Overthinking is something I used to do a lot. And I mean a lot. Going over things again and again in my head, analysing every little detail, replaying conversations, imagining outcomes that probably weren’t ever going to happen. It’s exhausting when you think about it. And completely unhelpful.
Because the truth is, overthinking doesn’t solve anything. It just creates more worry. And worry, as we all know, doesn’t actually do anyone any good. It just makes you feel rubbish and stuck, like you’re doing something productive when really, you’re just going round in circles.
I still see it in people around me now. Friends getting caught up in their thoughts, trying to figure everything out, looking for certainty where there isn’t any. And I often find myself saying the same thing: stop overthinking it. Not in a dismissive way, but in a gentle reminder that sometimes, less thinking is actually better. Because there’s a difference between thinking something through… and letting your mind run away with you.
For me, the shift came when I started to become more aware of what was actually happening in my head. That moment when you notice your thoughts speeding up, jumping from one thing to another, creating stories that feel real but aren’t necessarily true. That’s the point where I try to pause.
Sometimes I’ll take a breath. Sometimes I’ll sit quietly for a few minutes. Meditation, when I remember to do it, helps bring everything back down again. It’s not about stopping thoughts completely (which is pretty much impossible), but about not getting pulled into them so easily.
I think it was Eckhart Tolle who first introduced me to the idea of the egoic mind — that constant voice in our head that wants to analyse, judge, and create drama where there doesn’t need to be any. And once you start to see it for what it is, it becomes a lot easier to step back from it.
Not perfectly, of course. I still have moments where I catch myself spiralling a bit. But now, instead of getting completely lost in it, I can usually recognise what’s happening and gently bring myself back. Because not everything needs to be figured out straight away. Not every thought needs your attention. And sometimes, the kindest thing you can do for yourself… is to stop thinking so much.
This is something I touch on in my book too — that idea of stepping out of your thoughts, trusting yourself more, and not getting caught up in mental loops that don’t serve you. If that resonates, you can find it on Amazon and if you google The Enchanted Midlife by Suzy Turner, you will also find it on numerous other online bookstores.
If you’re taking part in the A to Z Blogging Challenge this year, let me know in the comments so I can check out your posts. And if you’d like to catch up on the rest of mine, you can find some of them here: A is for Alchemy, B is for Becoming, C is for Cycles, D is for Disillusionment, E is for Energy, F is for Flaws, G is for Grumpy, H is for Hormones, I is for Intuition, J is for Joy, K is for Kindness, L is for Laughter, M is for Midlife, N is for Nourish.
