Worryin about the future

Hiya. I was diagnosed at the age of 44! I spent years stuck in anxiety and worrying about things that might happen. I think the thing to focus on it what is real and right now. If you don't have to move out, then you don't need to worry, but you can maybe plan for all the things you can do and will need to do when you do move out. Break it all down in to smaller chunks so you can be in control. Like packing, finding a place and budgeting, and then break those down in to smaller and smaller chunks until you have a picture in your mind of all the different bits. Draw a diagram of it all maybe and make it like a project instead of a big unknown monster. So for example with packing you need boxes and you need tape and maybe newspaper to put fragile things in. Plan where you will get them from. You could buy boxes or you could ask a big retailer if they have any you can have ( I got a load from a toy shop, they were really happy to give them to me ), or you could ask your parents to help you get some. Then with looking, find some websites and have a goal of just looking, then maybe make some enquiries and eventually you can start just looking. It's absolutely fine to to just look and not have any real plans of moving - then you get an idea of what you can afford and what kind of thing is available for that kind of money - look at quite a few because otherwise you won't really get a good idea and the first few might not really represent what's available. Then with budgeting, once you get an idea of what you are looking for, you can start to ask questions about bills and just plan it out. I'd treat it like a school project and without making any commitments or real plans, you are then in the driving seat and WHEN you are ready, you'll know how to do it. Avoiding things doesn't help, I have wasted years of my life hiding from things, my advice is not to do what I did but to do what I have learned to do which is to plan ahead and imagine things in your head bit by little bit until you are ready to do the thing and face it head on. 

Hiya. I was diagnosed at the age of 44! I spent years stuck in anxiety and worrying about things that might happen. I think the thing to focus on it what is real and right now. If you don't have to move out, then you don't need to worry, but you can maybe plan for all the things you can do and will need to do when you do move out. Break it all down in to smaller chunks so you can be in control. Like packing, finding a place and budgeting, and then break those down in to smaller and smaller chunks until you have a picture in your mind of all the different bits. Draw a diagram of it all maybe and make it like a project instead of a big unknown monster. So for example with packing you need boxes and you need tape and maybe newspaper to put fragile things in. Plan where you will get them from. You could buy boxes or you could ask a big retailer if they have any you can have ( I got a load from a toy shop, they were really happy to give them to me ), or you could ask your parents to help you get some. Then with looking, find some websites and have a goal of just looking, then maybe make some enquiries and eventually you can start just looking. It's absolutely fine to to just look and not have any real plans of moving - then you get an idea of what you can afford and what kind of thing is available for that kind of money - look at quite a few because otherwise you won't really get a good idea and the first few might not really represent what's available. Then with budgeting, once you get an idea of what you are looking for, you can start to ask questions about bills and just plan it out. I'd treat it like a school project and without making any commitments or real plans, you are then in the driving seat and WHEN you are ready, you'll know how to do it. Avoiding things doesn't help, I have wasted years of my life hiding from things, my advice is not to do what I did but to do what I have learned to do which is to plan ahead and imagine things in your head bit by little bit until you are ready to do the thing and face it head on.