`The more you overthink the less you will understand.’’ — Habeeb Akande
Have you ever found yourself lying awake at night, replaying a conversation from earlier in the day or worrying about a decision you made months ago?
Overthinking and intrusive thoughts can feel overwhelming, but understanding them is the first step toward reclaiming your peace of mind.
I’m going to take a look at some practical strategies to quiet your mind and take back control. With a bit of patience and practice, you can learn to manage these patterns and embrace a calmer, more focused mindset.
Understanding the Mind Trap: What Is Overthinking?
Overthinking can feel like you’re solving problems, but often, you’re just spinning your wheels. Helpful reflection involves learning from a situation. Unhelpful rumination, on the other hand, means dwelling on the same thoughts without resolution.
Intrusive thoughts are those random, often disturbing ideas that flash through your mind uninvited, like picturing something bad happening or questioning your values. They’re common and don’t mean anything is wrong with you.
Triggers for both overthinking and intrusive thoughts often include anxiety, perfectionism, or fear of regret and failure. Once we understand the “why,” we can approach the “how” more effectively.
Why We Can’t Just ‘Think Our Way Out’
Here’s the paradox: the more you try to stop thinking about something, the more your brain clings to it. Thought-action fusion is the idea that if you think something, it must mean something. But that’s not true.
Thoughts aren’t facts — they’re mental events, not reality.
That’s why simply telling yourself to “stop overthinking” doesn’t work. Your brain doesn’t respond well to being told what not to do.
Instead, the key is to shift your relationship with your thoughts, creating space between you and your mind’s chatter.
It’s not about control; it’s about changing how you engage with your inner noise.
Practical Strategies to Stop Overthinking & Intrusive Thoughts
- Practice Thought Labelling
When a thought pops up — especially one that triggers anxiety — try labelling it: “That’s just a worry,” or “That’s a judgment.” By calling it what it is, you remind yourself it’s just a thought, not a fact. This helps break the automatic loop and gives you some distance. It’s like mentally tagging a cloud as it passes by, instead of climbing into it.
2. Use the 5–5–5 Rule
Ask yourself: Will this matter in 5 minutes, 5 days, or 5 years? This rule can snap you out of a spiral fast. Most of what we overthink won’t matter long-term. This question puts things in perspective, helping you let go of thoughts that feel urgent but really aren’t.
3. Try Cognitive Defusion Techniques
Cognitive defusion means creating space between you and your thoughts. Try this: repeat a stressful thought in a silly voice or imagine it written on a leaf floating down a stream.
Sounds goofy, but it works. It breaks the spell of the thought, so your brain doesn’t take it so seriously. You’re reminding yourself: “This is just mental activity.” Defusion doesn’t make thoughts disappear — it simply helps you relate to them with less power.
4. Shift to the Body
Overthinking lives in the head, so shifting attention to the body can ground you fast. Try breathwork, progressive muscle relaxation, or simple grounding exercises like pressing your feet into the floor.
These help calm your nervous system and get you out of the mental spin cycle. Physical cues can gently bring you back from the edge of spiralling thoughts.
5. Thought Journaling
Getting thoughts out of your head and onto paper can be a huge relief. Journaling helps you externalise the noise and see patterns more clearly.
You might even notice your worries aren’t as big once they’re written down.
It’s like clearing mental clutter. This habit can also help you notice what triggers overthinking in the first place, which is powerful info.
And no, it doesn’t have to be neat or poetic — just genuine and honest.
6. Engage in Present-Moment Activities
Doing something that pulls you into the present, like walking, painting, cooking, or cleaning, can help break the loop of overthinking. These “flow” activities quiet the mental chatter because they focus your attention.
Mindfulness practices, like meditation, also help, but even casual focus, like gardening or playing music, can work wonders. Being present doesn’t mean being perfect — it just means choosing now instead of looping through what-ifs.
You don’t have to escape your mind — just gently redirect it.
7. Seek Professional Help When Needed
Sometimes, overthinking and intrusive thoughts go beyond what self-help strategies can manage. That’s when working with a therapist can make all the difference.
Techniques like CBT or ACT are highly effective, and a good therapist helps you untangle the patterns without judgment.
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Mindset Shifts That Help
One of the most powerful things you can learn is this:
You are not your thoughts.
Just because something pops into your head doesn’t mean it’s true, important, or worth your energy.
Overthinking doesn’t make you weak — it means you care deeply and want to get things right. That’s not a flaw, it’s a strength that just needs better direction.
Progress doesn’t mean never overthinking again. It means noticing the spiral sooner and stepping out of it faster. Imagine thoughts like passing clouds — you don’t chase them, you watch them drift by.
This isn’t about perfect thinking; it’s about giving yourself space to breathe, question, and move forward without getting stuck in the fog of your mind.
Overthinking isn’t something you “cure” overnight, but you can learn to manage it with self-awareness and small daily steps. Tools like thought labelling, grounding, and journaling aren’t magic, but they’re powerful when practised consistently.
Everyone overthinks at times. The real shift comes when you stop seeing it as a personal failure and start treating it as a pattern that can be changed.
You don’t need to control every thought — you just need to respond differently.
