58. How to Stop Overthinking Everything

In this episode, Sam opens up about her former destructive habit of overthinking everything until she's fully spiraling and catastrophizing—and then, as always, she shares how she learned how to STOP doing it. It's literally bad for our health! Also, it's not productive. But you'll learn all that in the episode. Listen to this episode if you're a chronic overthinker. Key moments: 06:35 What does overthinking look/feel like? 07:11 Ruminating about the past vs. worrying about the future 08:06 The consequences of overthinking 11:25 Why do we overthink everything? 13:17 Big CAPS LOCK updates!!! 14:22 The one reason we all overthink 14:53 How you can trick your brain by overthinking 15:27 Why overthinking isn’t productive 16:58 All roads lead back to fear of judgment! 17:56 Why you’re always spiraling about the worst possible outcomes instead of the best possible outcomes 18:42 Why it’s dangerous to overthink the worst possible outcomes 19:12 The physical health impact of spiraling (inflammation, immune system, etc.) 20:32 Identifying triggers and patterns for spiraling, overthinking, ruminating, etc. 22:55 Do you mostly spiral at night or when you’re alone? 24:39 Why your spirals are worse at certain times 25:06 The first question to ask yourself when you start spiraling 25:57 Catastrophizing 26:20 How to reframe your thoughts while you’re catastrophizing 26:54 What to do when you catch yourself in a negative thought loop 27:56 Using your calendar app to reduce overthinking 28:02 Venting to your friends vs. venting to your therapist 30:33 Your can/cannot list - this is SO HELPFUL 32:41 How to shift from overthinking in your HEAD to executing an ACTION IRL 33:47 Sam literally wrote you a clean, concise apology text for when you’re in an awkward situation and it’s your fault lol 34:32 Honestly the most crucial advice in any episode ever lol Join ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠WHOOP⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠. Follow along: Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.instagram.com/lifeincapslock⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  TikTok: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.tiktok.com/@lifeincapslock⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.youtube.com/@lifeincapslock⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Threads: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.threads.net/@lifeincapslock⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices