How to stop overthinking: 6 ways to clear your head by writing

Overthinking is going over the same thoughts again and again without reaching a decision or a conclusion. It usually takes two forms: replaying the past (“Why did I say that?”) and rehearsing the future (“What if it goes wrong?”). Psychologists call the first rumination and the second worry.

Thinking is not the problem; thinking a problem through is healthy. The difference is the outcome: productive thinking ends in a decision or an action, overthinking ends up back where it started.

A major review published in 2008 in Perspectives on Psychological Science summarizes research showing that rumination enhances negative thinking, impairs problem solving and gets in the way of taking action. The review also notes that rumination predicts the onset of depression and is associated with other difficulties, including anxiety.

So breaking the loop matters not only for feeling better but for being able to solve the problem itself. What the methods below have in common is moving the thought out of your head into a visible, limited place.

In the “worry time” method recommended by the UK's National Health Service (NHS), you set aside a fixed 10 to 15 minutes each day. When a thought starts looping during the day, you write it down in one sentence and tell yourself “I'll look at this during worry time”. You are not ignoring the thought, you are postponing it.

During worry time, ask one question about each thought: Is there anything I can do about this right now? The NHS explains this split with a “worry tree”: on one side, real problems you can solve; on the other, “what ifs” that are beyond your control.

• If you can do something: write an action plan: what you will do, how and when. Once the plan is written, the thought has no reason to keep circling.
• If you cannot: write that down plainly: “This is not in my control.” Then deliberately turn your attention to the present and what you are doing.

Many of the thoughts that keep you awake are about unfinished tasks. In a sleep lab study published in 2018, 57 young adults wrote for five minutes before bed: half wrote a to-do list for the coming days, half wrote about tasks they had recently completed. Those who wrote a to-do list fell asleep significantly faster, and the more specific their list, the bigger the effect.

1. 1Set a five minute timer before bed.
2. 2Write down everything you need to do in the next few days.
3. 3Make each item as specific as possible: not “email” but “send the budget sheet to Sam at 10 am”.
4. 4Close the notebook. If the thought comes back at night, tell yourself “it's on the list”.

It was a small study, and the participants were young adults without sleep problems; but trying it takes five minutes.

Beneath circular thinking there is often an unnamed feeling: embarrassment, anxiety, hurt. In an fMRI study published in 2007, when people put the emotion in a negative image into words, the amygdala's response went down. Instead of spiraling with “Why did I say that, maybe…”, write one sentence: “I feel embarrassed.”

The NHS's “catch it, check it, change it” technique, adapted from cognitive behavioral therapy, works well in writing. Write the looping thought in one sentence and ask these questions under it:

• Is there good evidence for this, or is it a guess?
• How likely is the outcome I am worried about?
• Are there other explanations or possible outcomes?
• What would I tell my closest friend if they were thinking this?

The goal is not to force the thought into a positive one but to put it somewhere more balanced. Even if you cannot fully change a thought, learning to separate helpful thoughts from unhelpful ones is a gain on its own.

Overthinking is often tied to particular situations: sleepless nights, conversations with certain people, deadlines. If you log your mood and a one word context at the same time every day, after a few weeks you can see which days and situations the loop builds around. Seeing it is the first step to preparing for it. See our guide on how to keep a mood journal for the method.

Yes. Rewriting the same worry for pages every day may just move the loop from your head to paper. To avoid that, give the writing a time limit (10 to 15 minutes) and an exit question: “Is there anything I can do about this?” If the answer is no, close the notebook. Writing is a tool for bringing a thought to a close, not for an endless second round.

For periods when stress is high in general, read our guide to journaling for stress relief.

Pixmood helps most with method six, seeing the pattern. You mark your day in five seconds by tapping one of five moods; if you like, you add a tag such as “no sleep”, “meeting” or “exam” and a note of up to 1,000 characters. The week and month mosaic shows where the hard days pile up, and Pixmood Pro shows how sleep and energy relate to your mood.

The limits: Pixmood is not a therapy or CBT exercise app. There is no timer and no AI, and the daily entry has no writing prompts. You can use a notebook for your worry list or to-do list. Your entries stay on your phone; there is no account and no server.

Everyone overthinks now and then. But if the loop has lasted for weeks, clearly affects your sleep, work or relationships, or comes with intense anxiety or a low mood, talk to a doctor or a mental health professional. The NHS advises seeing a doctor if you think you might have generalised anxiety disorder. If you are having thoughts of harming yourself, call your local emergency number right away (112 in Türkiye and across the EU).