How Racing Thoughts Affect Your Mind & Body
Ever find yourself stuck in a mental loop of “what-ifs” and worst-case scenarios? You're not alone. Overthinking doesn’t just drain your mental energy—it can take a serious toll on your body, too. From restless sleep to gut issues and a racing heart, your mind’s constant chatter can show up in surprising ways. But don't worry—you can break the cycle. Here are 10 ways overthinking affects your body, and 10 mindset shifts that can help you find your footing.
1. Spike Your Heart Rate
It's no surprise that constant overthinking can spike your heart rate, causing you to feel symptoms like palpitations and shortness of breath. Over time, chronic stress and anxiety can put excessive strain on your cardiovascular system, which may damage your heart.
2. Cause Digestive Problems
Ever felt nauseous and queasy when you were feeling extremely anxious? You're not alone. The reason this happens is because the brain and the gut are connected, and when you're stressed, the hormones that are released enter your digestive tract, causing gastrointestinal problems.
3. Poor Sleep
Overthinking can make it seem impossible to fall asleep at night. After all, when you're constantly replaying the same thoughts and anxieties inside your head, your brain won't want to shut off until you've calmed down. Even if you do fall asleep, you might wake up several times throughout the night.
4. Trigger Headaches
When you're stressed or anxious, you're much more likely to get headaches or migraines. The most common type you might experience is tension headaches, which happen when you're constantly tensing your jaw, neck, and forehead. This symptom might even lead to increased anxiety.
5. Weakened Immune System
It's not just your gut that's affected by overthinking and anxiety—your immune system is, too. The hormones your body sends out when you're stressed can disrupt natural processes, including how your body fights off illness and inflammation. This means you might be more likely to get sick.
6. Loss of Appetite
When anxiety messes with your gut, it's no surprise that you'll probably end up losing your appetite as well. Things you normally crave suddenly don't seem all that delicious-sounding to you, and you might even avoid eating altogether.
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7. Drain Energy
Overthinking doesn't just make it difficult for you to fall and stay asleep at night, but it also depletes your energy. After all, when you leave your mind to run without pause, these racing thoughts can lead to mental exhaustion, making you feel upset and fatigued.
8. Decreased Productivity
Constant overthinking also affects your productivity levels, since your mind is always somewhere else when you should be focused on the task at hand. Plus, if you're already experiencing insomnia because of your stress and anxiety, that only takes a further toll on you, both mentally and physically.
9. Worsen Skin Conditions
Stress and anxiety can exacerbate skin problems, like eczema, psoriasis, and rosacea. These flare-ups happen because high cortisol levels can compromise the skin barrier and make the body more vulnerable to inflammation. The worst part? The longer you're stressed, the longer it takes for your wounds to heal.
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10. Heightened Cortisol Levels
As mentioned, stress hikes your cortisol levels, which can lead to symptoms like weight gain, muscle weakness, fatigue, delayed wound healing, and depression. These symptoms may, in turn, spike anxiety further, which can lead to a never-ending loop.
Wondering how you can stop overthinking? Here are 10 mindset shifts that might help:
1. Focus on the Present
Instead of replaying a past mistake you made and can't change or imagining a doomed scenario in the future, focus on the present. Anchor yourself in the now and don't let your anxiety spiral or take over your control. Whether it's on your breath, your surroundings, or your current task, shift your attention there and let it stick.
2. Challenge Catastrophic Thoughts
If your anxiety often makes you catastrophize and think of the worst-case scenario, try challenging these thoughts instead of letting them have power over you. Ask yourself: What's the worst that could realistically happen? Even if you fail, even if you embarrass yourself, would it really matter in a month, two months, or a year from now?
3. Label Your Thoughts
It may help to label your thoughts as well. When something negative pops into your mind, don't let it make you spiral. Instead, acknowledge it as a result of your stress or anxiety, not grounded in reality, then let it pass.
4. Set a Time Limit for Your Anxiety
It might sound silly, but this may help you refrain from overthinking late into the night. What do you need to do? It's simple: set a cut-off for your worrying. For example, you may have a 10-minute "worry window" or tell yourself that you won't let yourself worry after 6PM.
5. From "I Have To" to "I Get To"
Another mindset shift that might help is to reframe your anxieties into opportunities. For example, if you're overthinking about a job interview that's coming up, don't tell yourself that it's something you "have to" do. Instead, tell yourself it's something you "get to" do, which may help take the stress off.
6. Switch to Solution-Based Thinking
Overthinking rarely does us any good, if ever. So, instead of letting these thoughts eat away at you, shift to solution-based thinking. What can you do right now that might help? For example, if you're worried about a work presentation, don't focus on the what-ifs ("What if I mess up?")—focus on how you can better prepare yourself so that you ace it.
7. Practice Mindful Breathing
It's easy to let your stress and anxiety get the best of you, which can cause a plethora of unwanted symptoms, from palpitations to migraines. Whenever you find yourself about to spiral, focus on your breath and take deep, calming ones from your belly. Try a technique like box breathing: inhale for four, hold for four, then exhale for four. This may help ground you.
8. Journal Your Thoughts
It may also help to write your thoughts down somewhere so they're not just perpetually floating around in your head. When you see your anxieties written out in ink, they might not seem so scary anymore, and they might not have as much power over you.
9. Be Kind to Yourself
It's important to be kind to yourself, even when the voice in your head isn't. Whether you're ruminating on past mistakes or catastrophizing something that hasn't yet happened, remember that you deserve compassion, patience, respect, and forgiveness just as much as anyone else. Don't be so hard on yourself!
10. Remind Yourself That This, Too, Will Pass
No matter how things unfold or how daunting a worry may be in the moment, remind yourself that this, too, will pass. In a year's time, you'll likely have forgotten all about it, and it will have just been something that happened. So, instead of constantly stressing out about it, go and live your life!
