A great article, Wil. I too have been dealing with ‘what-if’ing anxiety for most of my life, and like with yourself, I’ve missed out on what many people tend to refer to as the greatest years of my life precisely because I feel as though I’m a huge worryguts.

I recently spoke with a close friend of mine (herself someone who suffers from high anxiety) about the subject, and I offered her some advice I’d like to share with anyone reading this. The best thing to do is to be open: bottling up feelings for years doesn’t do anything good, because one day they’ll jump out to enforce Finagle’s Law. Open the bottle, let it all out — or, as my dad put it, drop the bags — and you’ll be amazed at how much better you’ll feel because of it.