ARE needless thoughts racing through your head 24/7 or could your anxious brain be doing more? Find out with this quiz.
It’s a new day, what’s your morning routine?
A) Shower, brush your teeth, chuck on some clothes then head to work. All done in an unhurried 45 minutes, with time left over for a scroll of your phone.
B) Getting stuck in the paralysing decision of whether to wear white or black socks. The former goes better with your jeans but the latter looks more professional. You feel there should be manuals for this sort of dilemma.
You’re worried about an important work meeting. Do you…
A) Remind yourself that you’re a capable adult with years of experience who was hired for a reason. It’ll probably go so well you’ll get a promotion.
B) Imagine the worst possible outcome so vividly you’re practically causing it to manifest. You may as well piss yourself and say something horribly stupid or racist the moment you sit down, because it’s going to happen anyway.
Your partner hasn’t messaged you in a few hours, what does that mean?
A) They’re busy at work, or maybe they don’t have anything worth saying at the minute. It’s perfectly normal, and in fact something of a relief not to be in constant contact.
B) They’re obviously cheating with all of their colleagues at once in a massive sweaty orgy. There is no other logical explanation. Except that they’re dead. One of the two.
An embarrassing memory comes to mind. How do you react?
A) Laugh it off and chalk it up to the folly of youth. Nobody’s perfect, and it’s these little mishaps which define a person’s character. It would be more worrying if you’d never put a foot wrong.
B) Fixate on it for three hours. Analyse it from every angle and thoroughly ruminate on how you’re the worst, stupidest person in human history. Why can’t you be flawless like everyone else?
The long day is over. How do you relax?
A) Maybe swing by the pub for a quick pint with your mates, or head to the cinema if there’s a timely screening of The Substance. You’ve heard it’s meant to be really good.
B) Relax? You’ve heard of this word, but you can’t figure out what it means, even with examples. Once you get home you’ll do what you always do: nervously perch on the edge of your sofa and frantically reflect on everything you did wrong today.
ANSWERS
Mostly As: You are disturbingly well-balanced and have never overthought anything in your life. Perhaps a little bit of overthinking, like wondering if you’ve left the oven on, would do you good. It would certainly make other nervous wrecks feel less weird.
Mostly Bs: You’re overthinking too much. Or are you? Perhaps worrying about real issues you can do something about, like your pension, would be a better use of your time. Nah. Drink some coffee and have a panic attack, it’s the only sensible thing to do.
