Understanding and Overcoming Overthinking
How to break out of the thinking loop
„To think too much is a disease.“
Most of us are familiar with the feeling of going round in circles in our own head.
Our thoughts keep looping and jumping from one scenario to the next without ever leading to a clear outcome. The more you think, the more urgent it feels and the harder it becomes to stop.
This article takes a closer look at what is commonly called overthinking. It is about understanding when thinking tips over, why the brain gets stuck in loops and which simple, evidence‑based levers can help shift the mode of thinking.
What is overthinking?
From a scientific perspective, overthinking is best described as Repetitive Negative Thinking (RNT).
It refers to a pattern of thinking that is repetitive, negatively toned and experienced as difficult to control.
RNT typically shows up in two forms:
Rumination: repetitive thinking about past events, mistakes, missed opportunities or one’s own worth.
Worry: repetitive thinking about future events, possible risks and uncertain outcomes.
What matters is not how much you think, but the mode of thinking. Thinking becomes problematic when it keeps returning to the same content, remains emotionally charged and leads to little or no concrete action.
Typical markers are:
Thoughts keep returning to the same topic despite repeated attempts to resolve it.
The focus is on mistakes, threats or negative consequences.
The thinking feels active but does not result in decisions or action.
The process is experienced as hard to interrupt.
Although overthinking often feels like problem solving, it is usually an unproductive attempt to create a sense of safety.
Why the brain slips into overthinking
Overthinking is not a defect.
Rather, it is the brain’s way of trying to resolve an issue, such as the discrepancy between the current state and a desired goal, the difference between available information and a required decision or the conflict between the need for certainty and the experience of uncertainty.
Having open goals, unanswered questions and missing feedback increases the likelihood that thoughts will keep returning to the same issue. This effect is particularly strong when uncertainty is experienced as threatening.
This is where intolerance of uncertainty comes into play. People differ in how well they can tolerate not knowing. When uncertainty is consistently interpreted as danger, the mind tries to regain control through thinking. Worry and rumination then become a safety strategy:
”if I think about it long enough, I will find a solution or prepare for it”.
This also explains why overthinking feels so urgent.
Repetitive thinking can prolong stress responses in the body. Heart rate, tension and inner restlessness remain elevated even though nothing is objectively happening. The body behaves as if action were immediately required.
In addition, overthinking is linked to cognitive control. Research shows an association between rumination and functions such as inhibitory control (the ability to suppress intrusive or irrelevant thoughts), attentional regulation and the ability to switch strategies when needed, for example, moving from rumination to concrete planning, from mental simulation to actual action or from inward analysis to directing attention outward. This is why the well-meaning advice “just stop thinking” rarely helps.
On a neurocognitive level, rumination is associated with activity patterns in the default mode network (DMN), which is involved in self-referential thinking, mental simulation and the internal replay of scenarios. When this network dominates, it becomes harder to disengage attention and step out of the loop.
Solving or switching
One of the most important distinctions is this: am I trying to solve the problem or change the way I'm processing it?
Overthinking usually operates in an abstract mode. Questions such as “Why does this always happen to me?” or “What does this say about me?” perpetuate the cycle. This mode amplifies negative emotion without enabling action.
It is often more helpful to switch to a concrete mode. Rather than searching for causes and meanings, attention shifts to details, processes and the next small step. The content does not need to be positive. What matters is that thinking becomes action-oriented again.
Two patterns tend to fuel overthinking in this situation. One is treating uncertainty as a threat, which makes continued thinking feel necessary. The other is an abstract processing style where global “why” questions replace concrete “how” questions.
Simply shifting the focus from “why” to “how” can often be enough to reduce emotional load.
Four practical approaches to overcoming overthinking
The following approaches are intended as practical solutions for everyday situations.
They are designed to change thinking patterns and interrupt loops early on.
Mini if–then plans
If–then formulations reduce mental negotiation.
For example, if you notice that you are overthinking, write one sentence describing the problem, one sentence describing the next step and a time when you will take it.Use concrete language instead of abstract concepts
For 60 seconds, ask yourself two questions:
”What exactly does the problem look like right now?”, “What is a step that could be completed in five minutes?”Decentring
Thoughts are observed rather than believed.
A simple entry point is to start a sentence with “I am having the thought that...”.
This creates distance without suppressing the content.Deliberately park your worries, not as a solution, but as an experiment
Write down your worries and postpone them to a fixed time.
For example: “I am worrying about tomorrow's meeting. I will deal with this consciously at 6 p.m.”
Observe over a few days whether its urgency changes.
An important caveat
Overthinking is more than a bad habit.
If thought loops persist for weeks, cause significant distress, impair daily functioning or severely disrupt sleep, seeking professional support is advisable.
The tools described here are meant for everyday use. They do not replace therapy, but they can help recognise early loops and relate to them differently.
What this is really about
Overthinking does not mean thinking too much.
In most cases, it means that your thought process is stuck in the wrong mode. Thoughts keep circling, but they neither provide new information nor prepare you for the next step. This process feels active, but is actually stuck internally.
The way out is not necessarily to find better answers or analyse harder. It is to switch processing modes. Move away from abstract questions about purpose, global meanings and mental control. Towards concrete details, small actions and real movement.
It's not about thinking or not thinking, but about moving from a loop to a step.
L. A.
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Reflection starts with dialogue.
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Thinking from Scratch
by Luc Albrecht
Exploring how we think, decide and create clarity
