Source: # What If Tonight Goes Wrong? – what this story teaches, the signs and what to do *From the book – Chapter 8: Anxiety Disorders* ## What If Tonight Goes Wrong? Meera is a forty-two-year-old mother in Hyderabad who cannot remember the last day she did not worry. What if her son fails? What if her husband's chest pain is serious? What if the cooking gas leaks? She checks the stove three times and phones the school twice a day. Her body pays too. Her shoulders ache, she has stomach trouble, her mind will not slow down at bedtime and she wakes at four. Her family says, "You are just a worrier." Meera knows the worry feels beyond her control and has been there for more than a year. ## What this story explains This story shows generalised anxiety disorder, the worry decision tree and how to challenge anxious thoughts. ## How to recognise it - Excessive worry about many everyday things on most days for six months or more. - Worry feels hard to control and jumps from one subject to the next. - Restlessness, tense muscles, tiredness, poor concentration and disturbed sleep. - Constant checking, reassurance seeking or over-planning. - Real impact on work, family time or health. ## What to do 1. Ask of each worry: 'Can I do something about this today?' If yes, plan one small step; if no, practise letting it go. 2. Set a daily fifteen-minute 'worry time' and postpone worry to then. 3. Challenge thoughts by asking for evidence and a kinder view. 4. Practise grounding with the senses when your mind races. 5. Move your body daily and keep a calming bedtime routine. 6. Seek therapy rather than only self-help if it has lasted months. ## Do and don’t **Do** | **Don’t** | Listen without judging. | Do not say 'stop worrying'. | Encourage regular exercise and sleep. | Do not keep giving endless reassurance. | Help sort worries into 'can act' and 'cannot act'. | Do not mock the fears. | Notice and praise progress. | Do not take over every task for her. | Learn about anxiety together. | Do not wait for it to pass by itself for years. | [Read the full story](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/story/what-if-tonight-goes-wrong-29/) [Read the full chapter – Chapter 8: Anxiety Disorders](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/chapter/8/) ## Stories from real life - [The Night My Heart Raced](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/story/the-night-my-heart-raced-28/) – Arjun, twenty-nine, was in a crowded Mumbai local train when his heart suddenly pounded, his hands tingled, his chest tightened and he felt sure he was… - [The Back Row](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/story/the-back-row-30/) – Tomás, nineteen, studies engineering in Lisbon. He is clever, but he sits at the back of every class, never asks a question and hurries out. Eating… - [The Lizard on the Wall](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/story/the-lizard-on-the-wall-31/) – Sunita, thirty-eight, lives in a village near Nashik and cares for her family with great energy, except when a lizard appears. Last month one dropped near… - [Aarav Who Would Not Speak](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/story/aarav-who-would-not-speak-32/) – Aarav, six, is chatty and funny at home in Kolkata, but at school he does not say a single word. When the teacher asks him a… ## Shloks - [Bhagavad Gita 6.34](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/shloka/bhagavad-gita-6-34-19/) – The mind is restless, agitating, strong and stubborn. To hold it, I think, is as hard as to hold the wind. More on this topic: [Anxiety, panic attacks and fear – signs, causes and what helps](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/topic/anxiety/) ## More questions - [The Back Row – what this story teaches, the signs and what to do](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/answers/story-the-back-row/) - [The Lizard on the Wall – what this story teaches, the signs and what to do](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/answers/story-the-lizard-on-the-wall/) - [Aarav Who Would Not Speak – what this story teaches, the signs and what to do](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/answers/story-aarav-who-would-not-speak/) - [What can we learn from the story “Rohan, Age 26”?](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/answers/story-rohan-age-26/) - [What is the difference between normal anxiety and anxiety disorder?](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/answers/what-is-the-difference-between-normal-anxiety-and-anxiety-disorder/) - [What are the types of anxiety?](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/answers/what-are-the-types-of-anxiety/) - [Generalised Anxiety Disorder (GAD) – one type of anxiety](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/answers/generalised-anxiety-disorder-gad-one-type-of-anxiety/) - [Panic disorder – one type of anxiety](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/answers/panic-disorder-one-type-of-anxiety/) - [Social anxiety disorder (social phobia) – one type of anxiety](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/answers/social-anxiety-disorder-social-phobia-one-type-of-anxiety/) - [Specific phobias – one type of anxiety](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/answers/specific-phobias-one-type-of-anxiety/) - [How to calm anxiety – simple techniques for daily life](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/answers/how-to-calm-anxiety/) - [Is it normal worry or an anxiety disorder?](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/answers/normal-worry-or-anxiety-disorder/) [myadvisorfriend@gmail.com](mailto:myadvisorfriend@gmail.com) · [Contact](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/contact/) · [About](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/about/) · [Privacy](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/privacy/) · [Disclaimer](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/disclaimer/) --- *Psychology for Everyone – A Mental Well Being Series* by Satish Zope · free to read · Contact: [myadvisorfriend@gmail.com](mailto:myadvisorfriend@gmail.com) · [About](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/about/) · [Privacy](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/privacy/) · [Disclaimer](https://psychologyforeveryone.com/disclaimer/)