laurenmk
22-11-15, 22:46
Do you ever find that a given situation will make you anxious, and styen even though nothing happens that is a rational reason to worry, your mind will still not let it go and make up wild scenarios?
Case in point. I'm in Austria, and yesterday a guy at the airport told me all cabs take credit cards. So tonight I was in the city center after buying a bunch of water at Starbucks. I hop in a cab to take me to my hotel. It turns out he is Turkish and speaks very little English, so we couldn't do much more than agree it's cold out. Anyway, we got to the hotel and I handed him my card, only to have him tell me he doesn't take cards. I had 1/4 of the fare in cash. Now immediately I thought, "This is not good. This guy is going to be really mad." And my next thought was, "I can't drink this water." It was like it was tainted by the incident. I tried to get him to take me to an ATM I knew was relatively nearby, but he was driving and driving and when he came to one I didn't feel comfortable getting out. All of this + the language barrier. He said he would just take me back to the hotel and it was ok.
I started using Google Translate to change my English to Turkish. I told him he was very kind. Thanked him profusely. I said I had to go to the train station tomorrow, and perhaps he could drive me and I could pay for both trips? He said that was fine and wrote down his number. Here's where my mind really went off the rails. I took the paper and started thinking 'What if he did something to the paper? What if he poisoned it?' (Rational mind telling me he had touched it too, and also what taxi drivers carry around poisoned paper as standard - Irrational mind didn't care.
I got inside the hotel and left the water on a table, where someone far more normal than me would probably think, "Cool. Free water," and drink it. I walked to the ATM I knew of and got cash. I went to the nearby Starbucks to get water but they were closed. So I went ALL the way back to the original one to buy new water. Before checking out, I called the cab driver and tried to explain that I had money and was in the original place he picked me up. He said 5 minutes. I waited in the cold for 10 and called him again. He was at the hotel where I was staying. I again told him where I was and he said he'd be there in 10. Now I'm thinking, "Oh no. He's probably so mad!" He arrived and I was cheerful and thankful. I gave him one of my bottles of water and again used Google Translate to let him know what a good person he is. We got to the hotel and I gave him 30 euro (my fares were 15). He tried to refuse but I insisted.
Now, for starters, most people would not have gone to the lengths I did. They would have been ok with hopping out at the ATM in the unfamiliar area. I made it into this huge production because of my anxiety. Then, if they had gone through the same events as me, most people would have walked away thinking, "What a great guy! That was a great experience all in all." Me, I walk away still worried and mistrusting and scared and anxious.
Can anyone relate to this at all?
Case in point. I'm in Austria, and yesterday a guy at the airport told me all cabs take credit cards. So tonight I was in the city center after buying a bunch of water at Starbucks. I hop in a cab to take me to my hotel. It turns out he is Turkish and speaks very little English, so we couldn't do much more than agree it's cold out. Anyway, we got to the hotel and I handed him my card, only to have him tell me he doesn't take cards. I had 1/4 of the fare in cash. Now immediately I thought, "This is not good. This guy is going to be really mad." And my next thought was, "I can't drink this water." It was like it was tainted by the incident. I tried to get him to take me to an ATM I knew was relatively nearby, but he was driving and driving and when he came to one I didn't feel comfortable getting out. All of this + the language barrier. He said he would just take me back to the hotel and it was ok.
I started using Google Translate to change my English to Turkish. I told him he was very kind. Thanked him profusely. I said I had to go to the train station tomorrow, and perhaps he could drive me and I could pay for both trips? He said that was fine and wrote down his number. Here's where my mind really went off the rails. I took the paper and started thinking 'What if he did something to the paper? What if he poisoned it?' (Rational mind telling me he had touched it too, and also what taxi drivers carry around poisoned paper as standard - Irrational mind didn't care.
I got inside the hotel and left the water on a table, where someone far more normal than me would probably think, "Cool. Free water," and drink it. I walked to the ATM I knew of and got cash. I went to the nearby Starbucks to get water but they were closed. So I went ALL the way back to the original one to buy new water. Before checking out, I called the cab driver and tried to explain that I had money and was in the original place he picked me up. He said 5 minutes. I waited in the cold for 10 and called him again. He was at the hotel where I was staying. I again told him where I was and he said he'd be there in 10. Now I'm thinking, "Oh no. He's probably so mad!" He arrived and I was cheerful and thankful. I gave him one of my bottles of water and again used Google Translate to let him know what a good person he is. We got to the hotel and I gave him 30 euro (my fares were 15). He tried to refuse but I insisted.
Now, for starters, most people would not have gone to the lengths I did. They would have been ok with hopping out at the ATM in the unfamiliar area. I made it into this huge production because of my anxiety. Then, if they had gone through the same events as me, most people would have walked away thinking, "What a great guy! That was a great experience all in all." Me, I walk away still worried and mistrusting and scared and anxious.
Can anyone relate to this at all?