Is there a single word for someone who gets worried and anxious very fast, usually over silly things? An adjective that can be used to fill in the blank in:
My mother is very _______
I want to tell my mother about my flight tonight, but, you know, she is __________ and will lose her sleep worrying over my safety.
This is a noun, but such a person is a worrywart. It is frequently used to describe loved ones who are overly concerned about your well being. It fits perfectly into your example sentences.
My mother is a worrywart.
I want to tell my mother about my flight tonight, but, you know, she is a worrywart and will lose sleep worrying over my safety.
This word is very informal, but not derisive. It typically implies some measure of affection.
The expression is used mainly in American English.
1956, from comic strip "Out Our Way" by U.S. cartoonist J.R. Williams (1888-1957). According to those familiar with the strip, Worry Wart was the name of a character who caused others to worry, which is the inverse of the current colloquial meaning.
(Etymonline)
This state of mind has a rich tradition in Victorian times, where upper-class females had little to spend their time on. An entirely appropriate term for it would be high-strung.
Having an extremely nervous or sensitive temperament.
"I'm not blaming my kid, but she's very high-strung."
Reference:
https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/high-strung
'Neurotic' is another word that would fit. Like 'paranoid' it has, or had, a strict mental health definition, and a looser idiomatic one, implying a tendency to worry excessively over little things.
Edit: Interestingly there is more emphasis on the medical aspect in the Br Eng definition in the Cambridge:
Br: behaving strangely or in an anxious (= worried and nervous) way, often >because you have a mental illness
US: related to or having unreasonable anxiety or unusual behavior
Not a single word, of course, but you could say your mother is a nervous Nellie.
From Merriam-Webster:
: a timid or worrisome person
...
My sister is a real nervous Nellie when it comes to flying.
Or, in your example sentence:
I want to tell my mother about my flight tonight, but, you know, she is a nervous Nellie and will lose sleep worrying over my safety.
Over apprehensive is a term you can use in the context you are describing:
- Anxious or fearful that something bad or unpleasant will happen:
- ‘he felt apprehensive about going home’
(ODO)
Paranoid should work here.
Unreasonably or obsessively anxious, suspicious, or mistrustful (Oxford)
I hope I'm correct in assuming that you want a word which describes the nature of someone being worried easily, not a word to describe their current state of worry.
As in:
I hope my mother doesn't find out how risky this is, she's paranoid. = (She's not worried right now, but she will be if she learns of this; that's her nature.)
EDIT: As is common knowledge, I hope, the word paranoid refers to a mental disorder in its primary sense. However, its usage in the metaphorical sense is quite common, and doesn't necessarily imply that you think she suffers from this illness. (English is littered with metaphorical usages of medical conditions, with varying degrees of social acceptance: "Are you blind?" "Are you deaf?" "Are you insane?").
The more noteworthy thing here is what @Peter points out in the comments: that the word is also used metaphorically in a different sense -- to suggest a fear of persecution.
In any case, like thousands of other words with multiple meanings, I don't think you'll have any trouble getting your meaning across, given the proper context.
I advise the detractors to familiarize themselves with the concept of Etymological fallacy.
The word can be 'Jittery' or 'Restive' There are many simple words which fit the exact same description.
My mother is very jittery.
My Mother is very restive.
My Mother is very nervous.
P.S. Use a phrase instead.
Actually, there are so many simple words in English that mean exactly what you're looking for that I don't even find it very practical to list them all here except for a couple of the most commonly used ones.
My mother is very jumpy.
My mother is very edgy.
It's not a perfect definitional fit, but frantic is the exact word I'd use for my mother, er, your mother.
The exact definition is more active, rather than prone to the feeling. Typically, you will see something like "we were frantically searching ..." However, I find
My mother is very frantic
or
My mother is a frantic person
quite fitting.
The word that my mother would use to describe such a person is panicky. That is, prone to "panic."
From Merriam Webster:
Definition of flighty
...
2 : lacking stability or steadiness:
a : easily upset : volatile <a flighty temper> b : easily excited : skittish <a flighty horse> c : capricious, sillyExamples of flighty in a sentence:
"an actress who specializes in playing silly, flighty women"
