10 Irrational things that Give me Anxiety

Anxiety is one of those things we all hate, but spend time fueling through stress, overthinking and often times things that are not even in our control. I struggle with anxiety and have found ways that have made me better off as a person, but there are still random things in my life that cause me all the stress and anxiety out of nowhere. So here are 10 irrational things that cause me anxiety! But hey maybe one of you will relate to them too.

1. Someone going to the bathroom at the same time as me, then running into them at the sink.

Call me prude, maybe it's how I was raised and although its natural, there is in no world that I enjoy going to the bathroom while someone else is near me. I am not one of those girls who must go to the bathroom with their girlfriends to gossip and pee at the same time.

In high school, I would walk clear across to the bathrooms by the gym farthest from any classrooms to avoid having to do any sort of bathroom duties near anyone else. I will stay in the stall longer waiting for footsteps and voices to cease, I will even walk in the bathroom and walk right back out if I notice there is someone in sink area or right near the stall I was going to.

Now I know what you are thinking, this is nearly impossible between restaurants and airports and crowded places. In those cases, there is so many distractions in the restroom, no one has time to hear me tinkle or anything else, so I don't stress. But anytime the restroom is small or hell, if I walk in and know someone, I will actively avoid that interaction at all costs. I especially don't want the interaction of small talk after you just heard me do my business,

No Thank You!

2. Needing to cross the street as there is a car coming

Anyone else get anxious when you are crossing the street with a lot of cars? It's so busy and loud and I feel the enteral pressure to get out of the cars way as fast as possible. Back in college I was known for my airplane penguin run across the street even with the cross walk sign on. I would run with my backpack flopping up in down the entire way. Trust me, I make it cute, but anxious forces are the reasoning behind my quirky actions.

I will go as far as when I am looking to cross the street and a car is coming up to me, I move myself or act like I am busy and not crossing the street to avoid them stopping for me or causing confusion. In total it causes more confusion, but I hate the person vs car four way stop protocol that no one understands that then leads to the anxious I start to walk, they start to drive combo which leads me scurrying across the street anxiously. Thus, I try to avoid this interaction at all costs or continue to scurry quickly across the street.

3. Waiting to have to put my bags above me on an airplane. Then waiting to see if someone is going to sit next to me.

Most people get anxious on planes from the uncertainty of being 50 thousand feet in the air in a metal box or being in a confined small air circulating space. Not me! I get anxious way before I even make it to my seat.

The concept of walking in the isle past all these people, awkwardly holding your carryon in front of you, hoping someone doesn't put their arm out a little far, where your brush them with your bag or hip then have to say sorry for also being confined in closed quarters. Then you have to find a spot over your head to put your bag. Something not too far so you worry about your stuff, but also the action of getting it up there. I am always anxious someone will offer to help, or I hold up the line. It just is an anxious platform for anxious people.

4. Not wanting to go to bed because then the nights over.

This has been the anxiety curse most my life. I feel like I always wake up feeling dreadful. By the time I get to the solace of the night, its time to go to bed again and start the whole day over. I like my life don't get me wrong, but why does the good parts of the day often have to be right when it is over. Is this a just me thing?

5. When a store attendant or person walks down the same Isle as you are pushing a cart.

This makes me uncomfortable just thinking about it. I am a classic avoidant and people pleaser and hate being in the way of others. So, when I am in the Isle at a store and there isn't a lot of room, then someone else with a cart or an attendant comes my way, just like the cars, I will extricate myself.

6. Any car behind me when I don't know where I am going ...ever.

I am not going as far to say I am a bad driver; however, I often get lost or don't know where I am going. This often pertains to new streets, turn lanes and highway intersections. If you are the car behind me in any of these situations, I'm sorry.

I constantly question if I am taking too long, or if I should have turned on the red light sooner. I often question what the protocol is even when the sign says it. I often missed exists, have to make U-turns, or switch lanes last minute. Yep, I'm that person, but mostly it's my anxiety speaking behind the wheel.

7. Anything Melting or Running low on Battery.

This is a major one for me. You know when your phone hits that red 15% mark on your phone and or your headphones do that subtle beep to tell you it is about to die. I have to plug it in immediately or turn it on airplane mode or something. I don't need my phone to survive, but the pressure I feel on a low battery makes my skin crawl.

This also happens with ice cream. If you're watching a movie with your partner, start a container of ice cream, then decide your done and leave it on the counter to melt. You are a person that drives me insane. it's like I can feeling the ice cream melting the more time it sits on the counter, as time passes so does the loss of your ice cream. Nobody want to get up, trust me, but I can't handle the ice cream melting as I sit there.

8. Worrying the car in the first spot of the gas station is going to leave before the car in front of me.

I guess you could say a lot of my anxiety comes from the internal feeling of pressure, because this one is about just that. I don't want to sit at a gas station behind two cars filling up, then the car in front of me finishing before the first car. This is because then I am expected to move and take that first cars place, then the car behind me will have to go around me and or back up into that first spot. I understand this is part of the gas filling game, but I despise the anxiety I feel from it.

9. cars parked on both sides of the street.

I hate this! WHY DO THEY DO THIS TO ME! One. It makes the streets narrower, where if there is a car coming the other way, we have to do the who will pull to the side chicken game since we cant both go through. Then there is the other scenario where you are supposed to pull out into the street and turn either right or left, AND YOU CAN'T SEE! Sometimes you pull too far out and get honked at, others you pull out see a car is coming at you and press on the gas to makes you get out of that situation faster. It's a lose lose. You have to be so aware of your surroundings to just see a turn that shouldn't have a car parked in your way. It's just not right and unsafe.

10. Waiting for anything in the day when you don't have plans to lead up to them.

I am an anti-time waster; I despise wasting time. So when you have work at lets say 3 oclock and you are just waiting for that time to count down to that moment you have to leave, talk about anxiety. Some mornings I have things to do and others if I have one errand, I have to run I prefer to get it done as soon as possible. Other my anxiety will kick in and I will be afraid to leave the house for no reason. Or I will feel like I dont have time for other things because of this one set thing in my schedule. Honestly, time kind of controls my mind set and has a lot to do with my anxiety on a daily basis.