Breaking the Spiral: How to Stop Overthinking and Self-Sabotaging

You know that feeling.

It's 11:43 p.m. You're lying in bed, replaying the conversation you had three days ago. Your brain is firing off worst-case scenarios like a slot machine stuck on a losing streak. You keep telling yourself to stop. To calm down. To go to sleep.

But your mind doesn't listen.

Welcome to the spiral. The land of overthinking, self-doubt, procrastination, guilt, and the inner voice that just won't quit.

This is more than overthinking; it's self-sabotage.

And we all find ourselves here sometimes.

Why You Keep Spiraling (Even Though You Know Better)

If you've read the books, done the healing, and still catch yourself back in the same loop, here's why:

Overthinking isn't always mental. It's often energetic.

When your nervous system feels unsafe, your mind overcompensates by trying to control the chaos. It spins stories. Prepares for attack. Doubts everything. All in the name of keeping you "safe."

But safety and sabotage often wear the same mask.

And here's where I'm gonna get a little controversial (honestly, I'm debating whether to include this, but whatever): Most therapy focuses on understanding WHY you react. But understanding doesn't automatically change the pattern. You can know exactly why you have trust issues and still find yourself checking your partner's phone at midnight.

The Real Issue: Your Nervous System Doesn't Trust You

Every time you snap at someone and regret it later, you're sending a signal to your nervous system: "I can't be trusted to handle stress."

Every time you make a plan and don't follow through, you're building evidence: "I'm not reliable."

Every time you say yes when you mean no, you're proving: "I can't protect my own boundaries."

Your nervous system is literally keeping you in survival mode because it doesn't believe you can handle life as an adult.

(I'm realizing as I write this that this sounds harsh, but it's literally what's happening and nobody talks about it.)

The First Step: Curiosity Over Control

Instead of trying to control the spiral, get curious about it.

Ask:

• What just activated me?

• What am I trying to protect?

• What feeling am I avoiding?

• What would I tell a friend in this situation?

You're not trying to out-think your way to peace. You're trying to interrupt the pattern before it hijacks your whole day (or night).

How to Break the Cycle (Without More Self-Help Books)

You don't need a 12-step program or a 6-month sabbatical. You need one small moment of awareness and the right tool to meet it.

But here's the thing about tools—you need different ones for different moments. Sometimes you need a quick reset. Sometimes you need deep pattern work. Sometimes you just need to remember who the hell you are.

Pattern-breaking isn't about perfection. It's about returning to yourself faster and with less shame.

You Can Rise From This

This spiral you're in? It's not proof that you're failing. It's proof that you're ready to shift.

You're noticing. You're asking better questions. You're choosing to interrupt instead of abandon.

That's what mastery looks like. Not perfection. Just presence.

And honestly? The fact that you're here reading this instead of doom-scrolling tells me you're already choosing differently.

👇 Start here (pick what feels right for where you are):

🆓 Free Resources:

1. ✨ Clarity Reset Ritual – Your 5-minute ritual to reclaim power in stressful moments

2. 🎥 The Spiral Reset Part 1 on YouTube – Understand why spirals start and how to stop them

3. 🌀 Pattern Disruption Cheat Sheet - Real-time reframes to shift your state fast

💫 Premium Tools:

4. 📝 Get the "Learn to Respond, Not React" Workbook – now $7 (normally $17) – Build your calm plan in 30 minutes. Includes bonus AI prompt pack

5. 🎯 Book a 1:1 Mastery call with me - now $69 (normally $133) - Get clarity on a core issue you're facing today and reclaim your calm.

So if you're wondering where to begin, start here: not with fixing, but with noticing. Not with doing more, but with choosing differently. The spiral isn’t your identity. It’s just an old pattern trying to protect something. And the part of you that clicked on this post and read it all the way through? It’s already rising.

Jeannette 🌿

P.S. That thing about therapy focusing on understanding rather than rewiring? I'm not anti-therapy at all. But I think we need both. Understanding AND practical tools to interrupt patterns in real-time. That's what this work is about.