When Overthinking Becomes a Trap - and How to Escape It
Why You Feel Anxious When You Haven’t Done Anything “Wrong”
I’ve always been an overthinker.
Some people can turn off their thoughts and just exist in the moment. More often than not - I’m not one of them. My mind loops. It spins scenarios, replays conversations, anticipates outcomes. I have to be intentional in the moment to avoid overthinking and be present.
But often the problem isn’t the overthinking itself. It’s when it leads to anxiety, paralysis, and overwhelm. And I’ve been in that spot more times than I’d like to admit.
Lately, I’ve been in a pivotal season of life - one of those chapters where everything feels like it’s shifting. Some days I feel clear. Other days I feel like I’m white-knuckling my way through uncertainty, trying to do what I can.
Here’s what I’ve learned: You don’t need to fix your whole life in one afternoon. You just need to take care of what’s in front of you.
Here are a few things that help me reset when I feel overwhelmed, anxious, or lost in my head.
When You’re Drowning in Thoughts, Simplify.
1. Cut your screen time.
It sounds simple, but it changes everything.
When I’m constantly consuming - podcasts, YouTube, social media, even “positive” content - my brain doesn’t get a chance to breathe. Every scroll, every soundbite adds noise. Eventually, that noise becomes pressure, and the pressure becomes anxiety.
You don’t need to go full monk mode. But silence needs to be a part of your day. Drive without music. Take a walk without your phone. Let your brain process what it’s been carrying.
Even good information can become a burden if you never give yourself time to absorb it.
If you are pained by any external thing, it is not this thing that disturbs you - but your judgment about it. And it is in your power to wipe out that judgment now.
- Marcus Aurelius
As my dad says: “Sleep on it.”
What he meant is, give your brain the background time to solve it for you. Let stillness do the heavy lifting.
Often, when we react immediately, we make the wrong decision. When we try to make a preemptive decision to address an outcome that hasn't occurred, we often make a decision we'll regret later.
2. Do the quick fixes immediately.
One of the most underrated anxiety triggers is a pile of tiny, unfinished tasks.
We think we’re fine. But mentally, we’re walking around with 17 open browser tabs in our brain - all screaming for attention. That one text you haven’t replied to. The lightbulb you still haven’t changed. That one question you were supposed to ask someone but keep forgetting.
It’s death by a thousand paper cuts.
If something takes less than 2 minutes - do it.
If it takes a little more, write it down, schedule it, or delegate it.
And here’s the add-on I want to emphasize: If you have a question, don’t let it fester.
Pick up your phone. Use the AI tools available to you. We live in an age where information is free and immediate - use it. If something is bothering you and you don’t have the answer, don’t stew in it for days. Ask. Search. Solve.
You’ll be amazed how much peace you get from handling something simple you’ve been mentally avoiding.
3. Externalize the chaos.
When I feel overwhelmed, it’s rarely because life is unmanageable. It’s because I’m trying to hold everything in my head.
So I use tools. Sticky notes. A Google calendar. A reminder app. Voice memos.
Anything that lets me pull the thoughts out of my head and put them somewhere else.
Your brain was made for solving problems - not storing them. So stop trying to carry it all. Get it out of your head. Then you can look at it objectively, prioritize, and handle things in order.
I use Gemini on my Pixel to quickly log tasks. You might use Siri. Or a pen and paper. It doesn’t matter - just build a habit of dumping your thoughts somewhere that’s not your brain.
4. Stop trying to control the unknown.
Most of our stress comes from trying to pre-solve problems we don’t even fully understand yet.
We obsess over how things might go wrong.
We play out worst-case scenarios that haven’t happened.
We mentally rehearse conversations we may never even need to have.
I’m guilty of all of it.
But the truth is, 90% of the things I’ve worried about in life have either never happened… or happened in a completely different way than I expected.
So now, when I feel myself spiraling, I remind myself: You don’t have to solve it. You just have to stay present.
Do what you can with what’s in front of you. Let tomorrow unfold when it gets here.
The greatest obstacle to living is expectancy, which hangs upon tomorrow and loses today. You are arranging what lies in Fortune’s control, and abandoning what lies in yours. What are you looking at? To what goal are you straining? The whole future lies in uncertainty: live immediately.
- Seneca
If you’re in a season like this too - where your mind won’t shut off and your heart feels heavy - try these. Just a few small shifts that create margin, clarity, and peace.
Let your brain rest. Let your hands work. Let your tools help you.
Because sometimes the way forward isn’t to think more.
It’s to do less - and do it on purpose.
We don’t have to rely on overthinking to solve our problems. Pull your thoughts out of your brain and be present in the moment. The answer will come to you at the right time.
Let me know in the comments what you’ve found helps you when you’re stuck in your head. I’m always looking for new ways to manage the noise - and your advice might help someone else too.
More Reads:
The Exhausting Truth About Real Progress
Slow progress often feels like no progress. And when you're deep in it, it can feel like a curse. But that’s the space where real growth happens.
