Overthinking isn’t just annoying—it’s exhausting.
It turns small decisions into big stress, rewinds conversations on a loop, and creates problems that might not even exist yet. As it turns out, though, the trick to handling overthinking isn’t waiting until it spirals—it’s catching it early, before it starts dictating your mood, your confidence, or your peace. Here’s how to stop it from running the show before it even gets a chance.
1. Learn to spot your overthinking triggers.
Overthinking rarely shows up out of nowhere. It’s usually sparked by specific situations, like uncertainty, conflict, or fear of getting something wrong. The more you understand your personal triggers, the faster you can catch yourself before spiralling.
Start by noticing when it tends to happen. Is it at night? After a social interaction? Before making a decision? Once you know the usual patterns, you’ll be able to say, “Ah, this is one of those moments”—and interrupt the cycle before it takes over.
2. Interrupt the loop with a physical action.
Overthinking lives in your head. One of the fastest ways to disrupt it is to move your body—literally. Go for a walk, stretch, shake out your arms, or change rooms. It doesn’t have to be intense. It just has to change the channel. Physical movement grounds you in the present moment. It brings your focus back to your body, your breath, and what’s actually real, instead of what your brain is inventing on replay.
3. Say the thought out loud.
Overthinking thrives in silence. When you say the thought out loud, even just to yourself, it loses some of its grip. What felt tangled and huge in your head often sounds overblown or illogical once it’s spoken. Try voicing it gently: “I’m worried that I sounded awkward just now.” Hearing it externalised helps you gain perspective. You might even realise, mid-sentence, that it’s not worth the energy you’ve been giving it.
4. Ask, “What’s the outcome I’m afraid of here?”
Overthinking often masks fear. Instead of getting lost in the details, ask yourself: what am I actually afraid might happen? This helps pull you out of circular thinking and toward a clearer, more focused reflection. Once you name the fear—rejection, embarrassment, failure—it becomes easier to work with. You can then ask, “How likely is that outcome? And if it did happen, could I handle it?” Often, the answer is yes.
5. Limit how long you let yourself obsess.
You can’t always stop overthinking instantly, but you can stop giving it unlimited airtime. Set a timer for ten minutes. Let yourself think about the issue, journal if needed, then deliberately shift gears when time’s up. This doesn’t mean ignoring your feelings. It means respecting your mental energy enough to not let one thought run all day unchecked. The structure gives your brain a container instead of a playground.
6. Challenge your “certainty addiction.”
Overthinking often shows up when you’re desperate for control or certainty. You want to predict every outcome, every reaction, every possible twist. Of course, life doesn’t work that way, and trying to overprepare just drains you. Instead, try reminding yourself: “I can handle uncertainty. I don’t need to know everything right now.” It’s a small mental change, but it gives you permission to stop rehearsing outcomes that may never happen.
7. Focus on facts, not feelings dressed as facts.
Overthinking loves to present your fears as facts. “They must be annoyed with me” starts to feel like reality, even when there’s no actual evidence. Learning to separate feeling from fact can break the spiral wide open. Ask, “What do I actually know to be true?” This helps anchor you. If there’s no clear proof, remind yourself that thoughts aren’t always reality, and you don’t have to treat them like they are.
8. Do something mildly absorbing, not distracting.
There’s a difference between distraction and healthy redirection. Numbing out with hours of scrolling might pause your overthinking, but it won’t calm your nervous system. Instead, try an activity that holds your attention without overwhelming it. Think puzzles, light cleaning, cooking, organising, painting—anything that pulls your focus just enough to quiet the noise. These tasks engage your brain gently and offer relief without avoidance.
9. Write it down, but don’t reread it yet.
Journaling is a powerful tool, but not always for problem-solving in the moment. When you’re caught in an overthinking spiral, try doing a brain dump. Get every single thought onto paper without filtering or analysing. Then walk away. Don’t reread it straight away. The goal is to release the thoughts, not to relive them. Later, when your mind is calmer, you can look at the patterns. However, in the moment, the act of dumping is enough to break the grip.
10. Remind yourself that thinking harder won’t bring clarity.
Overthinkers often believe that if they just think harder, longer, or better, they’ll land on the perfect solution. However, the truth is, clarity rarely comes from spiralling. It comes from stepping back. Sometimes the most powerful thing you can do is stop trying to solve the thought and give yourself permission to be undecided for now. Many decisions become clearer with rest, time, and space, not more effort.
11. Interrupt it with a question, not a command.
Telling yourself to “just stop overthinking” rarely works. Instead, try asking something kinder and more curious, like: “What do I need right now?” or “What would help me feel more grounded in this moment?” Questions invite gentleness. They shift you out of judgement and into self-awareness. And more often than not, that’s the real antidote to spiralling thoughts—feeling safe enough to step back and re-centre.
12. Remind yourself: not every thought needs your full attention.
Just because a thought shows up doesn’t mean it’s urgent, important, or even worth following. Part of healing from overthinking is learning to let some thoughts pass by without needing to unpack them. You can acknowledge a thought—“Oh, there’s that anxious loop again”—and gently redirect your focus. This takes practice, but over time it creates a sense of internal calm that overthinking can’t easily disrupt.
