Last evening, I had an hour-long conversation with a person I trust. Okay, it was my therapist. She told me something incredibly validating that I might have observed myself, but it means a lot that she observed it, and imparted it to me.

I was telling her how anxious I have been–continually and chronically, over a long period of time–about being busy. I live in constant fear of forgetting something, not working hard enough, and letting someone down. I fear embarrassment and loss of credibility–not to mention loss of employability and money.

She said, “Everybody I talk to feels the same way.”

She described a world where everybody who has a job is picking up the responsibilities for their laid-off comrades. Everyone who is working is either overworking, or is letting things fall through the cracks. Everyone who is not working faces that brand of fear, uncertainty, and doubt. So, everyone is panicked.

Oh thank god. It isn’t only me.

In my last post, I described this anxiety and the calm I feel during my vacation. I don’t want to lose this calm. It feels human.

What a concept–being human. I think I’ll work on that.