Why Does this Stress Me Out? – Ridiculous Things That Give Me Anxiety

Some people seem to get stressed out easily, while others are masters at remaining calm under pressure. Whichever category you fall under, I’m willing to bet that among the things that make you a little anxious or uncomfortable, there’s at least one that’s a bit… unconventional. Yes? No? Just me? Sweet. 

I recently found myself doing some self-reflection, and I started thinking about all of the things that cause me unnecessary stress—and let me tell you, a lot of things came to mind. I don’t want to call them all anxieties— some just make me a little squirmy—but they each stress me out in their own special ways. So in hopes of making you feel better about your own anxious quirks, giving you a laugh, or, you know, having my own list of uncomfies validated, I’m going to share some ridiculous things that stress me out.

Gas Pumps

You might think you know where this one is going, but I’m thinking you might be wrong. Let me start by saying that I group gas pumps into the same category as champagne bottles and biscuit cans. If you can open either of these without flinching, you’re elite. You know the pump’s abrupt shut off when your tanks full? Yeah—nearly gives me a coronary each time. I used to justify this dramatic response by telling myself that I just needed to stop zoning out while pumping my gas. If I stayed present, there wouldn’t be a sneak attack on my nervous system. It was a nice thought, but nope. It still get me Every. Single. Time.

Let me set the scene—you walk into a quiet room. People are causally hanging out, minding their own business. Your shoes, on the other hand, aren’t minding their’s. They start squeaking, and no matter which awkward way you turn your foot, or how lightly you tip-toe around, the squeaking persists. Actually, it seems to get louder with every step. Could there be a more obnoxious way to make an entrance? The unfortunate thing is, no shoe seems to be safe from the squeak. What’s even more unfortunate is that I don’t typically know that my shoes are squeaky until I leave the house. Is this a big deal? Absolutely not. Do I still stress out every time it happens? You betcha.

Going Somewhere and Not Knowing the Parking Situation

One would think that this is something that only stresses out new drivers. Nope, not the case here. I hate not knowing a parking situation so much, that I will sleuth out any photos or parking instructions I can find online. Nothing about parking on the business’s website? No problem, I’ll just scope ’em out on Google Maps. If I still can’t figure it out, I’ll get myself to the general area of where I need to be and swing into the first spot I see. I can honestly tell you this generally doesn’t work in my favor—I typically end up a ways away from where I need to be. Out of all the things that bring me unnecessary stress, this has got to take the cake for being the most annoying and inconvenient.

Doing My Eyeliner and Eyebrows

I’ve been doing my makeup since the early 2000’s, and as expected, my skills have drastically improved—I know that’s not saying much, considering the millennial bar was set pretty low. Every time I do my makeup now, I save my eyebrows and eyeliner for the very end. I feel like I need to get a good warm-up in, say a little prayer, and give myself a pep-talk before tackling either of these. I know that their outcomes are going to define how the rest of my day goes. Some days my wings are even and my brows are symmetrical, and other days my eyes look lopsided and I’ve got The Rock’s eyebrow thing going on. The reason this stresses me out so badly is because the fates of my brows and liner are a gamble each and every day.

Making Phone Calls Outside Of My Close Circle

As someone who grew up in the 90’s and early 2000’s, I had A LOT of experience tying up the one phone/internet line in my house. 20 some years later, I’ll send someone a text, an email, maybe even a fax, before I call them. When did this shift happen? I believe it was around the time I started paying that monthly premium for unlimited text messages. Since phone calls aren’t something that take up much of my time anymore, I seem to have forgotten basic phone etiquette. If I have to call someone that I don’t talk to on a regular basis, I will no doubt spend several minutes rehearsing the conversation in my head before dialing their number—why am I like this?

Distracted Drivers… In TV Shows

We’re a bit late to the game, but my husband and I recently started watching Ozark. In one episode, Marty was driving while he and Wendy were deep in conversation—they were likely discussing ways to keep the cartel from offing them, but I actually can’t remember what they were talking about. The only thing I could focus on was the fact that Marty never seemed to be watching the road. I spent the whole scene holding my breath and clenching every muscle in my body, because I was expecting something crazy to leap into their path—never mind the cartel, my nerves couldn’t handle Marty’s blatant disregard for road safety.

Okay, I’m Done Embarrassing Myself

Stress and anxiety are normal, human feelings, and both are even beneficial in moderation—stress helps us build strength, courage, and resilience, and anxiety helps protect us from perceived danger. Some forms of stress and anxiety, however, seem to lack purpose and are, well, unnecessary—such as the 6 things I mentioned in this post. So, I need to know—do we share any of these in common? If not, I’d love to hear what unique things stress you out!