Your mind never fully switches off. A lot of your thoughts revolve around trying to prevent something from going wrong. You constantly overthink, prepare, control and stay alert, because deep down you don’t feel safe.

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You try to appear calm, confident and relaxed, while inside you often feel overwhelmed and insecure. You don’t want people to notice how much is actually going on inside of you.

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You want to finally feel seen for everything you do, for everything you carry,

for how hard you try. And still, it somehow never feels like enough.

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Your phone is the first thing you reach for in the morning. You know it’s not helping you, but it feels automatic at this point. Like your nervous system immediately needs stimulation

before the day even begins.

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There is this constant inner restlessness. You feel exhausted, overstimulated and emotionally drained, but even when you try to rest, your body doesn’t fully relax.

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People start to feel overwhelming. You get irritated more quickly, feel emotionally reactive and sometimes take your stress out on the people around you without even wanting to.

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There is also this quiet emptiness inside of you. And no matter how much you try to fill it by doing more, achieving more, scrolling more or distracting yourself, it never fully goes away.

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Your body feels tense almost all the time. Your breathing is shallow, sometimes you even hold your breath without noticing. And the more pressure you feel, the more disconnected you become from yourself.

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Speaking in front of others or fully expressing yourself can feel uncomfortable. Your body tightens, your nervous system becomes alert and instead of feeling relaxed, you feel like you have to manage yourself the entire time.

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