I’m going on holiday tomorrow and all I can think is something bad will happen…

[inkyspells]

I suffer from OCD and anxiety
Tomorrow we fly on honeymoon and all I can think of is something is going to happen to my dad /cats while I’m away.
My dad is 83 but is in good health /independant/cooks/cleans/active etc etc
Its my brain thinking “something will happen while I’m away ,then the cats will die because he couldn’t feed them,”
I’ve cried non stop all day
We are in the airport hotel and I feel sick with worry.
I have rang my dad 4 times tonight
He’s told me to have fun,he’s told me he’s fine and the cats are fine and stop ringing (in a nice way )
I have said I will ring Wednesday afternoon ,then Sunday then Wednesday again.
We are gone for 10 days
How do I stop this ?
i want to have a good time and I just don’t know how to not ring him every few hours to check on him.
Please be brutal and tell me to get a grip

We have no other family so it’s just me and dad

The cats are at his house

Have you been on holiday before OP? x

Yes we go away twice a year and every time I worry about them but this time it’s much worse
Not sure why

Anxiety is all about control. Your mind believes that if it can foretell and account for every possible scenario then you will be prepared and you will cope. Problem is that all these scenarios are imagined and therefore not real. In children it's known as pretending, and that's exactly what you're doing; pretending.

Once you realise that you have no control over the future you can look at the past, and you'll realise what you've done every single time before is exactly what you're worrying about now. You've coped. No matter what life's thrown at you, you've managed/dealt with it/muddled through. And whatever happens in the future you will deal with it.

Now go and enjoy your honeymoon and leave your dad and the cats in peace!!

As it's your honeymoon, I'm guessing you have been extremely busy for an extended period - perhaps now that there is less to do, you're subconsciously looking for something to fret about? x

Oh I'm sorry. Are you on medication? Hopefully it might settle once you've been there a day or so? Just try and distract yourself for now, once there you'll have plenty to keep you busy?

I’m sorry you are experiencing this OP. It must be horrible. I have no experience of OCD, but you asked for brutality so, in that spirit, get a grip!

I hope you manage to have a fabulous honeymoon.

Oh you poor thing, I very much relate to you.. I had iterations of this on various holidays. However I'm getting to a stage now where I'm having regrets about all the holidays I tainted with these types of thoughts. I know how difficult it is, but please enjoy you honeymoon. I have a holiday playlist on my phone called 'you can do it '. It's tough I know it but - You can do it ❤️

Hi OP, I’m sorry you’re feeling rough about this. I am very much like you, I have OCD and health anxiety and I constantly worry about the health of my loved ones (inc. pets) when I’m away. I went on my honeymoon last year for 2 weeks and absolutely nothing bad happened. Me being away genuinely made no difference to the day-to-day of my parents or pets. They continued on exactly as they would have done if I was home and in their minds there was absolutely nothing to worry about.

I didn’t know this at the time but in hindsight, the stress of the wedding (even though it was lovely!) contributed to me feeling quite wobbly, so going away broke the cycle and made me feel much better. I think you will have a lovely honeymoon, just give yourself a minute to acknowledge how you feel and take some deep breaths. You’ll be ok, everyone else will be ok, nothing bad is going to happen ❤️