Excessively worrying about my (25F) BF (26M) to the point of being sick

r/

This is a relatively new relationship but we’ve known each other for a while. Lately, every time something bad happens to him (ranging from mild to more severe), I feel a physical pit in my stomach that doesn’t go away for the whole day or days. Even when he seems to be fine later, it’s still there.

This came to a head last week when he had a particularly terrible incident, and I threw up in the bathroom because I couldn’t take seeing him like that. I spend all my energy ruminating on it and trying not to freak out to the point where I’m not even helpful to the situation, and it then becomes all about me when I should be being supportive. It seems often disproportionate, like I shouldn’t be this affected by what are most of the time just regular shitty things. Like literally once I think he said he was tired and I freaked out.

Possibly relevant backstory, but I have been diagnosed with OCD before, I don’t know if I actually have it because my issues with it are not severe. Also, I’ve been in relationships before and I haven’t worried this much. Maybe about close friends but not to this degree.

I guess my main questions are, is this normal? How can I be helpful when I become sick at the idea of them upset or in pain? How do I worry about someone I care about in a normal way instead of what I’m doing now? I’m worried if I tell him all this, he’ll feel like he can’t express negative emotions in front of me, or tell me when things go wrong.

TL;DR: I think about and worry about my boyfriend’s well-being to the point it’s becoming an obsession, and I become useless in actually helping the situation. Feel like I can’t tell him because then it becomes about me, not supporting him.

Comments

  1. IcePlanetGoth Avatar

    It’s not normal to have this much anxiety. You should go see a doctor.

  2. NuttyC1ub Avatar

    These are questions for a therapist, but no it’s definitely not normal