Anxiety spiraling about my kids' future

13h ago·1 min read

I can't stop catastrophizing about everything. My oldest is struggling in school and I immediately jump to worst case scenarios about their entire life. Then I start worrying about money, health, what if something happens to me, what if I'm failing them as a parent. It's exhausting and I know it's not rational but I can't turn it off. Anyone else deal with this? How do you stop the doom spiral?

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Comments(3)

DDerekNew Dad9h ago

I get this so much. My oldest was struggling with math last year and I was convinced he'd never graduate, never get into college, the whole spiral. Turns out he just needed a tutor and some patience. The catastrophizing is real though, man. Have you talked to anyone about it or tried any anxiety techniques?

MMikeNew Dadjust now

The catastrophizing trap is real. I've been there. Sometimes talking to a therapist who gets dad anxiety helps way more than you'd think. No shame in it, honestly. Your kids need you present more than they need you to predict the future.

BBrandon H.New Dadjust now

One thing that helped me was focusing on what I can actually control right now instead of all the what-ifs. Like with my kid's school stuff, we broke it down into small actionable steps instead of looking at the whole mountain. Doesn't stop the anxiety completely but makes it more manageable.