5 Things You’d Never Guess About Overthinking

Ever notice how your brain won’t shut up right when you need clarity most?
I do for sure.

I’ll admit it: I’m a (recovering) overthinker.
And probably won’t ever be fully free from it.

But I wouldn’t be me if I hadn’t gone deep into researching the why behind it.
(G5/1 – can’t help it ;))

And what I found changed the way I understand myself. And the women I work with.
Because, as it turns out, there’s a very good reason we overthink (and it’s not because we’re overly dramatic).

So today, I want to share a few things I’ve discovered: the ones that helped me see overthinking not as a flaw to fix, but as feedback from my body.
Understanding them has completely shifted the way I lead myself, make decisions, and show up in my business.
And I think it might do the same for you.

1. Overthinking isn’t mental – It’s physical

For most of my life, I thought overthinking was a mindset issue.
Like something I just had to control better.

I’d catch myself analyzing every word before posting, planning every step before moving, and then wondering, “Why can’t I just get this done!?”

What I didn’t know then was that overthinking doesn’t start in the mind.
It starts in the body.

Here’s what’s actually happening (in simple terms):
when your nervous system senses potential danger (like being seen, rejected, or getting it wrong), it sends an alert to your brain.
And your brain, trying to keep you safe, starts running through every possible outcome,
so you don’t have to feel the discomfort of uncertainty.

That’s overthinking: a protection strategy.

And the moment I understood that, I found a lot more compassion for it. 
Because instead of trying to silence my thoughts, I started asking my body:

“What are you trying to protect me from right now?” 

Most times, the answer wasn’t logical, but very emotional:
Visibility. Rejection. Not being good enough.

And when I met that part of me with compassion instead of judgment,
my mind didn’t need to shout so loudly anymore.

2. Your body’s just trying to help

Once I understood that overthinking is a protective mechanism,
things started to make sense.

Because even though we don’t like what’s happening, our system isn’t sabotaging us.
It’s trying to help us.

The problem is just that it’s using an old playbook.

Our nervous system was built to protect us from danger.
An empty comment section or a launch that doesn’t go as planned isn’t dangerous.
But it can feel like it.
To the body, rejection feels just as real as standing alone in the dark.

So it does what it is programmed to do: it keeps you safe.
By second guessing the plan.
By editing the post one more time.
By waiting until it “feels right.”

That’s not flakiness or lack of discipline.
That’s a perfectly designed system doing its job.

I see this all the time with my clients.
They’re not procrastinating because they don’t care.
They’re hesitating because their body hasn’t learned that visibility can be safe now.

And that realization is often the first moment of change.

Because when you see it as your system trying to help you, you stop fighting it.
You start working with it.

3. You can’t think your way out of overthinking

Once I knew my nervous system was behind it all, my next question was 
“Okay, so how do I stop it?”

And (of course) my brain tried to find the answer by… thinking even more.

I read books, listened to podcasts, made plans to “stay consistent.”
But the harder I tried to think my way out of it, the louder the noise got.

Until I realized something that completely changed the game:
you can’t outthink your biology.

Overthinking isn’t a mindset issue.
It’s a body state.

When your nervous system is on high alert, no affirmation or journal prompt can convince it to relax.
It needs proof that you’re safe. Not more thoughts about why you should be.

That’s why regulation work matters so much.
Because when you calm your body, your mind naturally follows.
The thoughts slow down. You can make clear decisions again. 

Now, whenever I notice myself overthinking, I take one deep breath.
I drop my shoulders.
And I remind my body:

We’re safe. 

That single sentence often brings me more calm than any mindset exercise ever did.

4. The smarter you are, the worse it gets

I wish someone had told me this years ago:
the more capable you are, the more likely you are to overthink.

Most of the women I work with are brilliant.
They’re planners. 
They can see ten steps ahead . Which helps when managing a project.
But in business, that same skill can turn against you.

When your brain is wired for strategy, it tries to solve uncertainty.
It wants to think safety into existence.
So it runs scenarios, checks for risks, and calls it “being prepared.”

Sound familiar?

I used to call it “being responsible.”
But really, it was fear wearing a nice business costume. 

There’s nothing wrong with being analytical.
The problem starts when your brilliance gets stuck in protection mode.
Then the same intelligence that helps you lead others stops you from trusting yourself.

When you feel safe again, your mind becomes an ally.
You don’t necessarily think less. But you think from a place of safety instead of fear.
And from that place. great magic can happen.

5. Overthinking tricks your brain into feeling productive

Here’s something I didn’t know for a long time:
overthinking can feel productive (even though we know it’s not).

Studies show that during deep thinking, the brain releases tiny bursts of dopamine.
In other words, your mind rewards you for replaying ideas and scenarios.
Even when you never act on them.

That’s why overthinking feels like work.
You spend hours thinking through everything, so it feels like you’ve been busy.
But at the end of the day, nothing’s actually moved forward. 

I know that feeling too well.
You close your laptop thinking, “I’ve been working all day but got nothing done!”

That can be very frustrating. However, when we realize that it’s our nervous system trying to keep us safe,
it already feels quite different. And once we learn how to regulate our system to come back to safety, we can lead ourselves through these moments and act again. 

I hope this helped you see overthinking a little differently.
That it’s not something to fix, but something to understand.

Because once you see what your nervous system is really doing,
you can meet yourself with more compassion.
And you’ll know how to lead yourself through those spirals without getting lost in them.

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