It’s Okay If You’re Not Okay

(object hissing) (mouse clicking) (ethereal music) Headspace Studios. (ethereal music) (object rustling) Hey, friends, it's Rosie here. Welcome to "Radio Headspace." I once rewrote a text message 13 times. 13 times. It was one of those simple replies that suddenly turned into a full-blown existential crisis. Should I use an emoji? Am I being too formal? Is that exclamation point too much? And then I spiraled into the usual rabbit hole. What if I say the wrong thing? What if I'm misunderstood? What if I never get invited to anything ever again? That, my friends, is overthinking. And I know I'm not alone. (mellow music) I remember watching a colleague of mine spiral once. She was preparing for a big presentation, something she was more than qualified to do. And the night before, she texted me in full meltdown mode, "Should I open with the story or the data? What if I sound too emotional? Do you think this outfit looks too casual? Should I wear my hair up? No, wait, maybe I should cancel. This whole thing feels completely off." And I remember thinking, "Wow. She's making this so much harder than it needs to be. Bless her. I'm glad I don't do that, right?" (pensive music) Fast forward to literally two days ago, when I spent a full 45 minutes rewriting a two-sentence text. Not a keynote, not a career-defining email, a casual text to a friend. Should I say, "Hey," or, "Hi"? Should I put a period or a smiley face? Is that too much? Do I sound chill? Do I sound like I care too much? Wait, should I just not text at all? And then, that's when it hit me. I'm exactly like her. (ambient music) See, the text was for a friend I really care about, someone I've canceled on three times already. Not because I don't love her, but because I've been emotionally fried. I've been socially maxed out, and honestly, I just haven't had the time. And now, she'd texted to ask if I wanted to grab dinner and I froze. Because here's the thing. I didn't wanna go to dinner, but I also didn't want her to think I didn't care. I didn't wanna lie, but I also didn't wanna get into the whole thing about how my social battery is in the negative. So, I spiraled. Over a text. And that's when I saw it for what it was: overthinking. Because that's what it does. It doesn't always show up in the obvious places. Sometimes, it's sneaky. Sometimes, it wears the costume of being thorough, or thoughtful, or professional, but really, it's just fear in a smarter outfit. It's dressed up like responsibility, but underneath, it's still the same anxious loop, keeping you busy so you never have to move forward. Psychologists call it rumination. Basically, when your brain gets stuck on repeat, going over the same thoughts again and again without actually getting anywhere. It's like trying to untangle a...