“I thought I was just overanalyzing. But then I started feeling panicky over every email I sent.”
Overthinking and anxiety are close cousins, but they aren’t identical. One lives in the mind. The other often takes over the body.
Overthinking is primarily mental—it involves thoughts looping without conclusion. Anxiety includes those thoughts but adds physical symptoms: a racing heart, tight chest, short breath, nausea, and restlessness. Anxiety also feels urgent, like something is about to go wrong.
Think of it this way: Overthinking is what happens when your thoughts won’t let go. Anxiety is when your body reacts as if danger is present, even if nothing is happening.
Where They Overlap:
Overthinking can cause anxiety. If your mind keeps circling fear-based thoughts, your nervous system can activate, flooding your body with stress hormones. This can lead to chronic worry and panic.
What Causes Overthinking?
- Fear of failure – the need to get it “right” every time
- Perfectionism – never feeling good enough
- Past trauma – your brain scanning for similar threats
- Low self-trust – not believing in your decision-making
- High pressure – constant performance or people-pleasing
Understanding your patterns matters. Do you second-guess yourself after every choice? Do you delay sending emails or avoid replying to messages out of fear? These are signs your brain is caught in a loop.
But you can learn to slow this down. You can train your mind to break the loop and rest. That’s what we’ll focus on next.