Always Waiting for Something to Go Wrong? Psychology May Explain Why

Nothing’s wrong. Nobody’s sent the dreaded email. The boss hasn't called you into a meeting. Tomorrow's appointment hasn't happened yet. And yet, your shoulders are somewhere around your ears, your jaw is clenched, and part of your brain is already preparing for trouble.

If you’re often expecting something bad to happen, psychologists have a term for some of what you may be experiencing: anticipatory anxiety. Basically, it's fear or dread about something that hasn't happened yet. 

Although anticipatory anxiety isn't a mental health diagnosis on its own, it's a well-established psychological concept worth exploring. 

Our Brains Are Pretty Good at Worrying Ahead

Anxiety is future-focused. The American Psychological Association (APA) describes anxiety as an emotional response involving apprehension and physical tension as we anticipate possible danger or misfortune. 

Unlike fear, which generally responds to an immediate threat, anxiety tends to look ahead.

That means our brains aren’t waiting for the terrible meeting to happen. Sometimes, they'll happily hold the entire meeting beforehand, complete with imaginary dialogue, disastrous outcomes, and several problems nobody’s even proposed.

With anticipatory anxiety, we tend to overestimate the likelihood that something bad will happen and how serious the consequences will be. Hypervigilance can also come into play, leaving us particularly alert to possible signs of trouble.

Our Bodies May Get Involved, Too

All that anxiety about the future isn't necessarily confined to our thoughts. Anxiety can also cause physical responses as the body prepares itself for a perceived threat. 

Our muscles may tense, our breathing may become faster, and our hearts may beat more quickly.

That's where the everyday idea of "bracing" starts to make sense. We may find ourselves physically tensing up as though something is about to happen, even when the anticipated problem hasn't arrived.

But here’s the kicker: tomorrow's problem may never arrive at all.

Preparing and Worrying Aren't the Same Thing

Thinking ahead isn't inherently bad. Psychologists are also studying something called anticipatory coping, which means we’re preparing ourselves for an upcoming stressful situation. 

Research suggests that certain forms of future-oriented coping may help us manage expected stressors. The difference becomes easier to see in everyday life.

Packing our bag tonight because tomorrow morning will be hectic? That's preparation.

Spending the evening imagining every conceivable way tomorrow could go wrong while we're supposed to be enjoying The Great British Bake Off? That's not getting the bag packed.

When we're wondering how to stop worrying, it may help to separate the things we can do something about from all those hypothetical what-ifs.

Give Today a Little More Attention

Unfortunately, there isn't a switch to turn off anticipatory anxiety, and occasional worrying about something is a normal human experience.

The APA recommends a few different approaches for coping with anxiety, including:

• Grounding ourselves in the present

• Getting enough sleep

• Exercising

• Examining the what-if thoughts our anxious brains produce

If anxiety becomes excessive enough that it's interfering with your everyday life, it may be time to speak to a counselor to untangle some of that.

Still, we may be able to turn worrying into doing. If we're nervous about tomorrow's presentation, we can practice it. If we're worried about a hectic morning, we can get a few things ready tonight. And once we've done what we reasonably can, tomorrow doesn't need any more of today.

Maybe Nothing Is About to Go Wrong

Of course, we can't convince ourselves that every difficult thing will magically work out.

Sometimes, the meeting really will be unpleasant. Maybe the email really will contain bad news. Perhaps tomorrow really will be stressful. But we don't have to experience it twice. If nothing is wrong right now, maybe our shoulders can come down from our ears for a little while.

Let’s leave tomorrow to tomorrow, shall we? 

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