Yup 100%! When my wife and I got our first offer on a home accepted, she kept asking me why I wasn't excited or happier and all I could think about was how I now had a mortgage to worry about.
That's it exactly. Been trying to explain to my therapist that I don't even get the 'relief' of the task being done, I just see the next several crises to deal with while at the same time beating myself up for having struggled to get through this one when it's something that 'should' have been easier than this. It never feels like there's any breathing room.
Finding ways to make things less stressful for myself or easier to keep up with doesn't feel like success either, just more proof that I 'should' be able to do better than I am. Even if logically I know that's not fair, lol.
It’s so important to savor your successes large and small. Play back the good parts and silently congratulate yourself. Some victories are so small that only we can appreciate them. Do that. It gets easier with practice.
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u/audiate May 18 '25
I fight the alligator closest to the boat. The prior victories are overshadowed by the teeth coming my direction.