7 Signs You’re Overstimulated That You’ve Probably Normalized

I'm not here to tell you that you have a disorder or that something is wrong with you.

I just want to ask you to notice something.

Because a lot of us have been moving at this pace for so long, we don't even clock how much noise we're carrying anymore. It just feels like a Tuesday.

So here are 7 things that might be more normal for you than you'd like them to be.

1. Your brain starts working before your body does.

Your eyes open and you're already three thoughts deep into today's to-do list. Who needs something from you. What didn't get finished yesterday. What's on fire before 8 am. You haven't even sat up yet and already you're behind.

2. Every empty moment gets filled.

Waiting in line? Phone. Eating lunch? Phone. Sitting on the couch? TV and phone. Walking somewhere? Podcast in your ears. Taking a poo? Phone. There's almost no space in your day where it's just you and your own thoughts.

3. Doing nothing makes you uncomfortable.

You finally get an hour with nothing in it, and instead of enjoying it, you start mentally scanning for what you "should" be doing with it.

4. Most of your energy goes to everyone else's needs.

By the time you get around to asking yourself what you need, there's nothing left in the tank to answer honestly.

5. You're tired, but you can't actually settle.

Your body stopped moving hours ago. Your mind didn't get the memo.

6. You've started calling distraction "rest"

Scrolling for an hour might pull your attention off your stress for a while. But ask yourself honestly - after you put the phone down, do you feel restored? Or just stimulated in a different direction?

7. You keep waiting for life to slow down first.

"Once this week calms down”

“Once this project's done”

“Once things settle"

Except there's always another deadline, another notification, another person who needs you. Eventually you realize something uncomfortable - life is probably not going to hand you the space. You're going to have to take it.

I see this constantly - in my own life and in the people around me. Overwhelmed and overstimulated has quietly become the default setting for so many of us, and I'd love for people to know it's okay to slow down. Rest is productive. It's not something you have to earn first.

That's not just something I believe as a Reiki practitioner or a breathwork facilitator. I've spent years in healthcare, watching how much the body and mind pay for a life that never gets to exhale. I believe in conventional medicine, I still practice in the hospital, but I've also seen its limits. There's a piece of healing that medicine alone doesn't reach, and that's the piece I try to hold space for here.

If you found yourself nodding along to move than a couple of these, share this page. And tonight, instead of trying to fix anything, just notice. Notice how many times you automatically reach for more stimulation, out of habit rather than actual need (cause let's be honest - do we really need to doom scroll while we're taking a shit?!).

You don't have to wait until you're completely depleted to create space for yourself. That's part of what I love about the work I do at Stella Luna Soul. My private Reiki and breathwork sessions are spaces where, for once, you don't have to accomplish anything for anyone else.