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Can I be honest? I’ve been caught in some mental quicksand lately. You know the kind—where a single, offhand comment loops in your head for hours. Or a choice you already made two days ago suddenly feels like a trapdoor you might fall through.

It’s wild how fast our brains can spiral. One small thing becomes a whole thing. And before you know it, you’re emotionally exhausted—and all you did was sit on the couch, thinking.

Why We Do This (Especially Right Now)

I don’t think it’s just us being “too sensitive” or “too anxious.”

I think the world right now is… a lot. The news cycles. The wars. The elections. The constant buzz of things we can’t control. There’s this low, humming baseline of dread that many of us have learned to live with- and when we can’t do anything about the big things, our minds cling to the little ones.

Like:

• That awkward reply you sent.

• That slightly-too-long pause in conversation.

• That “maybe I shouldn’t have said that” feeling you can’t shake.

We overthink because we’re trying to create safety in our heads when the world outside feels chaotic. And I get it. I really do. But at some point, it stops protecting us… and starts draining us.

The Truth I Keep Coming Back To

Sometimes, it’s just not that deep.

Not everything is a crisis. Not every choice is life-altering. Not every feeling needs a five-paragraph essay and an emergency therapy session.

Sometimes:

• You’re just tired.

• The other person wasn’t even thinking about it.

• Your brain needed something to chew on, so it made a meal out of a crumb.

What Overthinking Steals From Us

It’s sneaky, right? Because it feels like doing something. But in reality, it can rob us of:

• Rest: Even when we’re “off,” our brains stay busy.

• Presence: Hard to enjoy the sunset when you’re replaying a convo from Tuesday.

• Joy: It’s hard to feel good when your thoughts are always picking things apart.

• Energy: Emotional spirals are exhausting. You don’t need to be on the treadmill and in your head.

How I’m Gently Shifting the Pattern

No shame here! I’m still very much a recovering overthinker. But here are a few things that have been helping lately:

• 🌀 Name it in the moment: Sometimes I literally say out loud, “Okay brain, I see you. But this might not be that deep.” Naming it gives me enough distance to pause the spiral.

• 🧍‍♀️ Get into my body: Stretch. Walk. Shake it out. Anything that gets me out of my head and into sensation. Overthinking lives in the mind—moving helps me come back into the moment.

• 📱 Interrupt the loop: I’ll switch tasks, play music, do a mindless chore like dishes or laundry. The point isn’t productivity—it’s redirection.

• 💬 Phone a friend: Not to spiral together, but to connect. Sometimes a 10-minute check-in with someone who knows me resets everything.

• ✍️ Journal it out, then leave it: I’ll set a timer for 10 minutes, brain-dump everything I’m obsessing over, and close the notebook. It doesn’t need to be solved today, it just needs to be out of my brain.

Your journal prompt for today:

What’s one thing I’ve been overthinking lately? What would it feel like to give myself permission to stop? What does the loop look like, and how can I pause the spiral? You don’t have to fix it. You don’t have to come up with a better plan.

You can just notice it, name it, and soften your grip.

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We’re not wired to be “on” all the time.
And in a world that constantly pokes at our nervous systems (from the global to the deeply personal) overthinking is often our mind’s attempt to feel safer. But your peace matters too. And sometimes, peace looks like whispering:

“Hey, it’s okay. It’s not that deep. You can let this one go.”

I hope you find tiny windows of quiet this week. A moment of stillness. A belly laugh. A small reminder that not every thought deserves your energy. And that you don’t need to hold it all.

With love and a little mental spaciousness,
rorrie 🌱