Examining my scary thoughts

I pick up the local paper and I read the headlines:

" rent increases of 40% mean that people will have to move "

Every year rents are increased and this year shockingly high increases are predicted.

Reading things like that make me feel both angry and sad.
Immediately I relate it to me.

What if I can't afford to live here ?

I LOVE my home

I don't want to move.......but what if I have to ?

Fear in the pit of my stomach. I feel sick to my stomach ( it's easy to see how this thought, if not checked can lead to tummy ache or some gastric complaint :roll.)

Nausea.

All these thoughts indicate a POSSIBLE future , not a certain one , but in my mind , the worst has already happened judge and jury have had their say and I am a homeless person out in the cold far away from my comfy cosy home.

B* !!!

Why do I torture myself with these thoughts ?? Scary thoughts like these , thousands of them that pass through my brain HQ daily.
Ridiculous . These thoughts are not necessarily true, after all !!!

Let's EXAMINE this thought.

" I can't afford to live here" is it true ?
It might be
Can I really be sure that it is true ?
No
How do I feel/ react when I have this thought ?
Angry , sad, depressed, helpless , vulnerable .....
Who would I be without this thought ?
I'd be ok ... I'd be at peace .. I would be calm ... I'd be happy ...
Don't drop the thought " I can't afford to live here" , but can I see a reason for dropping it ?

YES

Turn it around :

"I CAN afford to live here" .. "I am living here" .. "I have always been able to pay my rent "I can't afford to be thinking these thoughts"

Are these thoughts equally true ?
Yes.

"What if I can't afford to live here ?"
Well.. I'll deal with that when the time comes IF it comes.

Feeling better now

* Inspired by Byron Katie's , The Work .