Rereading is your brain trying to find certainty in a place that doesn't contain any. The message has the same amount of information on the ninth read as the first; what's changing is your anxiety, not the evidence. This is the single most common thing people open this app for.
You're not crazy and you're not bad at this. You're doing a normal thing that anxious attachment makes very hard to stop.
Ask what new information the next read would give you. When the answer is none — and it's always none — you're done.
“(this one isn't a text. put the phone face down for twenty minutes and do one physical thing.)”
“(close the app. yes this one. go outside and be normal for an hour.)”
“hey — i'd rather ask than guess. what did you mean by that message?”
Launching on iPhone and Android shortly. Every read on this page is free to read right now — scroll down.
Was It Casual is for reflection, not therapy or professional advice.