How to Untangle Anxious Thoughts When the “What Ifs” Take Over

Do you ever catch yourself running through every possible, what if scenario in your head, what if I fail, what if they leave, what if I can't handle this, what if I mess up? I think this cycle of thinking is exhausting, don't you? And the good news is, you don't have to stay trapped in it. So today, I want to walk you through how this cycle works and how you can begin to untangle it with God at the center. Coming up on the last few weeks to get myself a course, untangle your thoughts at 38% off to celebrate my 38th birthday this month. So this course is really for you if you're tired of overthinking, you're tired of the self-doubt, you're tired of these what ifs, the thought loops, the negative thinking, and you're just emotionally exhausted. I think you're probably trying to stay positive, you're trying to quote all the right scriptures and your mind just keeps spiraling. So I'm going to tell you, you don't need more information, you just need tools to actually make a difference in your daily life. So the untangle your thoughts course is a self-paced course and it's really there to help you learn simple, powerful tools to reframe and renew your thoughts. It's there to help you get to the root of your beliefs about yourself, others, and God. And most importantly, it's about learning who God created you to be with confidence, peace, and clarity so that you can stop overthinking and actually start living a life that has peace where a mind isn't always spiraling or thinking negative. You don't have to have some spiritual band-aid fix anymore. You just need a real breakthrough with real application. Head to the show notes. So wherever you're listening to this podcast, go back to the show notes. So go back to the episode and below, you're going to read the description and everything those are the show notes. Click on the link and it's going to take you right to the 38% off so that you can save and get started today of renewing your mind and overcoming those negative thoughts. The deeper I get into my own healing journey, the further I go with the Lord, I realize that so much of what I think about isn't just like these random things. Yes, the enemy pick you back off of what I offer up, fears, things like that, but he can't read my mind. Only the Lord knows the intense of my heart, the thoughts of my mind. So these what ifs that we're thinking, they're not always random. And they follow a cycle that often keeps us stuck in fear, but the good news is that with Christ, we can really start to break these loops. And oh, for me personally, when I walking through trauma healing and was realized, I don't call it diagnosis, but just the fact that I had complex PTSD and complex trauma and things like that in working with somebody was these what ifs. And I wasn't really aware of this. Like when you've had trauma and things like that, like the what if scenario or if you have high anxiety, the what if scenario. And they really started showing up in my own trauma healing. And they were probably always there, but my mind was way more aware of it. And I just think it's the mercy and goodness of the Lord to reveal things when we feel like we're ready and our character can handle it. And so for me, a lot of the what ifs started showing up when I actually started to physically process what was happening not just mentally, but physically process what was happening in my body. So the brain's main job is to keep you safe. And so when there's this sense of uncertainty or remembers past pain specifically, it just turns on the amygdala. And that's our fear center. And the amygdala will send out alerts to your body. Well, what if this happens again? What if I fail? What if I lose control? Those what if statements actually trigger that fight or flight response inside of us. But even though there's no actual danger, the energy has nowhere to go. So it just loops as mental what ifs. And the thing about it is is if you keep feeding the what ifs, they just stay around longer and they get bigger and they continue to transform because something only reproduces after it's kind, right? So if we're feeding what ifs, we're feeding fear, more fear is going to multiply. So in short, it's your brain is predicting possible danger to prepare you. That's really what it's doing. It's saying, Hey, we've been in pain before. Now your body is saying, I need to keep you safe. Now it starts to play that what if scenario around the past pain point that you've had? The thing about what ifs though is that they make you feel like you're solving a problem. So you might not even realize that these what ifs scenarios, they're not really negative. You might not think of them as that way. And they make you feel like you're thinking you're like, okay, what if this happens? Like you feel like you're planning. And I use that in quotations. And really, and now I'm going to break this open for you is you're seeking control over the uncontrollable. And when something feels outside of our control, meaning we don't know what's going to happen, we don't know what this going to look like. That fear often tied to a belief about ourselves starts thinking about it, which thinks that it's doing something about it. So if I can play every possible scenario in my head, it makes me feel like I'm doing something about it. And that again becomes ritual walls for your brain to continue to scan. It's a mental ritual that is constantly scanning for for threats because it wants to try to prevent disappointment or pain before it happens. And this is why my friend, mental exhaustion and anxiety happen one way. I'm not going to say the only way. Of course. So what if thoughts often show up when you experience unpredictable or unsafe situation situations in the past, especially somebody like me who has complex PTSD or complex trauma in the past where it's trauma, loss, betrayal, and you never really process through that physically, what it meant, all of that. And you learn that being prepared, equaled, being safe. And so that you struggle with that self trust, which really is trusting God. So your mind tries to anticipate everything to avoid being caught off guard. The what ifs are really the nervous system saying, I don't feel safe here. Can you reassure me? Can you reassure me that everything's going to be okay? And if we look at it again from a biblical lens, these what if thoughts reveal a battle between this fear and trust? Fear says, what if I can't handle it? And faith answers even if God will be with me and we're going to get into that. And it really reveals to us how we're relying on our own understanding versus trusting God where is our trust with God. But most importantly in this when we are aware of it is we don't want to shame ourselves. This isn't sin. This is always an invitation. So there's signals pointing to where your trust has been shaken. The thing I like about what ifs and even if is a difference in energy and I want us to pay attention to this. If you start to have what if thoughts remember that what if comes from fear and prediction. So what if I become this? What if I mess up? What if this feeling never goes away? What if this pain never goes away? And even if comes in with trust and grounding. So even if this thought comes back, I know who I am. Even if this pain takes longer to heal, God, I know that you're with me. Lean into this because I want you to hear the difference. What if seeks control? Even if creates safety. With my 101 coaching clients and inside of myself pace course, it is so important for me to help women see the relationship with God impacts the relationship with themselves. Period. So what if and even if can be hard if we don't trust that God is even good, let alone good to us. And if you've ever experienced that, I highly recommend you getting my course this month at 38% off or if you feel like you want a more in depth 101 experience, sign up for a free consultation today for us to work through that. But the biblical truth, let's look at some of that Matthew 634, do not worry about tomorrow. Jesus is inviting us to step out of the spiral. He's literally saying, let us not worry about this right now. So I'm 46, 10, be still and know that I'm God. So this is means that stillness breaks the loop. We're not forcing the loop. We're not working for performance. Daniel 318. But even if he does not, trusting God shifts the what if into and even if. Now I want to talk about how to break this cycle. And this can be breaking the cycle just as much as a negative thought. But a lot of this is about taking thoughts captive. Before we get to that point, it's, am I even aware that I'm having what it thoughts so much is on autopilot in our brains and in our mind that we don't even know or think we're just believing everything that comes our way. So at the trigger, We have to notice it. And usually it's like, I'm starting the what ifs right now. So we need to recognize like here are the what ifs. Because again, this comes to interrupting it. And we have to say, oh, the what ifs are here right now. I feel myself thinking what if this happens? So then at that thought, we want to swap it. We want to move from what if to even if. Okay. Now, you're also going to have a physical reaction typically to that what if because that can feed anxiousness. The worry because worry is something that you don't have control of. You're you're worrying about what could happen. So we want to ground yourself. You want to breathe at that spiral. Go ahead pause, like write it down. Get it out of your head on onto paper. And at that exhaustion point, we want to rest with God. Because you are not powerless. You're not. You can break in anywhere during that thought loop and go, huh, I don't need to think this. And this isn't I'm not trying to oversimplify this. Please hear me. This is a podcast episode. So there are layers. So I can't always address them in an episode that is 15 minutes long. But again, what if comes from fear and prediction? Even if comes from trust regarding. So again, what if seeks control, even if creates safety? So again, let me just recap. So what ifs follow a loop trigger thought body spiral exhaustion mental exhaustion. So you can break that loop at any point because God gives us the tools to be able to pause. Anchor, he tells us that he's not given us a spirit of fear, but of but of love. And mine the ability to think rationally. And that means that peace doesn't come from controlling outcomes. It comes from the presence with Christ. So if you're realizing this cycle is part of your daily life and you're ready to learn how to consistently break through, this is where I help my women with one on one coaching and inside of my course and tingle your thoughts. We do take these thoughts are these concepts deeper. And most importantly, just give you a personalized tools to break the cycle because you don't have to stay stuck. You do not have to stay stuck. The what if thoughts have meaning and they're telling you something. Now we need to slow down and ask ourselves and reframe it and change it to even if. As always, don't forget to challenge the way you think, to change the way you live. I hope you love today's episode. I pray that it challenged you to see the goodness of God in your life and that whatever you are going through, God is with you and not punishing you. Share this episode with someone who has been praying for a mental breakthrough. Sometimes all we need is someone explaining something in a new and fresh way to get that breakthrough. Also, would you take 30 seconds to leave me a rating and review? It brings me so much joy to read them. And it's a way that lets me know you're enjoying the podcast. Lastly, go get my free three day study on how to deal with emotions in a biblical way. Psalm 1819 reminds me of this. God delivers you because he delights in you. Don't forget that. I'll see you in a few days. [BLANK_AUDIO]