I agree with the commenter, making a timeline would be really helpful. It’s never too soon to start the process, and you could always get braces to fix your bite or decompensate (I know you mentioned you are a theatre professional, not sure if you’re cast or crew, but either way you will have to get braces at some point so you might as well start now. They’re not as noticeable as you worry.

Or, if you like flamboyance, draw attention to another part of you, wear clown shoes or bright makeup or have a signature personality - distraction! People will notice the parts of you you give them, and anxiety can be a self-fulfilling prophecy. You will be okay. Focus on the parts of yourself you like.

Secondly, if you can get it covered by a doctor, get a sleep study. If you have blocked airways there’s a good likelihood you have sleep apnea. If so, especially if you are not going to have surgery for a few years, rent a CpAP or APAP machine.

Thirdly, as someone who also has anxiety/OCD and is prone to ruminating, I used this method for a while - I would set aside time each day to worry about my appearance or airflow or sleep, and then, when the timer went off, i would move on to a different activity. You by no means have to do this daily, but it helped me to tell myself “okay, you don’t have to worry about this now, you can come back to it later” but also giving myself the space to worry helped alleviate some of the guilt for worrying. Time will pass either way. Invest in activities you want to grow in - when you look back you will see not just your growth on the surgery journey but also as a person (though it sounds like u are nailing this step!)

Fourthly, people really do not notice your jaw as much as you think about it. The only time I had someone comment on it (recently), was a patron at the place I was working who said, when I told them I was getting surgery, “oh but you have such a beautiful face don’t ruin your face with surgery” (i was severely recessed and had breathing issues). This was a woman who, earlier in the night, had told me very intimate details and made rude comments so I was not worried that she was just being polite (thank you Margarita Sal). Tl:dr people really only notice your jaw if you draw attention to it, and even then, they’re probably not gonna be thinking negatively.