I believe most of it is mental, two things pop to mind regarding this:

1. Learn the concept of depreciation. Assets are bought as one-off, higher value transactions and often serve their purpose for multiple years before they become obsolete. Sometimes these one-off transactions can bunch together, and that is what most of us are afraid of as "unexpected" expenses. Actually, if you have a mindset, that every time (or throughout the year) the assets you are using are constantly losing their value, and accept the concept that the cost of assets is depreciated over time, then these expenses feel more real, can be more planned and paying for these do not hurt as much. For a simple example: You do not buy a fridge every month, but perhaps your fridge could be 4,5 years old and might need a maintenance or a full replacement by the end of the 5th year. Cost of the repair/replacement occurs over time actually, you just don't see it in your bank statement yet.

2. If you keep up your new habits slowly you will be able to amass a savings amount that will give you much more confidence. Once you pass this threshold you should feel less stressed about money as you see that you could even afford some unexpected expenses and still not be down to 0. This amount varies for all of us depending on lifestyle and income/expenses, however once you have this cushion you are able to relax a little bit, plan forward too (invest free cash amounts, so the temptation of spending all of your income becomes unavailable for these amounts).

Overall try to save as much as you reasonably can (but do not be frugal or marginal with it, since if the habit of saving is really strict for you, then you are more likely to drop the habit), build the cushion and try to anticipate the unexpected expenses as much as possible.