how do i stop myself from projecting into the future and thinking of every possible way things can go wrong? be it from failing assignments to being a horrible groupmate and as far as somehow being completely incompetent my future job, i suspect this is one reason i’ve been feeling so overwhelmed recently and why i’m feeling it more than usual.
Hello @tryingtheirbest. That sounds really exhausting to your mind essentially running worst-case scenarios on loop, across multiple areas of your life at once. It makes sense that it’s leaving you feeling overwhelmed.
How about trying to notice the pattern without fighting it. Eg. whenever you catches yourself spiraling, name it. Next, try to narrow your focus to what’s infront of you. There seems to be a lot of future-projection anxiety comes from trying to mentally “solve” problems that don’t exist yet. When you notice this happening, gently redirect: what’s the one thing you can actually do today? Not for your future career, just today.
If this pattern is persistent and significantly affecting your day-to-day life, it might be worth speaking to a counsellor.
can i ask what counts as persistent? i sometimes get randomly triggered to have these thoughts, maybe every now and then is the duration i’d say it takes between these thoughts but it has been happening for almost 2 years. does that count?