Overthinking can feel exhausting. Your mind won’t slow down. One thought turns into ten. You replay conversations, imagine outcomes, pick things apart long after the moment has passed.Sometimes you don’t even notice you’re doing it until you’re already stuck in it.
It often starts as trying to make sense of things. You want to understand. You want to get it right. You want to avoid mistakes or hurt or regret. Somewhere along the way, that turns into thinking in circles.
Overthinking isn’t always about the thing you’re thinking about. It’s often about trying to feel safe or in control.
If you’ve been under pressure for a long time, your brain can get used to scanning for problems. Even when things are calm, it keeps looking. It asks “what if?” questions. It runs through every angle, just in case.
That can make small decisions feel heavy. It can make conversations stick in your head. It can make rest difficult, because your mind doesn’t know how to switch off.
Overthinking can also show up when you care a lot. About people. About doing the right thing. About not messing things up. It’s not a flaw. It’s often a sign that you’re trying very hard.
But trying harder usually doesn’t stop it.
Telling yourself to “just stop thinking” rarely works. Your mind doesn’t respond well to being told off. Sometimes it just digs in deeper.
What can help, slowly, is noticing when you’re overthinking rather than getting pulled into it. Realising you’ve moved from thinking to looping. From problem-solving to replaying.
It can also help to bring things out of your head and into the open. Saying them out loud. Writing them down. Letting them exist somewhere other than your thoughts. That can take some of the pressure off.
If overthinking is constant, draining, or starting to affect your sleep, mood, or confidence, extra support can help. Not because you’re broken, but because your mind has been working overtime for a long time.
You don’t have to untangle it all on your own.
If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone. A lot of people live with busy, looping thoughts and assume everyone else is coping better. Often they’re not. They’re just quieter about it.
You don’t need to fix your mind. Sometimes the first step is just recognising that it’s tired.
