I think obsessive thoughts get more stuck than you're describing? I do some of the late=dead too but I think obsessive leaves it there and goes round and round rather than moves on further to meanings/burials or tries to find a solution, etc. Sounds like the sort of anxiety I have. I put a time limit on things; if my husband's late, I look and see it's still "daytime" say, and decide I'll wait until night (which I define as 9:00ish) before I start calling hospitals or police, etc. :-) If it's night-time and he's late home from a plane trip the time goes to after Midnight before I "worry" for real. I just keep putting things off and doing "my" things/"pretending" the situation has different rules which I control.

If I'm afraid of something not related to my husband (I once was sure I saw footprints in the snow under our windows) I can tell my husband; I know him well enough that he won't make fun of me, will be thoughtful about his replies. He thanked me for telling him about my suspected footprints under the window but then didn't "do" anything, just "accepted" what I'd said very warmly so I was reassured and eventually I realized it was probably snow that had melted/dropped off the roof making the footprint-looking indentations. But I recommend, if you can show or tell or call someone it helps and reassure me whether I'm thinking of things right or not. Things in our head; we can "decide" if they're irrational, even if they're not or that they're not, even if they are. So if I think something's irrational and that it's "me" I just think up new rules or if I am really uncomfortable, I share my thoughts.

The more accepting I can be that I'm anxious, that that's "okay" that seems to help me too. I haven't died yet from being anxious so I tolerate it well and even try to laugh at myself some. Too, my circumstances (middle of the night can be a hard time for me if I wake) clue me in and I'm able to think of some little thing to "try" next time I'm working on whatever it is that is worrying me (usually has to wait until morning anyway).