How to think clearly when you're drowning in overthinking

You can’t think clearly when your mind is in the swamp.

If you've been stuck in overthinking, decision fatigue, or that familiar mental spiral where everything feels urgent and impossible, this one is for you.

You’ve probably tried to fix it by thinking harder or journaling more. More talking it out. More trying to "figure it out."

But thinking harder doesn’t help when your brain is fogged. And here’s why.

Your brain is doing exactly what it was built to do.

When you’re overwhelmed, your nervous system kicks into protective mode. It’s subtle. You're not screaming into a pillow or running for your life. You're just feeling... stuck.

Internally, your amygdala is scanning for threat. And that "threat" might be something as ordinary as uncertainty, perfectionism, or the feeling that everyone expects more of you than you can give.

When this happens, your prefrontal cortex, the part of your brain responsible for clear thinking, problem-solving, and perspective, gets less access to energy. It's not malfunctioning. It's being bypassed by survival mode.

So even if you’re safe in your living room, your brain doesn’t feel safe. And without safety, there’s no clarity.

That’s why you can feel smart and capable—and still feel completely lost.

The truth about clarity

Clarity isn’t something you achieve through effort. It returns when your system is calm enough to let it.

You don’t need to analyze more.

You don’t need another pros-and-cons list.

You need distance. Not emotional distance. Physical.

That’s where a strange little technique from the world of Brainspotting can help.

A simple clarity trick (with actual brain science behind it)

Try this right now. It takes 30 seconds.

• Look at something very close to you. Your hands. Your phone. Your keyboard.

  Just notice how your body feels.

• Now shift your gaze to something far away. A tree outside the window. The edge of the room. A wall across from you. Keep your eyes soft. Breathe.

This small shift in visual focus sends a message to your brain: I’m not in immediate danger.

It may seem too simple, but this is how your optic nerve and nervous system communicate. Looking far creates space—internally and externally. And when your brain has space, it can access clarity again.

This doesn’t solve everything. But it shifts you out of the spiral. And that’s where clear thinking begins.

What to remember when you feel lost in overthinking

You're not failing because you can’t figure it out. You're overloaded.

And overloaded brains don’t need to try harder. They need to come up for air.

So next time you feel stuck, pause.

Look up.

Look out.

Let your system reset, even for 30 seconds.

That’s often enough to start seeing the next right thing.

And if the fog’s been thick for too long?

You don’t need another method. You need a bit of space to hear yourself again.

That’s what I offer:

✦ The Muse → A quiet, creative space to reconnect to yourself without pressure or goals

✦ Renaissance of the Soul → A deep emotional recalibration. Just truth and transformation at your own pace

✦ Or start with an Insight Call → 30 minutes. More clarity where it counts

Clarity doesn’t live at the bottom of your to-do list. It lives just above the noise, waiting for you to look up.