nervous wrecks
Stressed-out basket cases
Nervous wrecks is the plural of nervous wreck—a person in a state of extreme anxiety or agitation.
The metaphor compares someone's mental state to physical wreckage: We were nervous wrecks waiting for the test results.
Despite the dramatic imagery, the phrase is common and casual, not clinical.
- panickyOvercome by sudden fear
- anxiousTroubled by uncertainty
- uneasyTroubled, not calm
- restlessUnable to be still
- fretfulAnxiously irritable
jittery · shaking · shaky hands · overwrought · hysterical · neurotics · sweating · high-strung · tense · edgy · apprehensive · walking on eggshells · falling apart · worriers · hopelessness · basket cases · jumpy · dread
- anxiety suffererspanic attack sufferers, agoraphobics, worriers, phobics, neurotics
nervous wreckscalm and collected
Emotionally steady, unflustered
unflappable · serene · composed · tranquil · placid
nervous wrecksnerves of steel
Exceptional calm under pressure
rocks · resilient · unshakeable · tough cookies · sturdy
nervous wrecksself-assured
Trusting in oneself
poised · assured · confident · self-possessed · unworried
nervous, nerve, nerves, nerved, nerving, nervously, nervousness, neural, neuron