Stop the Overthinking Spiral

Overthinking has a telltale signature: you revisit the same question more than three times without new information. Your brain is not processing — it is looping. Recognizing the loop is the first step to breaking it. When you catch yourself circling the same thought, that is your cue to act, not to think harder.

The trap is that overthinking feels like working. You are still at the desk, still thinking about the problem — surely that is progress? It is not. Progress requires new input, new evidence, or a new angle. Looping on the same set of facts produces only fatigue and false confidence.