clandestine,

I bet you wait too long before you recognize your anxiety and by then, it is overwhelming and your CBT skills are over-powered.

I find I need to notice the little indicators, long before a real anxiety issue, and use them to cause me to modify my focus, thoughts, etc. It might be to just stop, gather my thoughts in an organized fashion (CBT) and plan how to move forward.

I know that if I wait too long, I become overwhelmed. I have not had a major problem in years by using this concept.

It helps to put things into perspective. Yes, I could trip and fall into traffic. But, I have avoided falling into traffic for 6o years so the risk is not worth considering. Instead, I refocus to: Am I paying attention ?, Is my shoe untied? Sort of taking inventory of the things I can control.

You may need to bite the bullet and try an SSRI or other such med to give you a break. It sounds like you need a chance to get free of the thoughts that drag you down. Meds may enable you to break the habit of these intrusive thoughts. Maybe an emotions anonymous group can help you. emotionsanonymous.org