Why It’s Hard to Trust Good Things — and How to Stop Waiting for Them to Disappear

Do you find it hard to relax when things are going well? If you're always bracing for the worst, this post explores why—and how therapy can help build a more secure emotional life.

For some people, peace feels unfamiliar. When life gets calm, when relationships are going well, when we feel genuinely happy—something inside starts to panic. “This won’t last,” we think. “Something bad must be coming.”

This is a common pattern for those who grew up in unpredictable or emotionally unsafe environments. If you learned to stay alert—to anticipate moods, avoid conflict, or prepare for disappointment—then safety itself can feel unnatural. It’s not that you don’t want to feel happy. It’s that your nervous system hasn’t learned to believe it’s safe to stay there.

But you don’t have to live in a state of constant readiness. Therapy helps by slowly introducing emotional safety. You learn how to sit with calm. To breathe through the discomfort of peace. To recognise that joy doesn’t always need a warning label.

It takes time, but the truth is this: you don’t need to earn good things by suffering first. Sometimes, life is allowed to be kind. And you are allowed to enjoy it.