Advice please

[Mumofagrownupdaughter]

My 24 year old daughter has recently told me that she is traveling to Australia for the winter months with her partner of almost 8 years x I have always suffered with anxiety and have gone down a massive rabbit hole and I am struggling with all the what ifs.
she is my only much wanted child and I have basically built my life around her and the thought of her not returning/ wanting to live in Australia permanently is making me feel like my life is not even worth living.
I have a husband who is supportive to a point but gets very frustrated when my anxiety and thoughts cripple me which they are doing now - I feel unable to function and just do everyday tasks.
I also have recovered from alcohol use disorder when my daughter was around 8 and I am
concerned that alcohol will be my crutch again and then I will lose everything.
Any advice / help for managing my despair would be great. I have reached out for professional support through work - I want to be strong and support my daughter through her ‘travel journey’ but with wvery day that has passed since ahe told me I just feel absolutely awful and like I am dying inside. She is my one and only and I feel like she is my life. I have a job and a good support network but this is almost too much to bear.

I am sorry for your anxiety, but I think you know yourself that your way of thinking isn't healthy or normal.

Only child or not, it is our job to raise children to be independent and to encourage them to live their dreams whether that it is conflict about what we want or not. It isn't healthy to make children your "life" and to build everything around them and for them to have this pressure on them that they are responsible for your anxiety and how you feel.

My cousin is an only child and lives abroad. But even before she moved abroad, my auntie and uncle had in fact moved themselves to a rural location away from my cousin. They are still a very close family and they visit each other often but I remember my auntie telling me that she didn't believe in following her daughter around and that she wanted her to be as independent as possible.

Plenty of parents I know as well have both children who have moved away. I think it's great you've reached out for professional support and I would keep doing that as well as leaning on your support network.

The fact that you’ve raised a daughter who is happy to go exploring the World shows you’ve done an excellent job of parenting.

Don't borrow tomorrow’s worries, she’ll have a great time.

Sorry to read about your anxiety and glad you’re reaching out for professional support.
My eldest son went to Australia on secondment for supposedly 18 months. 8 years later he now has citizenship and I can’t seem him returning permanently to the UK. I was anxious about him going and held on to the belief that it was only for 18 months. As parents it’s our job to give our children the confidence to flee the nest and forge their own life. So take heed that you’ve done a grand job.