Very rarely. Maybe 3-5 times a year, usually for a reason - read a news story, lost kid for two minutes in amusement park, etc.

I have fleeting thoughts of stuff like this once in awhile, especially when faced with news of someone in that particular situation. If I have some symptom that could be something serious (but likely isn't), I'll definitely have the "it could be cancer/tumor/heart attack/stroke/etc." thought. It passes.

We are living in really weird times. I think everyone is more anxious than usual.

I am so shocked by the answers.

I have all of these thoughts, multiple times a day, every day.

It used to be worse, specifically the images of my kids dying. That went down after I took Zoloft and they got out of the baby stage.

I still worry every day about me or one of them or DH dying.

I honestly thought this was just part of being human and being blessed with people I love so absolutely-of course you’re going to think about it all being taken away in an instant.

Anonymous wrote:I only worry about them getting hit by a car when they're running towards the street or the few times I've seen them run across without looking.

same

The other medical fears, very very rarely--mostly when I see something in the news about them. The 'this is too good to be true' thoughts I've never had except when I was first pregnant after more than a year of infertility treatments.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Please, save the “get help OP” comments. I am truly trying to gauge, on an anonymous forum, how often you have these thoughts.
Never-rarely-sometimes-often

Flashing images of:
Your child getting hit by a car
Your child dying in your arms
Freak accidents/brain injury

Thoughts of:
This is too good to be true, this won’t last, we are being set up for heartache.
Hold this moment, might not come again.


Fears:
Tumors
Cancer
Death

I have these thoughts a lot. Growing up I unfortunately knew several families who lost children in accidents or illness and it made a big impression on me.

I can see that. My husband works on a trauma unit, and he is always thinking of bizarre ways our children could get injured using normal household objects.

I have probably read too many sad novels. My youngest is one of those children who is just beautiful with this magnetic personality. We were already a pretty happy family, but he just lit us up when he was born. I always felt like if life were a movie, he would die young.

Not daily but almost. It often happens in a nightmare. Strangely as scared as I am of car accidents or bad falls I have not been very worried about covid19.

I worry a lot about school shootings. If my kids are at school and I hear a siren, I always think 'oh, I hope it's not a school shooter.' The thing that helps me most is praying for my kids a lot.

Some of this sounds like intrusive thoughts. Not really that uncommon. I've dealt with them after the birth of both of my children.

Anonymous wrote:Please, save the “get help OP” comments. I am truly trying to gauge, on an anonymous forum, how often you have these thoughts.
Never-rarely-sometimes-often

Flashing images of:
Your child getting hit by a car
Your child dying in your arms
Freak accidents/brain injury

Thoughts of:
This is too good to be true, this won’t last, we are being set up for heartache.
Hold this moment, might not come again.


Fears:
Tumors
Cancer
Death

I have these thoughts a lot. Growing up I unfortunately knew several families who lost children in accidents or illness and it made a big impression on me.

Rarely. But I worry about my kids contracting a stomach virus on pretty much daily basis. I did get help for it and now it doesn't bother me as much.

Pretty much never. When kids were little maybe the "moment never coming again" thoughts about happy times but now that they are teens -- nada.

Rarely, though less rare these last few months.

Rarely but still happens sometimes. Depends on the circumstance. If that’s are flying without me for example I visualize a plane crash. I think it is a natural human coping mechanism, otherwise you would be completely unable to deal if it actually happens.

I have had scary thoughts before. Or that something happens to me. Usually as nightmares but sometimes as flashes during the day.
I think it is our instinct reminding us to be vigilant

Rarely, though I suspect men are less likely to have these thoughts.