Sometimes, when my thoughts won’t settle down, I find myself sitting in the same room, going over the same things again and again.
I’m trying to understand something, find an answer, or figure out what might happen next. I tell myself that if I just think about it a little longer, things will finally make sense.
But sometimes, the more I think, the more tangled everything becomes. Instead of finding clarity, I end up feeling mentally exhausted.
Over time, I’ve realised that I don’t always need another answer. Sometimes, I need to step away from my thoughts and reconnect with the world around me.
A walk outside, the sound of the waves, a few honest words spoken out loud, or simply opening a window can help me shift my attention. These things don’t magically solve my problems, but they can give me a little space to breathe and see things differently.
I’ve also discovered a few personal rituals that help me let go of thoughts I’m holding on to.
These are seven simple things that have helped me find calm when overthinking takes over.
1. Step Outside, Even If It’s Only for Ten Minutes
One of the first things I try when my thoughts become overwhelming is to change my surroundings and get some fresh air.
Even a ten-minute walk can feel like a small reset for me. And if I can go somewhere surrounded by nature, even better — a forest, a park, or by the sea.
There’s something about being outside that helps me step out of the mental space I’ve been stuck in. Instead of sitting in the same room, looking at the same things and going over the same thoughts, I’m moving. The scenery changes. I start noticing things around me.
Research offers some support for this experience. In a controlled study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, participants who took a 90-minute walk in a natural environment reported less repetitive negative thinking than those who walked in an urban environment. The study was relatively small, and it doesn’t mean that every walk will have the same effect, but it suggests that spending time in nature may help ease rumination.
You can read the study here: Nature experience reduces rumination.
I don’t always need a long walk or a beautiful destination. Sometimes, I just need to get out of the room and give myself a change of scenery.
If you’re feeling stuck in your thoughts, try stepping outside for ten minutes. You don’t have to solve anything while you’re walking. Let yourself move, breathe, and notice what’s around you.
Sometimes, the first step towards feeling different is simply putting yourself in a different environment.
2. Become Quiet and Allow Yourself to Feel
When I’m overthinking, I can spend so much time inside my head that I forget to notice what is happening around me. One thing I find helpful is to become quiet for a few minutes and simply listen.
If I’m by the sea, I listen to the waves. If I’m in the forest, I notice the birds singing, the wind moving through the trees, or the sound of my own footsteps.
I try not to turn it into another task I need to do correctly. I don’t have to force myself to meditate, empty my mind, or feel peaceful. I simply allow myself to be there.
Sometimes, I give myself five minutes to stop trying to figure everything out and just notice what I can hear, see, and feel. I might notice that I’m tired, worried, frustrated, or sad. Instead of immediately trying to change those feelings, I let myself acknowledge them. This can feel surprisingly freeing.
We’re often so used to analysing our emotions that we forget we can simply experience them. Not every feeling needs to be explained or fixed the moment it appears.
Mindful attention can help us practise returning to the present moment instead of automatically following every thought. It doesn’t mean that our minds will suddenly become quiet, or that difficult emotions will disappear. It means that, for a little while, we can stop chasing every thought and allow ourselves to be where we are.
I like to think of these few minutes as a small luxury I can give myself. Five minutes without trying to solve my life. Five minutes to listen, breathe, and feel whatever is there.
You don’t have to earn that pause by finishing everything else first. Sometimes, giving yourself permission to stop is exactly what you need.
3. Write Your Worries in the Sand and Let the Waves Take Them Away
This is one of my favourite personal rituals.
When I’m by the sea and have something on my mind that I can’t seem to let go of, I sometimes take a stick and write it in the sand. It might be a worry, a fear, a question I keep returning to, or something I wish I could stop thinking about. Then I watch the waves wash it away.
I know that writing something in the sand doesn’t make the situation itself disappear. The problem may still be there when I leave the beach. But for me, there’s something meaningful about seeing the words disappear instead of continuing to carry them around in my head.
It’s a small physical reminder that I don’t have to hold on to every thought forever.
Sometimes, I do something similar with a stone. I hold it while thinking about what has been weighing on me, say a few words, and throw the stone into the water.
These are personal rituals, not scientifically proven techniques. Their value for me is in the moment they create: I pause, acknowledge what’s bothering me, and consciously practise letting go.
There’s also a useful distinction here. Letting go doesn’t mean pretending something never happened or convincing yourself that you don’t care. It means recognising that you can care about something without having to think about it every waking moment.
You could create your own small ritual. Write a worry on a piece of paper and put it away. Tear up a page after writing down what you’ve been carrying. Or simply take a slow breath and imagine putting the thought down for a while.
The action itself doesn’t have to be special. What matters is the intention behind it. You are giving yourself permission to stop holding on so tightly, even if only for a moment.
4. Say It Out Loud — and Learn to Speak to Yourself With Kindness
This might sound a little unusual, but sometimes, when I’m alone in the forest or somewhere quiet, it helps me to say out loud what’s on my mind.
I don’t mean having a perfectly organised conversation with myself. I simply say what I’m feeling, what has been bothering me, or what I’m afraid of.
Sometimes, I might even feel like shouting into the open space around me.
And yes, it might look a little strange if someone happened to walk past! But when I’m alone, letting out a few words or expressing a strong emotion can feel surprisingly freeing.
There’s a difference between keeping everything inside and allowing yourself to acknowledge what you’re experiencing.
Putting feelings into words is sometimes called affect labeling. Research suggests that naming emotions can influence our emotional responses. In a study published in Psychological Science, researchers found that putting feelings into words was associated with reduced activity in brain regions involved in emotional responding to negative images. Later research has explored how this process may help regulate emotions.
This doesn’t prove that shouting into a forest will make worries disappear. Shouting itself has not been established as a universal way to relieve distress. But giving words to an emotion can be a useful way to acknowledge it instead of leaving it as a vague, overwhelming feeling.
You can read more in this review: Putting Feelings Into Words.
For me, there’s another side to speaking out loud: the words I choose to say to myself.
When we’re worried, it’s easy to repeat discouraging thoughts. We might tell ourselves that we’re not good enough, that we’ll never figure things out, or that something will inevitably go wrong.
What if we became a little more intentional about the words we use with ourselves?
Sometimes, I find it encouraging to say something kind out loud:
I am worthy of love.
I am allowed to make mistakes.
I am stronger than I sometimes realise.
I am beautiful, capable, and pretty amazing in my own way.
You don’t have to force yourself to believe every positive statement immediately. The point isn’t to pretend that everything is wonderful when it isn’t. It’s to practise speaking to yourself with the same kindness you might offer someone you care about.
Words alone cannot guarantee a change in how we feel, but the way we speak to ourselves can influence how we interpret difficult situations. Research on self-talk suggests that even small changes in how we address ourselves can sometimes help us gain perspective during stressful moments.
You can read about this here: Self-talk as a regulatory mechanism.
If you feel comfortable doing so, try speaking out loud when you’re alone. Name what you’re feeling. Say what you need to say. Let yourself express frustration or sadness in a safe way, without directing anger towards yourself or anyone else.
And when you’re ready, try offering yourself a few words of encouragement. You don’t need to wait for someone else to remind you that you matter. You can start by learning to speak to yourself with a little more kindness.
5. Change Your Environment — Move, Dance, Open a Window, or Tidy Up
When my thoughts are going around in circles, I sometimes notice that I’m doing very little physically. I’m sitting in the same place, looking at the same surroundings, while my mind keeps working overtime.
I’ve learned that it can help to change something, even if it’s small.
I might open a window and let some fresh air in. I might tidy a messy table, put a few things away, or clean a small corner of the room. Sometimes, I put on music and dance for a few minutes.
None of these things solves the problem I’m thinking about. But they can help interrupt the feeling of being stuck.
Movement gives my attention something different to engage with. Music can change the atmosphere around me, and dancing combines movement with rhythm. Physical activity is associated with benefits for mood and stress, although the effect of any one short activity will vary from person to person.
You don’t need to do a full workout or clean your entire home. You could play one favourite song and move however you feel like moving. You could stretch, walk around the room, or spend five minutes putting things back where they belong.
I’ve also noticed how much my surroundings can affect the way I feel.
When everything around me is cluttered, I can find it harder to relax. When I make my space a little calmer and more organised, I sometimes feel as though I’ve created more room to breathe.
Of course, a messy room doesn’t automatically cause overthinking, and you don’t need a perfectly organised home to feel okay. Sometimes, clutter is simply a reflection of how busy or tired we’ve been.
But if your environment is adding to the feeling of overwhelm, changing one small part of it can be a manageable place to start. You don’t have to fix everything around you. Just choose one thing you can do right now.
Open the window. Put on a song. Clear the table. Step into another room. Instead of sitting still and waiting for your thoughts to settle, try giving yourself a small, physical action to focus on.
Sometimes, changing what’s happening around you can help you shift how you feel inside.
6. Give Your Worries to God
There is another part of finding calm that is deeply personal to me: prayer.
When I feel that I’m trying too hard to control something, I find comfort in becoming quiet and bringing my worries to God. Sometimes, when I’m walking outside, I simply talk to Him in my own words. I tell Him what’s troubling me, what I’m afraid of, or what I don’t understand. And then I try to let go of the need to figure everything out myself.
For me, prayer is a reminder that I don’t have to carry every uncertainty alone. I can do what is within my control while trusting God with what isn’t.
This doesn’t mean that every problem disappears or that I suddenly know what will happen next. It means that I can make room for uncertainty without trying to solve every part of it immediately.
When I pray, I’m not asking myself to ignore reality or pretend that difficult things don’t matter. I’m reminding myself that I can take the next step without knowing the whole path ahead.
Sometimes, I find peace in simply saying: God, I don’t know how this will work out, but I’m placing it in Your hands. Help me do what I can and trust You with what I cannot control.
You may find comfort through prayer, quiet reflection, or another practice that helps you reconnect with what matters most to you. For me, trusting God is a way of remembering that I don’t have to carry every worry on my own.
I can take responsibility for my choices while allowing myself to release the things I cannot control.
7. Put Your Thoughts on Paper
Sometimes, I still need to sit down and write.
A walk may help me feel calmer, and listening to the sounds around me may bring my attention back to the present. But there are moments when I need to understand what’s actually going on in my mind.
That’s where journaling has become important to me.
When thoughts stay in my head, they can feel tangled together. Writing them down gives me an opportunity to slow down and look at them one at a time.
I can ask myself:
- What am I actually worried about?
- What am I feeling beneath all these thoughts?
- Is there something I can do about this right now?
- Am I trying to predict something I cannot know yet?
- What do I need in this moment?
I don’t always find an answer, and I don’t expect myself to.
Sometimes, the value is simply in being honest about what I’m feeling instead of pushing it away or going over it endlessly in my head.
Writing can help us put feelings into words and explore our thoughts from a little distance. Research on expressive writing has produced mixed results, so journaling isn’t a guaranteed solution for everyone. For me, though, it offers a private space where I can be honest without needing to make everything sound sensible or positive.
I can write down the thoughts I’m embarrassed to admit, the worries I keep returning to, or the questions I don’t yet know how to answer.
I don’t have to show the page to anyone. I don’t have to write beautifully. I can simply begin where I am.
If you’d like some guidance when your thoughts feel particularly tangled, my Overthinking Reset Journal was created to help you slow down, explore what’s on your mind, and work through your thoughts with gentle prompts.
You can find it here: Overthinking Reset Journal.
You Don’t Have to Solve Everything Right Now
I’m still learning that I don’t have to respond to every thought or find an answer to every question that comes into my mind. Sometimes, what helps me most is stepping outside, listening to the waves, writing something in the sand, speaking honestly to myself, putting on music, or taking a quiet moment to pray.
These small things don’t make life’s uncertainties disappear. But they remind me that I have choices in how I respond to them.
I can pause instead of continuing to chase the same thoughts. I can return my attention to the present. I can acknowledge what I feel without needing to resolve everything immediately. And I can remind myself that not knowing what comes next doesn’t mean I have to spend every moment worrying about it.
If your thoughts have been feeling overwhelming lately, perhaps you could start with just one small thing today. Open a window. Step outside for ten minutes. Listen to the birds. Put on your favourite song. Write down what’s on your mind. Or simply give yourself five quiet minutes without asking anything more of yourself.
You don’t have to do everything at once. Sometimes, finding a little peace begins with giving yourself permission to step away from your thoughts for a while.
And if your overthinking is persistent, seriously affecting your daily life, or making it difficult to cope, seeking support from a qualified mental health professional can also be an important step. You don’t have to work through everything alone.
Research & Further Reading
Some of the practices I describe in this article are based on my own experience. Research also offers useful insights into how nature, emotional awareness, and the way we speak to ourselves may influence how we feel. These studies do not prove that every practice works for everyone, but they offer interesting starting points for further reading.
1. Nature and repetitive negative thinking
Bratman, G. N., et al. (2015). Nature experience reduces rumination and subgenual prefrontal cortex activation. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1510459112
This study found that participants who walked in a natural setting reported less rumination than those who walked in an urban setting.
2. Putting feelings into words
Lieberman, M. D., et al. (2007). Putting feelings into words: Affect labeling disrupts amygdala activity in response to affective stimuli. Psychological Science.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2007.01916.x
This research explored how putting feelings into words may help regulate emotional responses. It offers a scientific perspective on why naming and expressing our emotions can sometimes help us process them.
3. How self-talk can help us manage difficult moments
Kross, E., et al. (2014). Self-talk as a regulatory mechanism: How you do it matters. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology.
https://doi.org/10.1037/a0035173
This study explored how the way we talk to ourselves can influence our ability to manage stressful experiences, including how creating some psychological distance through self-talk may help.
4. Physical activity and mental wellbeing
NHS. Be active for your mental health.
https://www.nhs.uk/every-mind-matters/mental-wellbeing-tips/be-active-for-your-mental-health
This resource explains how physical activity can support mental wellbeing and may help with stress and mood.
The research mentioned here supports some of the broader ideas in this article, such as spending time in nature, expressing emotions, and using self-talk. Other practices I share, including writing worries in the sand or speaking aloud in the forest, are personal rituals that I find meaningful rather than scientifically established treatments.