Not Everything That Feels Urgent Needs Your Attention
You can't stop thinking about it. That doesn't mean it's real.
Whatever you’re worrying about, it feels urgent.
Something needs to be resolved right now.
Your mind is pulling all kinds of images, scenarios, conversations, etc, etc. And it’s never the cheerful ones, is it?
What if this happens? What if I said the wrong thing? Are they mad at me?
And because your body can’t tell the difference between an imagined threat and a real one, it responds as if something is actually happening.
So you think more, harder, faster.
Which only fuels the overthinking machine and extends the duration of the “crisis”.
There’s one thought that changed things for me:
The fear is real. But the danger is not.
Even if the mind is thrashing, trying to fight the waves of worry, the reality is that nothing has gone wrong yet.
Overthinking is nothing but a desperate attempt to swim back to the shores of safety.
If we can manage to say,
“I’m noticing that I’m rehearsing disasters,”
or
“This feels urgent, but nothing is happening right now,”
the desperate swimming can stop.
Enough to float and breathe and realize: I’m already okay enough to pause.
And remember, safety can only come from believing this thought:
I’m able to face whatever actually ends up happening.
Repeat it to yourself like a mantra. It doesn’t matter if you don’t fully believe it yet.
It works ✨
Tell me: What are you currently in “rehearsal mode” about?
If you’re going through something right now and wish you had a calm, supportive space to think it through, I do offer 1:1 sessions. Fill out this short form and let’s have a chat about it.