I catch myself shaking my head and physically cringing multiple times per day. Just me or is this universal?

My wife asks me if I’m okay constantly throughout the day—not because anything new has happened, but because I’ll suddenly stiffen, shake my head, or let out an involuntary shudder while staring off into the distance. It’s just part of the routine at this point. A loop I can’t seem to break.

The triggers aren’t even clear half the time. Maybe it’s regret, maybe it’s an intrusive thought, maybe it’s just my brain tripping over itself and landing face-first into the same pit it dug years ago. There’s no way to know. I’ll be in the middle of something totally normal, and suddenly, my own mind yanks me into a spiral like it’s got a sick sense of humor.

It’s like being in an escape room designed by my own brain, except instead of clues, there are just looping regrets, misplaced confidence, and a constant, nagging awareness that my entire thought process is a self-laid trap. I cringe at my own mental gymnastics daily—sometimes it’s an internal wince, sometimes it’s a full-body flinch in public that makes strangers question my life choices.

So yeah, anyone else?