How to Stop Overthinking: 10 Practical Ways to Quiet Your Mind

You know that feeling.

You talk to a person and still think about it hours later.

As soon as you make a decision, you begin to question if you have made the wrong one.

When a person does not reply to your message, your brain begins to fill in the gaps.

You are exhausted and lying in bed, but then your mind makes the decision that it’s time to go over all the mistakes you’ve ever made.

And eventually you tell yourself:

I need to stop overthinking.

But then you begin to think too much about how to stop overthinking.

That’s the frustrating part.

It is impossible to just tell your brain to be quiet.

The aim is not to become a person who never has anxious, uncomfortable or negative thoughts, since that would be unrealistic.

The true aim is to learn how to identify unhelpful modes of thinking, stop encouraging them, and instead turn your attention to the things you actually have control over.

Research into repetitive negative thinking indicates that methods based on cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT) are able to reduce things like excessive worry and rumination. A meta-analysis published in 2025 of 55 studies with almost 5,000 participants showed that CBT interventions had a moderate overall effect on repetitive negative thinking, although the researchers also pointed out there was a great deal of variation between the studies.

So, let’s get practical.

The following are 10 things that you really can carry out when your mind refuses to switch off.

1. Start by identifying the times when you are actually overthinking.

You can’t change a pattern if you don’t see it.

It seems obvious, but it is one of the most important steps.

When you’re overthinking, your mind usually makes it seem as though you’re solving a problem.

You’re analysing.

You’re researching.

You’re replaying.

You’re predicting.

You’re preparing.

It feels productive.

But ask yourself:

Are you actually moving towards a solution?

If you’ve been thinking about the same question for an hour and have still not found anything new, then you are probably no longer engaged in problem-solving.

You’re looping.

Try this:

When you notice your thoughts spiralling, say:

I’m considering this once more.

Not:

I feel stupid because I overthink things.

Not:

“Why can’t I control my mind?”

Just notice it.

That small shift matters.

You are not entirely within the thought anymore.

You’re observing it.

That then provides you with the opportunity to decide what takes place next.

2. Distinctly separate the problem from the narrative you are telling yourself.

It is one of the most useful things that you can learn.

One case is the fact, and the other is the story that your brain constructs around it.

For example:

Fact:

Your friend has not replied to your message.

Story:

They’re angry with you.

Fact:

Tomorrow, your boss would like to see you.

Story:

You’ll get fired.

Fact:

Your partner seems quieter than usual.

Story:

They are becoming less interested in the relationship.

See the difference?

The truth is the knowledge that you have.

The story is merely your way of interpreting it.

When you are anxious, the story can seem just as real as the fact.

Try this exercise

Take a piece of paper and create two columns:

What I know	What I’m assuming
They haven’t replied	They’re angry with me
My boss wants to talk	I’m in trouble
I made a mistake	Everyone thinks I’m incompetent

This simple exercise causes you to distinguish between evidence and interpretation.

Instead of automatically accepting them as facts, CBT usually focuses on identifying and questioning unhelpful or inaccurate thought patterns.

And sometimes the most calming sentence you can tell yourself is:

“I really don’t know that.”

3. Ask whether there is something you can do regarding this.

The way in which you handle worry can be entirely altered by this question.

When a thought appears, ask:

“What can I do practically?”

If there is something you can do, then carry out the action.

If there is nothing you can do about this, then keeping on thinking about it will not lead to a situation in which there is control.

The NHS says that you should tell the difference between concerns that can be dealt with and those that are purely hypothetical and not currently solvable, after which you should draw up a specific plan for the problems within your sphere of influence.

Example

You are concerned about an exam that is due soon.

Actionable:

It is possible for you to study for two hours tonight.

So, study.

You’re worried:

What if I still end up being a failure?

It’s a possibility that you can’t fully control.

However, you can choose whether or not to prepare.

This gives you a useful rule:

If you can take action, then do so. If you can’t take action, stop pretending that more thinking counts as action.

That’s blunt.

But it’s true.

4. Assign your concerns a particular time and place.

This may sound strange.

If you’re attempting to stop overthinking, what reason would there be for deliberately setting time aside to worry?

Attempting to completely suppress thoughts can lead to a further conflict with your mind.

Rather, you have the option of establishing a brief and organised period of concern.

The NHS suggests allocating a short amount of time—usually about 10 to 15 minutes—in order to record one’s worries, think through possible solutions and then go back to normal activities after that period has ended.

Try it like this:

Pick a fixed time, maybe between 7:00 and 7:15 p.m.

If you have a concern at 11 a.m., put it in writing:

“Worried about tomorrow’s meeting.”

Then tell yourself:

I’ll take care of it at seven in the evening.

At 7 p.m., make yourself comfortable and get out your list.

Ask:

• Is this problem real?
• Is there anything I can do regarding it?
• What should be done next?
• Are there any other points that I actually need to consider?

Then stop.

You’re teaching your brain:

You can’t come between and interrupt my whole day every time you have a concern.

5. Give up on achieving 100% certainty.

This is a major one.

A great deal of overthinking is simply an effort to get rid of uncertainty.

You keep asking:

What if?

But what if?

Are you sure?

What if I’m wrong?

Shall I end up feeling that I made a mistake?

You search online.

Ask friends.

Make lists.

Reconsider.

Then search again.

At some point, you have to accept something uncomfortable:

You will never be entirely sure.

And that’s okay.

It is not necessary to be 100% certain to make a decision.

To be able to make a reasonable decision, you need both sufficient information and sufficient self-trust to face the results.

Try replacing:

“I have to know that this will work.”

with:

“I have no idea how things will turn out, but I can cope with the result.”

That’s not giving up.

That is learning to tolerate uncertainty.

6. Stop asking other people for endless reassurance.

Reassurance can feed overthinking at times.

You feel uncertain.

You ask a friend:

“Shall we say that they’re angry with me?”

They say no.

You feel better.

For ten minutes.

The doubt returns once again.

So, you ask again.

And again.

Reassurance eventually ends up as one element of the cycle.

You aren’t learning to trust your own judgment.

You are temporarily using somebody else’s.

That does not mean you ought to ask for advice never.

It is healthy to talk to people you trust.

But there’s a difference between:

“I need another perspective.”

and:

“I need someone to tell me I’m safe because I don’t trust myself.”

Upon spotting the second pattern, stop for a moment.

Ask yourself:

“What would my decision be if I never asked anybody else?”

The question causes you to rely on yourself.

7. Put the most adverse scenario to the test

Overthinking often jumps from:

“Something might go wrong.”

to:

“Everything will go wrong.”

There’s a point at which you should reduce your speed.

Ask yourself:

What could the worst-case scenario be?

Be honest.

Then ask:

How likely is it?

Then ask:

What actions would I take if it did happen?

This third question is particularly important.

The brain usually concentrates completely on avoiding the undesirable thing.

It fails to take into account the possibility that you could cope with it.

Example

You’re concerned that you might be rejected by someone.

Worst case?

They say no.

That will hurt.

But then what?

You survive it.

You learn something.

You move forward.

What we’re aiming for is not to make ourselves believe that no harm will occur.

The point is to remind yourself:

“Even if there is a problem, I could possibly manage it.”

This is a far more realistic kind of confidence.

8. Avoid using journaling as a way of overthinking more elegantly.

Journaling can be helpful.

But let’s face it: you can quite easily overthink in a notebook as well.

If you spend an hour writing:

What was the reason given for saying this?

“Maybe they meant that.”

“But what if…”

“I don’t know…”

You could have just transferred the same mental loop that was going on in your head onto paper.

Use a journal to gain clarity, not to start another spiral.

Try this four-question journal exercise:

1. What am I concerned about?

Write it as a single sentence.

2.What actual evidence do I have?

Separate facts from assumptions.

3. What is it that I can control?

Give a list of only those things that you can influence.

4. What should I do next?

Make a note of it if there is.

If there isn’t one, write:

“At this moment, there is nothing that I can do.”

Then close the notebook.

Our goal is not to write more.

The aim is to think more clearly.

9. Step out of your head and get back into your body.

Sometimes, when you’re stuck in your thoughts, further thinking isn’t the solution.

Movement can break the cycle.

Go for a walk.

Stretch.

Exercise.

Take a shower.

Clean your room.

Cook something.

Practice slow breathing.

Take care to notice the physical sensations that are around you.

Mindfulness and relaxation techniques can help to get the mind back to the present moment, and the NHS suggests that breathing exercises, mindfulness, meditation and physical activity are methods which some people find useful when it comes to managing their anxiety and worry.

What I’m talking about is not about fleeing from your thoughts.

What you need to remember is that you are a person with thoughts, not a brain that is contained within a thought.

At times, it is necessary to get out of the mental courtroom and return to real life.

10. Don’t regard each thought as a problem requiring an answer.

This is perhaps the most important lesson of all.

Your brain thinks constantly.

Some are useful.

Some are ridiculous.

Some are memories.

Some are fears.

Some are predictions.

Some are completely random.

You aren’t obliged to answer all of them.

Picture yourself getting 100 emails each day.

Would you answer each and every one of them?

Of course not.

Thoughts can be handled in the same way.

It is possible to recognise one without keeping up with it.

You can say:

“That’s an interesting thought.”

And move on.

Or:

“Maybe. Maybe not.”

And move on.

Or simply:

I have no need to work out this problem at the moment.

This is not avoidance.

If a real problem calls for action, then take steps to address it.

You have no obligation to provide an answer if your mind is asking an unanswerable question at midnight.

A 5-Minute Exercise for When You’re Overthinking

Let’s put everything together.

When you next find yourself spiralling, do not attempt to make your mind go completely silent.

Instead, do this:

Step 1: Name it

“I’m overthinking.”

Step 2: Write down the thought

Don’t let it keep circling in your head.

Step 3: Separate fact from assumption

Ask:

What is it exactly that I know?

Step 4: Identify control

Ask:

Can I do anything about this?

Step 5: Take one action

If you have something that you can do, carry it out or arrange it.

Step 6: Accept what you can’t control

Tell yourself:

At the moment I don’t have an answer, and I don’t need one.

Step 7: Redirect your attention

Return to the activity you were previously engaged in.

That is the section that people usually omit.

They recognise the thought and then continue to stare at it.

You have to go back to life.

3 Real-Life Examples of How to Stop Overthinking

Example 1: Your partner hasn’t replied

Your brain says:

They are ignoring me, perhaps because they are annoyed.

Stop.

Fact:

They haven’t replied.

Assumption:

They’re angry.

Control:

If it’s necessary, you can send a reasonable message.

No control:

It is impossible to get someone to reply right away.

Better response:

I have no idea why they haven’t replied; I’ll allow them some space and carry on with my evening.

That’s not pretending that all is well.

It is just refusing to invent any new information.

Example 2: You made a mistake at work

Your brain says:

“Everyone thinks I’m incompetent.”

Stop.

Fact:

You made a mistake.

Assumption:

At this moment, everybody believes that you are incapable.

Control:

Make the mistake right and take lessons from it.

No control:

It is impossible to control what each person thinks.

Better response:

“I’ve made a mistake, but I’ll deal with the parts that I can and try to do better next time.”

That’s accountability without self-punishment.

Example 3: You’re afraid of making the wrong decision

Your brain says:

What if I do regret this?

Stop.

Ask:

• What information do I currently have ?
• What are the practical possibilities?
• What are the advantages and dangers?
• What is most important to me?
• What should we do next?
• May I agree that there is no absolute guarantee?

Then make the decision.

At a certain stage, further analysis amounts to procrastination posed as intelligence.

You need to realise when you have gone as far as you ought to have.

Overthinking vs. Healthy Problem-Solving

Healthy problem-solving	Overthinking
Identifies the actual problem	Creates problems from possibilities
Looks for useful information	Searches endlessly for certainty
Creates a specific action	Keeps analysing
Accepts some risk	Wants a guarantee
Uses evidence	Treats assumptions as facts
Makes a decision	Delays indefinitely
Moves on afterwards	Reopens the question repeatedly

The aim is not to stop thinking.

The aim is for your thinking to become useful once more.

What if you are unable to stop overthinking?

At times, self-help strategies are not sufficient.

If worry becomes excessive and is continuous, hard to control, and has an effect on your sleep, concentration, work, relationships or daily life, then it might be a good idea to consult a qualified mental-health professional.

For instance, generalised anxiety disorder may involve worry that is hard to control together with symptoms including restlessness, difficulty in concentrating, irritability, muscle tension and sleep problems; yet it is only a qualified professional who can decide if someone’s symptoms match the criteria for a disorder.

The fact that you seek therapy does not mean that you’ve failed in your efforts to manage your thoughts.

Psychotherapy can, in fact, assist people with learning how to deal with their thoughts. Since CBT is a well-established method of treating anxiety, recent research has specifically found that CBT-based interventions are effective for repetitive negative thinking.

Therefore, if overthinking is in control of your life, don’t make it yet another excuse to blame yourself.

Ask for help if you need it.

What Not to Do When You’re Overthinking

The actions we take in order to feel better often continue the cycle.

Try not to:

• Google the same worry repeatedly
• Ask five people for reassurance
• Replay the same conversation for hours
• Check someone’s social media for clues
• Make decisions while extremely anxious
• Treat every thought as a fact
• Demand absolute certainty
• Beat yourself up for having thoughts
• Use alcohol or other substances as your main coping strategy
• Avoid every situation that makes you uncomfortable

There is no need to win a war against your own mind.

You have to cease feeding the loop.

The Real Goal Isn’t to Have a Quiet Mind

What I would like to see more people understand is this.

You may think:

Only when I stop overthinking will I finally feel peaceful.

Maybe.

You’ll be let down if you define peace as never having any unpleasant thoughts.

Thoughts will come back.

You will worry sometimes.

You will make mistakes.

You will, from time to time, question if you have made the right choice.

Someone will misunderstand you.

There’s going to be something that you won’t be able to control.

That’s life.

The goal isn’t:

I’ll never find myself overthinking once more.

The goal is:

I know exactly what I should do when I find that I’m overthinking.

That’s a far more realistic aim.

How to Stop Overthinking: The Bigger Picture

If you have already read my earlier article, ‘Why Do I Overthink Everything?’, you will already be aware that overthinking can have several origins: it may stem from a fear of uncertainty, perfectionism, a fear of rejection, a lack of self-trust, anxiety and learned thinking patterns.

It is useful to know the cause.

The work of understanding yourself is only half over.

The second portion concerns the changes you make when the pattern shows up.

So, remember these ten principles:

1. Notice the loop.
2. Separate facts from assumptions.
3. Find out what you are in a position to control.
4. Assign specific times and places to your worries.
5. Stop demanding complete certainty.
6. Reduce reassurance-seeking.
7. Challenge catastrophic predictions.
8. Use a journal to gain clarity rather than falling into another spiral.
9. Turn your attention away from your mind and focus on the present moment.
10. Do not regard each thought as a problem that needs to be solved.

You cannot become proficient at them all in a single day.

And that’s okay.

The point isn’t perfection.

It’s practice.

Final Thought

Perhaps the solution is not to quiet your mind.

It could be done in order to stop the belief that each thought warrants your attention.

You can have the thought:

What if all of it goes wrong?

And not follow it.

It is possible to be uncertain yet proceed anyway.

It is possible to decide on something even if you do not know exactly how that decision will turn out.

It is possible for someone to be misunderstood even if they don’t immediately set out to correct people’s views of them.

You are capable of making a mistake even if you do not turn that mistake into a judgment of your own character.

You can have an anxious thought even if you don’t treat it as if it were a prediction.

When your mind begins to race the next time, stop for a moment.

Take a breath.

Ask yourself:

“Shall I do something, or is my mind merely seeking certainty?”

If anything needs to be done, then do it.

If you have nothing to do, just let the thought exist without giving it any attention.

Peace isn’t always the result of eventually arriving at the perfect solution.

Peace can sometimes be achieved by coming to the realisation that you don’t need it.

What can help you when you begin to overthink?

Do you take notes or go for a walk? Maybe you chat with somebody or find something to keep your mind off things? Or is it usually the case that you end up stuck in that cycle?

Tell us about your experience in the comments.

A person who is looking at this might be experiencing precisely the same issue.

If you know someone who never seems to stop thinking, then pass on this article to them.

They need no one telling them to ‘just stop thinking’.

They need some practical tools and should be reminded that their thoughts needn’t control their lives.

A Note from The Inner Growth Lab

This article is intended for general education and self-reflection. It isn’t a diagnosis or a substitute for professional mental health care. If persistent worry or repetitive thoughts are significantly affecting your daily life, consider speaking with a qualified mental health professional.

Sources & Further Reading

NHS Every Mind Matters — Tackling Your Worries: practical guidance on writing worries down, scheduled “worry time,” distinguishing actionable problems from hypothetical worries, planning and returning attention to the present.

National Institute of Mental Health — Generalised Anxiety Disorder: information about excessive worry, symptoms and evidence-based treatment approaches such as CBT.

Stenzel et al. (2025), Psychological Medicine: a meta-analysis of 55 studies examining CBT and repetitive negative thinking, including worry and rumination.

NHS Every Mind Matters — Self-help CBT techniques: practical approaches for reframing unhelpful thoughts, tackling worries and changing behavioural patterns.