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How to Anchor Yourself When You’re Spinning Out

Spiraling mentally is a term often used to describe the ability to be caught in a cycle of overwhelming thoughts and emotions. It can feel your mind is moving faster than you are able to control, jumping from one fear or negative belief to the next with increasing intensity. What might begin as a small worry—about work, a connection, or surprise event—can quickly snowball into catastrophic thinking. You could imagine worst-case scenarios, replay past mistakes, or internalize every perceived failure or criticism. This mental spiral may be exhausting and frightening, often leaving you feeling helpless, anxious, or depressed.

One of the most frustrating aspects of mental spiraling is how uncontrollable it feels. Even if you make an effort to distract yourself or “snap out of it,” your thoughts seem to locate their in the past to the exact same distressing narrative. Spiraling is often rooted in unresolved fears or trauma, and it’s fueled by cognitive distortions—unrealistic methods for thinking such as all-or-nothing thinking, overgeneralization, or catastrophizing. These thought patterns can trick you into believing that the fears are absolute truths. Because moment, it’s not just a mistake at work—it is a sign you’re incompetent. It’s not only a friend who didn’t text back—it’s proof that nobody really likes you. These mental leaps are emotionally painful and stop you stuck in a situation of distress.

Physiologically, spiraling requires a toll on the body as well. Mental performance perceives threat—even if the threat is imaginary—and triggers the body’s fight-or-flight response. Your heart may race, parts of your muscles may tense, and you could find it hard to breathe or sleep. This stress response could make it even harder to consider clearly or rationally, reinforcing the spiral. You may become hyper-focused on fixing a perceived problem or trying to regulate everything around you, but this often backfires, creating much more stress. Left unchecked, chronic mental spiraling can result in burnout, emotional numbness, or a further descent into anxiety or depression.

Breaking the cycle of mental spiraling takes conscious effort and often support from others. Grounding techniques may be incredibly helpful—focusing on your own breath, engaging your senses, or physically moving the human body can pull the mind back to the present moment. Journaling can assist you to untangle the thoughts and offer you clarity on what’s real and what’s distorted. Therapy, especially cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT), can assist you to identify and challenge those harmful thought patterns and replace them with more balanced, helpful ones. The key is to not fight your thoughts but to create space between you and them—to observe without judgment and gently redirect once you start slipping spiraling mentally.

Self-compassion is an essential element of healing from mental spiraling. It’s simple to beat yourself up for overthinking or feeling uncontrollable, but doing this only deepens the shame and anxiety. Instead, remind yourself that spiraling is something lots of people experience—it’s not really a personal failure or even a sign of weakness. You are doing your absolute best with the equipment you have. Learning how exactly to calm your brain, challenge distorted thoughts, and require help when needed is a process, not really a quick fix. As time passes, patience, and support, you can regain a sense of control over your thoughts and cultivate an internal voice that soothes as opposed to scolds—a voice that says, “It’s okay. You’re safe. Let’s take that one breath at a time.