That thing you said three days ago that came out wrong? Here's what's actually happening when you replay it at 2am.
Your brain treats unresolved social moments like open threats. It replays them because it's trying to "solve" them — but there's nothing to solve, so the loop never closes. Meanwhile the other person filed the conversation away within minutes and hasn't thought about it since. You're holding a meeting they left days ago.
"I stumbled over my words" is a fact. "They think I'm an idiot" is a prediction — and your anxious brain's predictions have a terrible track record. Write both columns down once and the difference becomes obvious.
Either "I'll clarify it tomorrow" (action) or "nothing here needs fixing" (verdict). The loop persists because your brain thinks the file is still open. Close the file explicitly.
Not a cure for anxiety — but for the replay loop specifically, treating it as "unfinished business my brain won't stop reopening" instead of "evidence something is wrong with me" changes a lot.