How Can You Break the Cycle of Overthinking?

Does the same thought keep going around in your mind? This is not deep thinking — the clinical term is rumination.

Lying awake for hours at night, replaying the same event dozens of times, exhausting yourself without reaching a solution. This is the brain’s “default mode” (Default Mode Network) staying active — one of the strongest predictors of depression.

“Trying not to think” does not work: a meta-analysis of 31 studies shows that attempts to suppress a thought make it return (the rebound effect). The solution is not suppression — it is changing how you relate to your thoughts.

4 evidence-based methods:

• Metacognitive Therapy (MCT): Tests the belief that “thinking is helpful to me.” In a meta-analysis of 16 studies, Hedges’ g = 2.00 (Normann et al., 2014).

• Mindfulness-Based Cognitive Therapy (MBCT): Reduces the risk of relapse in recurrent depression by 31% (HR 0.69). 9 RCTs, 1258 patients (Kuyken et al., JAMA Psychiatry, 2016).

• Rumination-Focused CBT (RFCBT): Reduces the onset of depression in high-risk young people by 34%; shifts abstract thinking toward concrete thinking (Cook et al., 2019; Watkins et al., 2011).

• Exercise: Even a single 30-minute session reduces rumination, as measured by both self-report and EEG (Welkerling et al., 2025).

5 steps you can start taking today: (1) Set a fixed time for worrying — 20 minutes a day. (2) Write down thoughts that come up during the day and postpone them until that time. (3) Direct your attention outward: take a short walk or engage in a sensory activity. (4) Ask “What can I do?” instead of “Why?” — move from abstract to concrete thinking. (5) Allow thoughts rather than suppressing them.

⚠️ If rumination lasts longer than two weeks, disrupts sleep or appetite, or affects your ability to function, be sure to consult a mental health professional. If you are having suicidal thoughts, an urgent assessment is essential.

Click here for scientific sources and the file.