The Quiet Fear That Ruins Our Good Days

Why we brace for happiness to end - and how to reclaim it.

I heard the same phrase three times in one day.

Three different patients, with three different stories, said it to me:

“I’m just waiting for the other shoe to fall.”

I work as a therapist in a depression clinic, where it’s expected to meet people on their hardest days. But what struck me was that these words didn’t come in moments of despair. They came after something good had happened. My patients were describing small victories—a good day, hopeful news—and already bracing for it to go wrong.