Anticipatory Anxiety

Anticipatory Anxiety

Some people get stressed on Sunday afternoon thinking about the work week ahead.  “Sunday scaries” is one term I’ve heard.  I’ve felt that way before in jobs I didn’t like all that much, or when I had a particularly tough week ahead of me, or when I was about to travel for work and was processing what I had to do and making sure I triple-checked the alarm.

But for me, anticipatory anxiety comes in knowing I’m about to sit in traffic to get somewhere.  That somewhere is usually Boston, but sometimes it’s the thought of getting through Hartford or New Haven, Connecticut to get to New York or New Jersey.  I’m a rational human being, but I hate the thought of being late for a meeting or a game because I got stuck in traffic.  I haven’t succumbed to the fate of so many commuters who just shut down and take whatever the road gives them.  Which is funny because I drive all the time.  But I can drive seven hours across New York State and Massachusetts without giving it a second thought.  Unless…  I’m anticipating traffic on Route 495 in the last hour of my commute.