Have you actually tried not overthinking?!

Seriously. People say “just don’t overthink it” like it’s the same thing as not burning the toast or remembering where you left your phone. As if not overthinking is a switch you just… flip.

I swear my brain has an entire department dedicated to making sure I’m always quietly panicking about something. Not loud panic… the socially acceptable kind that looks like “I’m just tired” on the outside, but on the inside I’m running 37 simulations of every possible outcome of next Tuesday’s dentist appointment.

It’s like my mind is allergic to peace.

Even when I have a plan. Even when I have the stupid thing already scheduled. Even when the reminder is set, the task is assigned, and nothing needs to be done for three more days… my thoughts still hover like a helicopter parent waiting for danger. “But what if?” becomes a sport. An Olympic event I didn’t sign up for but apparently train relentlessly for daily.

And then when I try to not think about it? When I try to relax and breathe and just sit in a moment like a normal human being? My brain is like, “Oh no… something must be wrong. She isn’t worrying. Quick — invent a new crisis!”

Why does rest feel like I’m doing something illegal?

Why is my body convinced that anxiety = productivity?

Why does silence mean something is about to explode?

I get so used to scanning for problems that peace feels like a mistake.

And the worst part? It’s exhausting. Overthinking is a full-time job with no paycheck and awful management. It keeps me up at night replaying conversations that happened three years ago. It interrupts perfectly good moments with stress about imaginary future nonsense. It takes joy, spins it around a few times, and asks, “But have you considered how this could go terribly wrong?”

And then - here’s the kicker - when the thing I worried about doesn’t happen? My brain takes credit. “See? Because we planned every detail and ran every scenario. You’re welcome.”

Like… shut the fuck up. Please.

I don’t want to be the person who’s always “on.” I don’t want to live like a fire alarm that never shuts off. I’m tired. I want the kind of peace that doesn’t feel suspicious. I want to chill on the couch without mentally solving world hunger. I want my gut to unclench long enough for me to enjoy a show without thinking about my inbox or that one bill or that one thing I already handled, twice.

I want to trust that future-me can handle the thing when the time actually comes.

I want my mind to believe it doesn’t have to micro-manage the universe.

But then I sit there and think… is not worrying even responsible? Am I being careless if I’m calm? What if I relax and something slips through the cracks and it’s all my fault and—

There it goes again. Overthinking about not overthinking.

If you’re also someone whose mind is a relentless little hamster sprinting on a wheel even when you’re trying to be a calm, reasonable adult… hi.

Pull up a chair.

You’re my people.

No advice today.

No neat conclusion.

No “here’s the fix.”

Just honesty and a little venting from someone who is actively trying to unwind her soul and thinks maybe she’s doing it wrong because it feels weird.

If you get it - if you also feel weird when things are okay - I’m right there with you.

Can anyone else relate?