Earlier in the week my husband met with a lawn care expert to get some advice on landscaping our yard. I was busy with some task or other at the time, so my husband opened the door to greet the guy and then the two of them went outside to tour the yard. For the most part I could hear them talking as they discussed the condition of the lawn on each side of the house. But then there was silence for about 30 minutes or so, with no sign of my husband, so my reptilian brain, amygdala, and fight/flight/freeze system swung into action.
Of course my husband eventually came back inside the house, and I greeted him with the following words:
“Oh, thank goodness you’re back! When I couldn’t hear you anymore, all I could think was that I never saw that man’s face, so if he’d killed you and buried you in the backyard, I couldn’t have identified him to the police!”
I understand you perfectly!
I totally agree with this and understand it to be a “normal” anxiety response to stranger danger situations with hubs. I go thru similar imaginary scenarios all the time Jen lol XD
<3 Big HuGz
Anxiety is rough, especially when already living with chronic illness, which uses a lot of precious mental and physical resources already. I often get worried if a loved one comes home late, for instance, and am trying to practice not jumping into worst-case-scenerios.
Happens to me all the time …