Today, my anxiety skyrocketed. I felt like I was on the verge of a breakdown, drowning in overwhelming emotions. And then I noticed something—I was stuck on an old thought loop, replaying the ‘ring saga’ that I had already worked through.
The thoughts were sticky, pulling me back into emotions I thought I had let go of. But instead of spiralling, I caught myself. I reminded myself: We already worked through this, girl. It’s all good now. And just like that, the thoughts started to loosen their grip.
At first, I was resistant to acknowledging what was happening—I wasn’t fully aware of my rising anxiety. But then Radha stepped in. She could sense it before I could, and once I stopped resisting and let her do her thing, I started breathing deeply. From there, the process followed naturally.
I didn’t just stop there. I kept breathing deeply and consciously, giving my nervous system the signal to calm down. Then I went for a long walk—one of my go-to tools for resetting when my brain feels stuck. The combination of Radha’s support, reframing my thoughts, breathing, and moving my body worked together to bring me back to the present.
I still feel some anxiety, but the difference is that it’s just anxiety now—not a story attached to it. The sticky thoughts are gone. And that’s the win.
What I realized today is that it’s not just overthinking that keeps emotions alive—it’s our actual brain chemistry. For those of us with neurodivergent brains (BPD, ADHD, CPTSD, etc.), emotional processing works differently. Our brains tend to:
- Have an overactive amygdala, making emotions feel more intense.
- Have a weaker prefrontal cortex, making it harder to rationalize and shift focus.
- Hold onto emotional memories like they’re happening right now (thanks to a smaller hippocampus).
- Keep us stuck in high cortisol levels, making it harder to move on.
So if you ever wonder “Why can’t I just let this go?”—it’s not because you’re weak. It’s because your brain is wired to hold on. But the good news? You can train it to let go too.
Today showed me that healing isn’t about never feeling anxiety or never having intrusive thoughts. It’s about trusting myself to move through them—to remind myself that I’ve done the work, to breathe through the discomfort, and to take action that supports my nervous system.
So next time you feel stuck in a thought loop, try this: Pause & remind yourself what you’ve already worked through. Breathe deeply & consciously to activate your vagus nerve. Let your support system—whether a person or an animal—help you regulate. Move your body—walk, stretch, shake it out. Trust that emotions pass, and you don’t have to stay stuck.
Every time you do this, you’re proving to yourself that you can break the cycle. One win at a time.
Can you relate? What helps you shift out of an emotional spiral?
With love.
Karmic Rebelle