If this is really limited to car stuff, actually crunch the numbers on whether you really need a car. Can you get places via metro, bus and uber? And maybe rent a car for trips? If you have a car payment and insurance and maintenance, it might be cheaper or similarly priced to not own a car.

If it's everything and not just the car, explore your options listed above.

I’m glad to hear this brought up. I’m an actrive 69-year-old with a demanding full-time job and a small portfolio of rental properties I am managing myself. Nevertheless I experience cash flow and savings panic almost daily, and feel trapped in the job and the illiquid investments. Desperate to retire but too afraid to because of money concern. I wish I had a man to bring perspective and fun to offset the worries.

OP, some of my male coworkers, varied ages, have car or house anxiety and I hear about it often!

I have travel anxiety and develop IBS symptoms within a week before major trips. I'm afraid of getting sick on a trip or in a rental car wreck, because I'm always traveling as a single parent with my child (who isn't old enough to drive yet).

I didn't consider the link between menopause (of several years) and anxiety so this thread is helpful and makes me feel more normal with my situation-specific anxiety.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:My mom’s anxiety has gone through the roof with declining estrogen. She is 77 now and it’s unmanageable. She was taken off HRT when the concerning findings from the Women’s Health Initiative (iirc the name) study came back.

Did HRT use to help her though?

I know it helped her a lot overall all and I think that also includes anxiety but I am not totally sure.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Yes anxiety can worsen in peri. I never felt anxiety before peri (not as a more permanent part of my personality). You can look into SSRIs and hrt.

So for HRT my NP said it’s too early since I have regular cycle still (though shorter and heavier flow).

I don’t know if I need SSRIs if I am not anxious every day. I do have something (atarax?) for bouts of anxiety

I'm sorry you're dealing with this OP. Anxiety sucks and it can really make life tough. Your NP's advice is outdated and incorrect. You can absolutely start HRT now. If your doctor won't prescribe it, look into Midi Health or Alloy Health online. I used Midi and it has been transformative to take estrogen/progesterone. I'm only 42 and still have periods. I actually started HRT because I was on such an emotional rollercoaster, experiencing anxiety about the most random stuff. I would start crying from frustration and just feeling like I had turned into someone else. I also had racing, anxious thoughts in the middle of the night which made falling back asleep almost impossible. I can't tell you how much better I feel now that I've been on HRT for 4 months. I feel much more like myself and way less out-of-control.

Given the day-to-day impact of your anxiety, it does sound like you would also benefit from therapy to gain insight into your anxious thoughts/behavior and possibly medication. Cognitive Behavioral therapy can be really helpful with this type of issue as it really focuses on the practical . But I'd give estrogen/progresterone a try and see if it gets back to a manageable level and go from there. Take care OP!

You don’t need a man, you need AAA.

Men are not a commodity like toilet paper to use and throw away, OP.

Hi Op, get a handyman, much cheaper

Anonymous wrote:Lexapro.

+1 No way to live.
See your Dr. and share. There are meds to assist with anxiety.. Not unless you want to live as such forever.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have some similar anxieties but those didn't show up badly except just before travel until I was 70.

But for travel they showed up earlier? When?
I am ok traveling alone and close (like 2 hr flights) but had to take atarax before the trip to the other coast with my teen

I have had "packing nightmare dreams" since college. Trying to pack, plane leaves in an hour, etc.

I have had packing anxiety since my 20s... Lists, forgetting stuff. Part of it was I was plus size then and if I needed something Lane Bryant was my only option. That was long ago.

Later, normal sized, I still make lists, obsess over packing stuff. A lot is OTC stuff and medications. A regular carryon is about full with those. And somecare very hard to replace overseas.

My packing dreams include things like my suitcase bursting open on the escalator on the London underground and scrabbling to scoop up pink underwear.

Continuing... it's not about flying. Once the engines start I am good to go.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I have some similar anxieties but those didn't show up badly except just before travel until I was 70.

But for travel they showed up earlier? When?
I am ok traveling alone and close (like 2 hr flights) but had to take atarax before the trip to the other coast with my teen

I have had "packing nightmare dreams" since college. Trying to pack, plane leaves in an hour, etc.

I have had packing anxiety since my 20s... Lists, forgetting stuff. Part of it was I was plus size then and if I needed something Lane Bryant was my only option. That was long ago.

Later, normal sized, I still make lists, obsess over packing stuff. A lot is OTC stuff and medications. A regular carryon is about full with those. And somecare very hard to replace overseas.

I think the www has made things worse.

Before the internet, I had the AAA guide book and chose a hotel. Now I can see all the options online. Even if one looks nice, someone will have left a negative review that leaves me wary. Maybe I can get a better price on another website. Same thing with car mechanic places, plumbers, restaurants, doctors etc etc. Information overload doesn't always help.

What is the travel anxiety about and why are close trips easier?