Serious topic - how to cope/improve on "autopilot"?

[KY_EnviroGuy]

4. Practicing Mindfulness should help and that also may relieve stress.

I've used mindful meditation along with simple mindfulness for decades as part of my alcoholism recovery and it's saved me a lot of pain along the way.

In the most simple method, start by intensively focusing your mind on every single movement of your body for a few minutes, fighting all attempts by your brain to distract you. With practice, one can go into this mode at any time to quieten the mind, reduce stress and allow us to stay focused on our tasks.

In other words, we're telling our brains to shut the hell up for a little while, de-clutter and give us a break.

There are numerous other common mindfulness practices that are wonderful, such as intense focus on each part of our bodies from head to toe while laying down in a quiet space. A large number of books have been published on mindful living.

I think what you described is a product of our current excessively busy world that's keeping our subconscious minds in total chaos, a huge change from my youth in the 50s.