I rehearse too many things that never happen

Dear Delyara, That is the private cost of anxiety no one really sees. I rehearse conversations, conflicts, embarrassment, disappointment, questions, responses, worst-case versions of simple events. By the time reality finally arrives, I am already emotionally tired from all the imaginary versions I survived first. People see one meeting. I experienced twenty. People hear one message. I heard all the possible hidden meanings first. Anxiety is expensive in invisible ways. That is what I wish more people understood.