How Do I Stop Overthinking Everything?

There are days where your brain feels like it is running without your permission. You wake up already thinking about something that happened in the past, something happening right now, and something coming up that you are nervous about. And the more you try to stop thinking about it, the louder everything gets.

So let me answer this right away.

You stop overthinking by interrupting the loop, grounding yourself in what is real, and reminding your brain that thoughts are not emergencies. Overthinking is not a sign that something is wrong with you. It is a sign that something matters to you.

I’ve been through this more times than I’d like to admit.

One morning everything in my head hit at once.

“I woke up thinking about something I did in the past, something that’s happening right now, and something coming up that I’m nervous about. All of those things hit me at the same time and I couldn’t shake it.”

I tried everything to distract myself. I went to the gym. I walked around. I worked. I scrolled. Nothing shut my brain off. The noise followed me everywhere.

At one point I reminded myself of something that has become a rule in my life.

“We can really drive ourselves crazy like that. Get out of your head and into the world.”

Overthinking is what happens when you are living more in your mind than in your actual life. That same idea shows up again in Rejection, Feeling Boring, and Smelling Bad: Dear Guyset, because rumination and self-judgment almost always travel together.

Why You’re Overthinking

Overthinking usually comes from one of three places.

The past
You replay something you wish you handled differently.

The present
A situation feels unclear or out of your control.

The future
You are anxious about something you cannot predict.

When all three hit at once, your brain treats every thought like an emergency.

“It felt like all of those emotions came flooding at me at once and I couldn’t stop it. I couldn’t get it under control and I just couldn’t shake it.”

Your mind does not want clarity.
Your mind wants control.

According to research summarized by Psychology Today, anxiety pushes the brain into threat-detection mode, exaggerating urgency even when nothing immediate is happening. That is why overthinking feels so intense and so personal.

Why You Can’t Think Your Way Out Of It

Most guys try to solve overthinking with more thinking.

You replay every detail.
You try to predict the future.
You analyze every angle.

But thinking harder is what created the spiral in the first place.

“Your mind doesn’t look for the truth. Your mind looks for something to blame.”

Usually, the first person it blames is you.

Overthinking does not look for logic.
Overthinking looks for a villain.
And it almost always chooses you.

This is why mindset shifts like the one in How To Act Confident When You Don’t Feel It matter so much. Confidence is not eliminating doubt. It is learning how to move even when your mind is loud.

What Overthinking Actually Does

It makes small problems feel huge.
It makes neutral moments feel threatening.
It makes you imagine the worst version of the story.

“Joy couldn’t be present because I was so anxious about everything. Positivity felt so far away.”

That is what overthinking steals.
Your ability to feel okay in the moment you are actually in.

The Cleveland Clinic describes this as rumination, a mental loop where the brain repeatedly replays distressing thoughts without resolution. Knowing that helps you realize this is a pattern, not a personal failure.

How To Stop Overthinking In The Moment

These are the things that actually help.

1. Move your body first

Movement interrupts spiraling.

Walk.
Lift.
Shower.
Clean something.
Go outside.

Your body pulls your mind back into the present.

That reminder still helps me today. Get out of your head and into the world.

2. Put your thoughts on paper

“I wrote it all out on pen and paper. The past thing, the present thing, the future thing. Seeing it on paper took the weight away because it wasn’t just swirling in my head anymore.”

Writing does not solve the problem.
It shrinks it.

A thought you can see is a thought you can manage.

3. Focus on the smallest possible step

Overthinking happens when every thought feels equally urgent.

Most things are not emergencies.

You do not need the full solution.
You just need the next step.

This is the same principle behind Dating Questions, Loneliness, and Seasonal Depression: Dear Guyset, because focusing on what you control quiets everything else.

4. Call someone who knows you

“I called a friend. I also called a family member. And life just kind of took back over.”

Talking pulls you out of your own head.
Connection breaks the pattern.
It reminds you who you are outside the spiral.

5. Do something that brings you back to yourself

Make coffee.
Get dressed.
Go outside.
Listen to music.

These small grounding actions rebuild calm and confidence.

6. Remember that thoughts pass

“I don’t know why it went away, but eventually it did. It faded. It didn’t feel as heavy. It passed.”

Thoughts are weather.
They move.
You will not feel like this forever.

Why It Feels So Personal

Overthinking attacks the things you care about most.

Your identity.
Your relationships.
Your future.
Your self-image.
Your sense of control.

Overthinking does not attach itself to what you do not care about.
It attaches itself to what matters.

That does not mean something is wrong with you.
It means something matters to you.

Where You Go From Here

You do not need to eliminate overthinking.
You need tools to interrupt it.

You have a life outside your thoughts.
You had value before the spiral.
You will have value after.

Your mind is loud.
It is not in charge.

FAQ

Why do I overthink everything?
Because your brain is trying to create safety or certainty. Overthinking is protection, not failure.

How do I stop spiraling when it starts?
Interrupt the pattern. Move your body. Write it out. Call someone. Break the loop.

Why does overthinking feel so personal?
Because it targets the areas of your life that matter most to you.

Should I trust my thoughts when I’m anxious?
No. Anxiety exaggerates urgency and threat. Thoughts are not facts.

How do I know if it’s intuition or overthinking?
Intuition is calm. Overthinking is loud and frantic.