How to Stop Overthinking: Breaking the Negative Thought Cycle to Unlock Success

Over the years I’ve spent as an energy healer, many successful people have come to me asking me how to stop overthinking. Working with business owners, entrepreneurs, property investors and more, their minds naturally race at a million miles an hour, full of ideas ready to execute.

So when you add overthinking to their plate, it can all feel like a little bit too much sometimes. 

So if you're the kind of person who spends an entire afternoon trying to choose between two perfectly good business decisions, convinced there's a right answer you're somehow missing, then I'm glad you're here because we're going to break that cycle today.

There is a way to free yourself from overthinking and what I'll be sharing with you in this blog post isn't something you’d typically find inside self-help books, podcasts, or your therapist's office. 

What Causes Overthinking?

First of all though, I'd like you to understand a bit more about where overthinking comes from in the first place.

Because everything we do starts with a thought and that single thought that just popped into your brain right now can have far more power than most people realise.

Knowing where these thoughts are coming from can be a really powerful tool. 

The truth is, the root cause of most overthinking typically comes from unhealed trauma or past experiences. We then carry these through later on in life, even if we've not had what might be considered as a “traumatic upbringing”, there’s still a lot of energy there that often needs clearing. 

For example, you might have been questioned a lot in your childhood, which means you now go into every situation overthinking all the different ways people might try to test you or catch you out, and if you’re about to go into an important meeting or pitch yourself to investors, it can unravel you fast.

It’s wild right?

A single event in childhood…

That then creates a subconscious belief. 

That belief causes one tiny thought to pop up in your head and from there it manages to influence how we feel, the decisions we make and how we show up as a result. 

Now that you understand where these thought patterns often begin, let's look at what overthinking actually is and why it can feel so difficult to switch off the negative self-talk. 

What Is Overthinking?

Most people define overthinking as worrying too much.

Psychologists have even described it as the problem that disguises itself as a solution, which can be dangerous if you find that you're a bit of a solution-oriented person, always looking for how to fix things. 

It can look like replaying situations in your mind or feeling like you're stuck in a loop of negative thoughts that you just can't shift.

But it can also impact the body in ways you might not have realised. 

Our bodies don't know the difference between a thought and something that's truly happening. So simply thinking about something stressful can cause the body to respond as if the threat is real.

This means that if you spend a lot of time thinking fearful, stressful or negative thoughts, your body starts acting like there is something to be afraid of, like a bear is chasing you even though it isn’t, which is why overthinking often feels physical as well as mental.

You might notice tightness in the chest, tension in your jaw, restlessness, general overwhelm or feeling drained, even when nothing has physically caused that. 

Are You Preparing for the Worst?

Think about how many times you've prepared for the worst-case scenario.

Created a Plan C in case Plan B fell through.

Talked yourself out of a business opportunity before you'd even put yourself forward.

This is where overthinking becomes more than just a thought or even that protective voice trying to keep you safe and starts influencing the decisions you make.

One thing I've noticed over the years is that many people mistake overthinking for being prepared.

You rehearse conversations before they've happened, delay decisions because you're searching for certainty and getting caught up in all the terrible “what ifs”, you worry about what could go wrong before there's any evidence that something will go wrong. 

And this is where your overthinking starts to make you live as though your fears are fact.

So how do we fix it?

How to Break the Cycle; Best Techniques for Immediate Relief from Overthinking

If you want to quickly ground yourself when overthinking, you need to break the cycle and the first step in that is becoming aware of it.

Most of our negative thoughts become a bit of a monster so quickly that we don't even realise that we're already spiralling because our brain just switches into autopilot. This is why building a habit into your day of interrupting the pattern as soon as you notice it will help you to stop the spiral in its tracks.

Every time you have a negative thought, I’d like you to immediately say to yourself “that's not true”.

You won't be perfect at this at first, you won't catch yourself every time, but the more you practice, the more it will come naturally whenever you start to overthink or question yourself.

This simple action allows you to break the cycle before the thought starts to spiral.

By disconnecting yourself from the thought, instead of allowing it to grow into fear, anxiety or self-doubt, you're cutting the energy behind it and wiping the slate clean. You can then work on deleting and erasing those thoughts and allow yourself to replace them with more positive thought patterns.

Inside my membership, I teach a powerful five-minute clearing practice designed to help you release negative thoughts and emotional energy you've been carrying, so you can create more space for calmer, more supportive thinking moving forward. 

How to Replace Overthinking with Positive Thoughts

Most people spend so much time either trying to stop negative thoughts, or shaming themselves/becoming frustrated with having them in the first place that they never think about what they want to replace them with.

But nature doesn't like a vacuum.

If you're constantly deleting negative thoughts, you also need to start creating more positive ones.

One of the simplest ways to do this is through gratitude and intention and the best time to do this is at the start of every day.Before you even get out of bed in the morning, think about two or three things you're grateful for. It doesn't have to be anything life-changing; keep it simple to start with. But having that 60 seconds in your morning where you focus on what’s already good in your life will shift your energy and attention from “what if it all goes wrong?” to “what if it all goes right?” 

From there, you can set an intention for the day around how you want to feel and the kind of day you want to create.

It can be as simple as: "Today, my what-if thoughts are going to be centred around the best possible outcome rather than the worst"

This alone will help you set the tone for the day.

You’re More Powerful Than The Negative Thoughts; Things to Take Away Today

If there's one thing I hope you take away from this article, it's that overthinking is simply a pattern, one that you might have been unintentionally practicing for years at this point.

BUT, patterns can be changed, just not by overthinking or intellectualising every thought you have. 

So, I invite you to treat your moments of over-thinking as an opportunity to reconnect with self, to interrupt the pattern and break the cycle. 

Here are the key things I'd like you to remember:

• Overthinking is repetitive thinking that can create stress, anxiety and emotional overwhelm.

• Negative thoughts don't just affect the mind. They can create physical responses in the body too.

• Thoughts often become words, actions and behaviours that influence the choices we make.

• Many people unknowingly prepare for the worst, reinforcing the very fears they're trying to avoid.

• One of the best techniques for immediate relief from overthinking is interrupting the pattern as soon as you notice it.

• Replacing negative thought patterns with gratitude and intention can help redirect your focus towards what you do want to create.

• Emotional healing can help address the deeper causes of chronic overthinking and self-sabotage.

If you're finding yourself trapped in cycles of overthinking, anxiety or self-doubt, it may be time to explore the deeper subconscious patterns beneath them.

Inside my How to Heal Membership, not only do we dive deeper on your thought patterns, but inside that training, I also teach a powerful five-minute clearing practice designed to help you release negative thoughts and emotional energy you've been carrying, so you can create more space for calmer, more supportive thinking moving forward.

Experience the practice for yourself. I'd love to welcome you inside.

Samara x