't still a guess.

Try two things. Maybe they will help.

1) If you feel anxious, remember it's about things being worse (a guess), for as far as you can see (a guess), that will bring you down (a guess), and that you won't be able to handle (a guess). Keep yourself in the present, not an imagined future. Right here, right now. Look around wherever you are sitting. Are you safe? Are you ok? I'm hoping yes, you are. Say it out loud to yourself. "I am safe right now. I am ok right now." Take a deep breath in through your nose, pause, exhale. Repeat. Feel that you are ok. Ground yourself in what's right in front of you, right now. Handle the future when it shows up, but don't rush it.

2) Use your amazing brain and write down 10 things that could be BETTER in the future because of what's going on. I bet it will be easy for you if you try. As long as you're making guesses about the future, why not balance them out with a few positive ones?

It's a rocky road right now, but the car is full of our friends.