I can’t help but feel like I’m losing my mind. I imagine my future so much, and I feel like I’ll become a terrible person. How can I calm down about this?

Sometimes intrusive automatic thoughts can plague our minds without us even realizing it. I've struggled with them too, I didn't even know automatic thoughts were a thing! But there is a method to work on replacing the negative thought with a positive one. It takes time and effort but it is a good strategy to work at! Record. Rationalize. Replace. Whenever you have the automatic thought such as "I'm going to become a terrible person" stop and recognize it. That is the first step in flipping the thought around is acknowledging that it is there. If you're a journal person, write this thought down! Make a chart and organize any automatic, negative thoughts you have during the day. Then, rationalize. Fit it into a category and see what traits it has. Is it all-or-nothing thinking? What evidence do you have to support the thought and discredit the thought? Is this catastrophe thinking? How extreme or mild is the thought? These are just a few questions you can ask yourself to rationalize the thought and begin deconstructing the negative narrative and reconstruct it into a positive one. Lastly, replace it! This is sort of a given but now is the time to replace the thought. It may be hard for you to accept or believe the new thought at first, but keep reminding yourself and practicing this method of record, rationalize, replace until you start to find it becoming easier! I hope this was helpful, you are so strong!

I completely understand where you are coming from. It is normal to feel insecure about your future, and I have had instances in college where I was scared about how my future would go. I no longer feel like this, and I am much calmer about my situation and understand that there was no need for me to worry because I can take different paths and still end up at the same destination. I told myself that it is okay to think about my future and plan for my future, but that there was no need for me to unnecessarily worry about circumstances that were out of my control.