How to Stop Overthinking (Part 2): Inside the Worry Cycle

It starts with a thought.

Something small.
“What if I got it wrong?”
“Why did they say that?”
“What if this never changes?”

And then—before you even realize—it snowballs.

Suddenly your heart’s racing, your chest feels tight, and you’ve mentally run through 42 versions of the same situation. Again.

If this sounds familiar, you’re not alone.
This is the worry cycle—and it feeds on itself.

How the Worry Cycle Works

The worry cycle is a loop where your thoughts create feelings, those feelings drive behaviours, and those behaviours bring consequences that reinforce your original thought.

Thought: “I can’t cope with this.”
Feeling: Anxious and overwhelmed
Behaviour: Withdraw or over-function
Consequence: Nothing changes—or gets worse
Reinforces: “See? I can’t cope.”

This is your brain’s way of trying to keep you safe—using old scripts that once protected you but now hold you back.

But here’s the good news:
Once you can see the cycle, you can begin to shift it.

Mini Insight

It’s not possible to stop all negative thoughts. We’re human, after all.
The first step is to notice the negative thoughts before they run the show.

In the member section below, I’ll share a short, guided reflection called “Your Thought Record.”
You can use it right inside this email—and there’s also a downloadable version if you’d like to keep it for future spirals.

Also, if you missed the introductory issue in this series on Overthinking, it’s here.