Have you ever had one of those days when your mind just won’t switch off?
You replay a conversation you had earlier. You wonder if you said the wrong thing. You think about what someone meant by a particular message. Then you start imagining what might happen next.
And before you know it, one small thought has turned into ten different possibilities.
I know that feeling.
Sometimes overthinking doesn’t even feel like you’re thinking. It feels more like your mind is running in circles, looking for an answer, some certainty, or reassurance that simply isn’t there yet.
When thinking doesn’t actually help
I’m someone who tends to think things through. And while thinking can be helpful, there is a point where it stops helping and starts exhausting you.
I might go over something that happened and think:
Did I handle that the right way?
What if I misunderstood the situation?
Maybe I should have said something different.
What if something goes wrong?
The difficult part is that overthinking can feel productive. You’re thinking, analysing, trying to understand.
But sometimes you’re not actually getting anywhere.
You’re just asking the same question in ten different ways.
And the more you think about it, the more real the worry can start to feel.
I started putting my thoughts on paper
One thing that has helped me is something very simple: writing things down.
Instead of keeping everything in my head, I started giving my thoughts somewhere to go.
Sometimes I would simply write whatever was on my mind without trying to make it sound logical or organised.
And something interesting happens when you see your thoughts written down.
You can start to separate what you know from what you fear, what actually happened from what you’re imagining, and what you can control from what you can’t.
One of the questions I find especially helpful is:
Is this a fact, or is this a thought?
For example:
Thought:
“They haven’t replied because they’re upset with me.”
Fact:
“They haven’t replied yet.”
Those two things can feel very different when you see them written down.
You don’t have to solve everything right now
I think this is something we often forget.
When something is bothering us, we naturally want to solve it. We want to know what will happen. We want an answer.
But sometimes there isn’t an answer yet.
Sometimes the situation simply needs time.
And sometimes the kindest thing you can do for yourself is to stop trying to figure everything out for a moment.
Take a breath.
Write down what’s going through your mind.
Let yourself acknowledge the thought without automatically believing it.
You don’t have to solve everything today.
Why I created Overthinking Reset
This is actually why I created Overthinking Journal – Overthinking Reset.
I wanted to create something that could help when your thoughts feel tangled and you don’t really know where to start.
Not a journal that tells you to “just stop overthinking.”
Because if it were that easy, we probably wouldn’t be overthinking in the first place.
Instead, I wanted the journal to give you a quiet space to slow down and work through your thoughts step by step.
It takes you through five stages:
ARRIVE — pause and check in with yourself.
EXPLORE — get the thoughts out of your head and onto paper.
UNDERSTAND — look at what’s underneath the thoughts and separate facts from assumptions.
RELEASE — let go of what you don’t need to carry right now.
MOVE FORWARD — decide what you want to take with you and what you can leave behind.
You don’t have to complete everything in one sitting.
You don’t have to find the perfect answer.
And you don’t have to make every thought disappear.
Sometimes, creating a little space around your thoughts is enough to see them differently.
A little reminder for today
If your mind has been particularly busy lately, try this:
Take a few minutes.
Put your phone down.
Take a slow breath.
Then write down whatever has been circling around in your mind.
Don’t edit it. Don’t judge it. Don’t try to make it make sense.
Just get it out.
Then ask yourself:
What do I actually know?
What am I assuming?
What is within my control?
And finally:
Do I need to solve this right now?
Maybe the answer is yes.
But maybe it isn’t.
And that’s okay too.
You don’t have to figure everything out today.
Want a little more guidance?
If your thoughts often feel like they are going in circles, I created Overthinking Journal – Overthinking Reset to help you slow down, untangle what’s on your mind, and create some mental space.
It’s a printable guided journal with 27 pages of prompts and exercises, designed to help you move from overwhelmed and stuck toward a little more clarity and calm.
You don’t have to stop thinking. You just need a place to put your thoughts.
[Explore Overthinking Reset →]
Take a breath.
Give your thoughts some space.
Start where you are.