It’s 2:04AM. Again.
The room is dark, the world is quiet, my body is exhausted… and yet, my brain? Wide. Freaking. Awake.
I don’t know who appointed my brain as the Chief Analyst of Every Decision I’ve Ever Made, but it seems to clock in right when I’m trying to clock out. Every. Single. Night.
You’d think after a long day of emails, errands, chasing dreams, and dodging drama, my brain would be grateful for the chance to shut off. But no. Apparently, 2AM is when it feels like pulling out the filing cabinet of my life and flipping through every awkward moment, every missed text, every “should I have said that?” moment from 2009 to last Tuesday.
Overthinking. It’s that mental hamster wheel that spins at the most inconvenient times — like when you have to be up in five hours or when your kid’s lunch hasn’t been packed yet but somehow you’re lying there replaying a conversation from 7th grade.
But let’s back up for a second. What is overthinking, really?
In the simplest terms, overthinking is the act of thinking too much about something — whether it’s a decision, a memory, or a hypothetical situation that hasn’t (and probably won’t ever) happen. It’s the mental equivalent of opening too many browser tabs. You could be focusing on one thing, but instead, your brain says, “Hey, let’s open seventeen tabs and visit every worst-case scenario while we’re at it.”
And why do we do it? Control, maybe. Anxiety, most likely. Sometimes it’s our brain’s way of trying to “solve” life — trying to predict every outcome, prepare for every possibility, and protect us from pain. But spoiler alert: it never really helps. It just keeps us awake at 2AM, wondering if we should’ve said something different, done something sooner, or taken a different route altogether.
For me, overthinking usually shows up dressed like curiosity. Like a soft whisper asking, “But what if you had just…” or “What did they really mean by that?” It’s not always loud, but it’s persistent. It creeps in when I finally lie down, phone off, distractions gone. That’s when the quiet becomes loud, and my thoughts throw a party.
Sometimes I’ll overthink how I reacted to something earlier that day — replaying the scene like I’m editing a movie that’s already been released. Other times, I overthink something that hasn’t even happened yet. A conversation I might have. A situation I might face. A million little “what ifs” swirling around in the dark.
I’ve learned that it’s not about stopping the overthinking entirely — let’s be real, I’m a human with feelings, fears, and a brain that likes to overanalyze. But what I can do is catch myself in the spiral and ask: Is this helping me right now? Or am I just keeping myself stuck in a loop?
Sometimes I breathe through it. Sometimes I get up, write it down, and give the thoughts somewhere else to live. And sometimes, I just lie there and ride it out — knowing it’ll pass, like a late-night thunderstorm that rolls in out of nowhere and disappears by morning.
Because the truth is, we all overthink. We all have our 2AM moments. And even though it feels lonely when it’s happening — like you’re the only one wide awake in a world that’s already asleep — I promise, you’re not.
So if you find yourself staring at the ceiling tonight, heart racing with thoughts that won’t quit… know that I’m probably doing the same. Somewhere out there, another brain is doing backflips at 2AM, too.
And hey — maybe instead of fighting it, we just remind ourselves: it's okay to think deeply. It’s okay to care. But we deserve peace, too. Even if it takes a few deep breaths, a journal page, or a cup of sleepytime tea to get there.
Now, if my brain could just take the hint and let me sleep… that’d be great.
