Stuck in your head?

To stop overthinking, give the thought somewhere to go: a plan if you can act on it, a set time if you can’t, a view from outside if it’s about what happened. Pick what your mind is stuck on and use the tool for it. Each takes a few minutes.

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What is your mind stuck on?

How to stop overthinking

When going over a thought brings nothing new, try a different kind of step:

  1. Write it down. The NHS suggests writing your worries down and setting aside a short "worry time", say 10 or 15 minutes, every day or so. When a worry comes up outside it, tell yourself you will set it aside for your worry time.
  2. Sort it. The NHS suggests a "worry tree" to tell apart problems you can solve from hypothetical worries that are beyond your control. For a problem you can solve, write down what you will do, how and when. Try the worry tree.
  3. Give it a time. A 2024 review of 7 randomised trials with 999 participants found that postponing worries to a set worry period, practised for a week to a month, reduced how often and how long people worried in daily life. The effects were small, and long-term follow-up studies are still lacking. Set yours up with worry time.
  4. Step outside it. In experiments, people who looked back on an upsetting experience from a distance, like "a fly on the wall", reacted less physically and recovered faster than people who relived it through their own eyes.
  5. Let go of what isn’t yours. The NHS suggests accepting the worries you cannot control and bringing your attention back to the present. The circle of control makes it visible.

Not sure which fits? Take the 1-minute check. Prefer paper? Print the worksheets.

When to get help

These are self-help tools, not medical advice or a diagnosis. Talk to a doctor, or one of the lines below, if:

  • the thoughts stop you sleeping, working or seeing people most days;
  • you feel low or hopeless most of the time, or you have thoughts of harming yourself;
  • the thoughts feel unwanted and push you to check things or ask for reassurance again and again. OCD involves unwanted, intrusive thoughts that keep coming back, and compulsions such as asking for reassurance or checking. The NHS says it is important to get help if it has a significant impact on your life.

Free, confidential lines

  • US:988 Suicide & Crisis LifelineCall or text 988Free and confidential, 24/7. You can also chat at 988lifeline.org.
  • UK & Ireland:Samaritans116 123Free to call, day or night.
  • UK:NHS 111111, mental health optionUrgent help from the NHS when it is not an emergency.

If someone's life is at risk, call 999 or go to A&E. For urgent help in the UK, use NHS 111 online or call 111 and choose the mental health option. In the US, in life-threatening situations, call 911. Elsewhere, call your local emergency number.

Sources

  1. Tackling your worries. NHS Every Mind Matters. nhs.uk
  2. Dippel A, Brosschot JF, Verkuil B (2024). Effects of Worry Postponement on Daily Worry: a Meta-Analysis. International Journal of Cognitive Therapy 17:160–178. doi:10.1007/s41811-023-00193-x
  3. Kross E, Ayduk O (2011). Making Meaning out of Negative Experiences by Self-Distancing. Current Directions in Psychological Science 20(3):187–191. berkeley.edu (PDF)
  4. Symptoms - Obsessive compulsive disorder (OCD). NHS. nhs.uk
  5. Where to get urgent help for mental health. NHS. nhs.uk
  6. Suicide Prevention. National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). nimh.nih.gov
  7. 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. 988lifeline.org
  8. Contact a Samaritan. Samaritans. samaritans.org

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