I realized I wasn't just anxious, I was anxious about being anxious

A couple of years ago I struggled a lot with health anxiety, about my own health and my loved ones. My mind would often immediately jump to worst case scenarios. What made it worse was that I started dreading the anxiety itself. I woke up thinking 'Am I still anxious today? Am I going to spiral today?' The anticipation would already put me on edge. It really became a vicious cycle: anxious about my health, then anxious about being anxious. I saw a therapist for this, and one of the biggest shifts for me was learning to stop fighting the anxiety. Instead of trying to push it away or solve it immediately, I practiced letting it be there. 'Okay, I feel anxious right now. That’s uncomfortable, but it’s allowed.' My therapist also told me something that really stuck: worrying about things that haven’t happened yet doesn’t protect you. It just makes you suffer twice. Most if not all the worst scenarios in my head never happened, but I lived through them over and over anyway. When I stopped trying to push the anxiety away, it slowly became less intense. Not overnight, not perfectly, but little by little. If you’re stuck in that loop of trying to get rid of anxiety at all costs, maybe try letting it sit beside you for a moment instead. You might be surprised how much power it loses when you stop fighting it. Just wanted to share in case this helps someone.