Last week I had one of those days.
The kind where it feels like all the little doubts you normally keep neatly tucked away suddenly collide into one big manure pile of solid poop.
My pastor used to call it stinking thinking.
I’m way past the monthly PMS chaos. Honestly, menopause and HRT have stabilized my hormones in a way I’ve never experienced before. I’m a pretty calm and steady gal these days.
Except, apparently, when I forget to order my estrogen and go without it for five days.
Then, not so steady Freddy.
Last Monday, I was eagerly awaiting my estrogen in the mail. What I may have forgotten was that I also needed a little extra grace that day.
I woke up convinced my face was wrong. My hair was too long. Basically, the entire situation from the neck up needed immediate intervention.
So naturally, I called my daughter and asked for a haircut.
I had literally been in the salon five days earlier getting a new color and hairstyle that I loved. So this must have come as somewhat of a surprise to her.
But why stop at hair?
Within a few hours, I had also decided I couldn’t write anymore.
I wasn’t good at anything.
And I was probably going to end up like some dried up old spinster from a Jane Austin novel.
There was exactly zero evidence supporting this theory. My relationship is wonderful and my safety net of family and friends is wide. But apparently my estrogen-deprived brain was not interested in evidence.
It was interested in building a case.
By 10 a.m., I had managed to mentally dismantle my appearance, career, all relationships and general usefulness to society.
I haven’t spiraled like that in probably 20 years.
Thanks a lot, estrogen.
Then my writing partner called.
He could hear it in my voice immediately and asked what was wrong. And it all came spilling out. Every irrational fear, every insecurity, every ridiculous conclusion I’d managed to reach before most people finished their second cup of coffee.
He listened to my teary confession and snotty hiccups and then asked if he could pray for me.
Of course I said yes.
And something shifted.
Clearly not every problem in my life vanished. To be fair, I don’t even have any major problems right now. It was that suddenly I could see the difference between an actual problem and the gloomy little cloud I’d created in my own head.
It reminded me of something I sometimes forget:
Spiritual warfare is real.
And apparently, hormones are too.
I had woken up overthinking everything and spent the morning basically torturing myself with thoughts that weren’t even true.
But once I brought God into the picture, things started to clear.
I spent the rest of that day praying scripture and reminding myself of who God says I am instead of listening to the unreliable narrator living inside my head.
And because God has a droll sense of humor, my estrogen arrived that very afternoon.
I got back on track, and within a day or two, I felt completely normal again.
But the experience stayed with me.
It reminded me of the power of prayer. Of God sending us a lifeline when we need one. And of how important it is to have Scripture tucked away for the days when our minds start telling us stories that simply aren’t true.
Whether your dark day is caused by a hormone crash, heartbreak, fear, exhaustion, uncertainty or absolutely nothing you can identify, these are some of the verses I come back to when my brain won’t shut up.
1. Philippians 4:6–7 — When your mind won’t stop spinning
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”
I love that we’re not simply told, Stop worrying.
We’re told what to do instead.
Pray. Ask. Thank Him and Hand it over.
And then comes the promise of God’s peace guarding our hearts and our minds.
Sometimes I need that last part most.
2. 2 Corinthians 10:5 — When your thoughts start running the show
“We take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.”
Not every thought deserves to be believed.
That sounds ridiculously obvious until you’re three hours into a completely fictional crisis your own brain created.
Sometimes I have to stop and ask myself: Is this actually true? Or is this just a thought I have allowed to move in, unpack its suitcase and redecorate?
Take it captive.
3. Isaiah 26:3 — When you need to redirect your focus
“You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.”
Notice where the mind is pointed. It’s not inward or conversely, towards every possible worst-case scenario.
It’s towards God.
Peace doesn’t always come because the circumstances change. Sometimes it comes because we change where we’re looking.
4. Romans 12:2 — When your thinking needs a reset
“Be transformed by the renewing of your mind.”
I love the word renewing.
Because sometimes my mind needs exactly that. It needs a reset. It doesn’t need another hour analyzing the problem or another conversation with myself. Not another imaginary scenario.
It just craves Truth.
5. Psalm 139:23–24 — When you can’t tell what’s real anymore
“Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts.”
This is such an honest prayer.
God, you know what’s happening in here. Show me what is true.
Show me what’s fear or simply insecurity. What’s this old baggage or story I’m clinging to? What’s something I genuinely need to address?
And what’s just five days without hormones.
6. Matthew 6:34 — When you’re living tomorrow before it gets here
“Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.”
Overthinkers are excellent time travelers.
We can experience Thursday’s hypothetical catastrophe on Monday morning.
Jesus keeps bringing us back to today.
What actually needs my attention right now?
Usually, it’s far less than I’ve convinced myself.
7. Proverbs 3:5–6 — When you desperately want to figure everything out
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.”
This one gets harder the more capable you are.
Figuring things out pleases me. I like solutions. I like knowing where things are going.
But sometimes there isn’t enough information yet.
Sometimes trust has to fill the space where answers haven’t arrived.
8. Psalm 46:10 — When you need to stop
“Be still, and know that I am God.”
Not fix it.
We aren’t called to analyze it, ask AI, send an unnecessary text, or replay the conversation for the 47th time.
We are told to be be still.
This may be one of the hardest Bible verses ever written for an overthinker.
9. 1 Peter 5:7 — When you’re carrying something you weren’t meant to carry
“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.”
I sometimes picture myself physically handing Jesus the thing I’m obsessing over. I imagine myself standing at a waterfall as I fork over my burdens one by one. He tosses them over the side of the falls and poof they are gone. Lost in a torrent of grace and mercy.
Here Jesus. You take it. Because clearly, I am not doing particularly well with it.
There’s something incredibly tender about the reason Peter gives us: because He cares for you. We aren’t bothering God with our worries. He wants us to bring them to Him.
10. Philippians 4:8 — When you need to change the channel
“Whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable…think about such things.”
There it is.
Whatever is true.
Not what might happen.
It isn’t what you’re afraid someone secretly thinks.
Or the imaginary conversation you’ve already had twelve times.
It’s not the conclusion you reached with absolutely no receipts before 8 a.m.
What is true?
Last Monday, the truth was that I could still write.
My hair was fine. Actually, thanks to my hairstylist daughter it’s beautiful.
My face was still my face. Stuck with that.
I was still lovable.
God hadn’t gone anywhere.
And FedEx was bringing estrogen.
All was not lost.
When Your Brain Won’t Be Quiet
I wish I could say I learned this lesson once and never needed it again.
That would be adorable.
But overthinking has a sneaky way of returning when we’re tired, hormonal, hurt, afraid or simply carrying too much stuff around.
What I’ve learned is that I don’t have to believe everything my mind tells me.
I can choose to stop the spiral and pray.
I can open my Bible for encouragement.
I can call someone who knows me well enough to recognize when I don’t sound like myself.
I can go get a blow out from the salon and feel a million times better with a little self-care.
And I can come back to what is true.
Sometimes God changes our circumstances and sometimes He simply changes our perspective.
And every so often, He sends a friend to pray for us at exactly 10 a.m. on a Monday while the estrogen is still somewhere on a delivery truck.
I’ll take all three.
A Simple Guide for Memorizing These Verses
You don’t need to memorize all ten verses by Friday. This is Scripture, not a pop quiz.
The goal is to have a few truths tucked away so deeply that when your thoughts start heading south, you have somewhere else to go.
Start With One Verse
Pick the verse that speaks most directly to whatever you tend to struggle with.
If you worry about the future, start with Matthew 6:34.
If your thoughts tend to run wild, start with 2 Corinthians 10:5.
If you need peace, start with Philippians 4:6–7.
If you struggle to separate fear from fact, start with Philippians 4:8 and those three little words: Whatever is true.
Write your verse on a sticky note. Put it on your bathroom mirror. Make it your phone wallpaper. Write it in your journal. Say it out loud while you’re driving.
(My sweet daughter Kolby has about 100 sticky notes and encouraging verses on the walls next to her bed. She can’t open her eyes without seeing a word for the day)
Give yourself a week with one verse before moving on to another.
Try the 10-Second Reset
When you feel yourself starting to spiral, stop for ten seconds and ask:
What am I thinking right now?
Then ask:
Is it true?
Finally:
What does God say?
That’s where your memorized verse comes in.
Instead of letting the thought continue unchecked, replace it with something you know is true.
Grab Your Journal and Turn the Verse Into a Prayer
You don’t need an eloquent prayer.
If you’re anxious, Philippians 4 might become:
God, I’m anxious right now. I’m giving this situation to You. Please guard my heart and my mind and give me Your peace.
If you’re imagining the worst:
God, help me focus on what is true instead of what I’m afraid might be true.
Sometimes that’s enough to interrupt the mental meltdown.
Build a “Bad Day” Note on Your Phone
Create a note called something like:
READ THIS BEFORE LOSING YOUR SPIT
Put your favorite verses in it.
Then add a few reminders that are personally true:
God is still here.
I don’t have to solve everything today.
Feelings aren’t the truth.
I can wait before reacting.
I can call someone I trust.
I can pray before I panic.
And, in my particular case:
Check whether you’ve taken your estrogen before making any major life decisions.
Give Yourself a 24-Hour Rule
When you’re in a genuinely bad mental moment, sometimes the wisest thing you can do is nothing yet.
Don’t end the relationship.
Don’t quit the job.
Don’t send the five-paragraph rant text.
Don’t cut your own bangs.
Pray. Sleep. Eat something. Take a walk. Talk to someone wise. Read Scripture.
Then revisit the situation when the emotional fog has lifted.
Finally, Don’t Do It Alone
One of the biggest lessons from my estrogen-deprived Monday wasn’t simply that I needed Scripture.
I needed another person. I call those Jesus with skin on.
My writing partner heard something in my voice that morning that I couldn’t recognize in myself. He stopped and prayed for me when I wasn’t doing a particularly good job of finding my own way out.
We need people like that.
Find one or two people you can call when your thoughts are getting dark, anxious or irrational. Give them permission to remind you of what is true.
Because sometimes we memorize Scripture so we can preach truth to ourselves.
And sometimes God lovingly sends someone else to preach it back to us.
-Sam
