u/Odd-World-1795

Hi everyone,

I’m 21 from the UK heading to the US on an approved ESTA. I spent time in Afghanistan visiting family in 2025, and I'm assuming I'm almost guaranteed to be pulled into secondary inspection when I land?

Since this is my first time traveling solo, I just want to know what to expect from the process:

Is secondary screening practically guaranteed for travel to Afghanistan?

What are the main questions officers ask in the secondary waiting area?

Do they check phones? If they ask to look through my phone, what do they usually check?

I have paper copies of my return flight, hotel booking, and proof of my job and lease back in the UK. Any insight from people who’ve gone through secondary would be really helpful. Thanks!

I'm an SDR at a tech company and this is the first time I've been this far behind. I'm doing what the top reps do, same dials, same emails, same sequences, and getting almost nothing back. Nothing looks broken on paper, which makes it worse because I can't find the thing to fix.

For anyone who's been through a real slump: what was the actual thing that turned it around? Not "stay consistent." I mean the specific change, even if it sounds small or dumb. How you opened, who you called, when you called, how you asked for the meeting.

I'm also curious how you handled the head game. Watching the leaderboard while you're at zero is rough, and I catch myself making worse calls because I'm tense.

Salam everyone,

I’ve been struggling with this for a while and I just need to hear from people who get it. I’ll have a small issue, something honestly minor, and my brain just runs with it. I create entire scenarios in my head, convince myself something bad is going to happen, replay it over and over, and end up in this constant state of anxiety. It’s exhausting. It happens with things from the past too, like I’ll randomly start spiraling about something that already happened and can’t undo.

I know overthinking and excessive worry isn’t good for us, and I know Allah tells us not to despair and to have trust in Him, but in the moment it feels impossible to just “stop.”

For those who deal with this too, what has actually helped you? Specific duas, surahs, dhikr you turn to when your mind starts spiraling? Any hadiths or reminders that brought you back down to earth? How do you personally break the cycle when you catch yourself doing this?

Also open to general advice, not just religious, anything that’s worked for you when your brain won’t shut off and keeps creating worst case scenarios. Jazakum Allah khair in advance, just trying to find some peace with this.

If you’re dealing with overwhelming anxiety regularly, it might help to also talk to someone you trust or a professional alongside any spiritual practices, just so you’re getting support from multiple angles.