It does not always look dramatic. No one is running or shouting. Sometimes it is just sitting still, staring at nothing, while your mind refuses to slow down. Thought after thought, stacking, overlapping, turning small things into something heavier than they should be.
You replay conversations. Things you said. Things you did not say. You imagine outcomes that have not even happened yet, and somehow your body reacts like they already have. Your chest feels tight. Your breathing shifts. Everything becomes a little too much, even when nothing is really happening.
From the outside, everything looks normal. But inside, it feels like noise that will not switch off. Even rest does not feel like rest because your mind is still working, still searching for something to fix or control.
You try to distract yourself. Phone, music, anything to break the loop. Sometimes it works. Sometimes it does not.
And people will say “just relax” like it is that simple.