The Book of Overthinking: How to Stop the Cycle of Worry

by Gwendoline Smith

Overthinking is also known as worrying or ruminating and it's a form of anxiety that many people suffer from.

Psychologist and bestselling author Gwendoline Smith explains in clear and simple language the concepts of positive and negative overthinking, the truth about worry and how to deal with the 'thought viruses' that are holding you back.

She helps you understand what's going on in your head, using humour, lots of examples and anecdotes, and she offers powerful strategies for addressing your issues.

Based on cognitive behavioural theory, this book will help you in all the key areas of your from your personal life to relationships and work.

Genres: Nonfiction, Self Help, Psychology, Mental Health, Audiobook, Personal Development, Health

212 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 4, 2020

About the author

Gwendoline Smith B Soc Sci, M Soc Sci (hons), Dip Clin Psych is a clinical psychologist, speaker, blogger and the author of the books Depression Explained and Sharing the Load. She also goes by the name Dr Know.

Reviews

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone who has struggled with anxiety and worry some thinking for years, this book is the first approach I've seen that makes sense to me and gets real with you. It is lighthearted and fun but also informative in a way that reminds you that thoughts are just thoughts, and they don't control you or make you who you are.

[Nisha Mitra · Rating 5 out of 5]

As an overthinker myself I always think catastrophic outcomes of imagining situation made entirely by me. This is so mentally stressful and I easily feel tired. After a thorough search I have found the book I needed. As an psychologist herself the writer explained anxiety disorder through her own experience. That made this book quite true to the fact. It gave me a fresh idea of anxiety release therapy . Sometimes our imagination are far monstrous than our reality. Just remember " How is this thinking helping me? And where is this thinking taking me?" It would ease some pain. Thank you Gwendoline Smith.

[Mairita (Marii grāmatplaukts) · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ļoti ieteicama lasāmviela tiem, kas uztraucas par daudz un regulāri iekrīt negatīvā raizēšanās spirālē. Viegli un saprotami izskaidrota teorija, doti piemēri un praktiski padomi kā sev palīdzēt. Šī grāmata noteikti ir paturama pa rokas stiepienam, lai atsvaidzinātu zināšanas, jo tikt vaļā no uztraukšanās nav viegli un ātri izdarāms, īpaši, ja esat "profesionālis" šajā jautājumā.

[Cav · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Book of Overthinking was a decent short read, but there are other books in this genre that are much better, IMO...

Author Gwendoline Smith is a clinical psychologist, speaker, and the author of The Book of Knowing, Depression Explained and Sharing the Load. She dispenses mental health advice online as Dr. Know. She lives in New Zealand.

Gwendoline Smith:


The book is presented in a very straigtforward, matter-of-fact manner, without the usage of too much psychological jargon. It's also short enough that it probably won't have trouble holding the reader's attention.
Smith's writing here is underpinned by the practices of cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT).

Some parts of the book are formatted in the manner of a hypothetical conversation between the author and the reader. There are also many charts, diagrams, and illustrations throughout.
Although I usually appreciate the addition of supplementary material to just about any book, I felt that there were a bit too many kitschy illustrations included here for my tastes...

***********************

Although the book was a fairly decent short presentation, something about it just did not resonate very well with me.
I found the formatting to be a bit too jumbled, and off-the-cuff. I also felt that the material could have been presented in a more effective fashion.
3.5 stars.

[Bridget · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm not usually one for self-help books but I did really enjoy reading The Book of Knowing which was the earlier book from this author, and I shared that book with lots of students at school who found it useful and interesting. I was keen to read this next one. It is more focused on adults and I got a lot out of it personally. As someone who is mad keen on worrying it had some great exercises which I will continue to use, but it also clarified and put a name to what is happening in my brain when I do worry. I'm perfectly capable of overthinking the most ridiculous things and it is good to know that that isn't unusual or weird, but something I can do something about.

This was an audiobook from NetGalley and I listened to it doing that most mindful of things, an enormous jigsaw puzzle. I found it really great to listen and contemplate the way I worry, to take notes and later mull over some of the learnings.

Thanks to NetGalley for access to this audiobook. Great reader and lots of thoughtful listening.

[Joy Reading · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was so wonderful. I have suffered from a combination of anxiety and depression for many years and much of what I read really resonated with me. I'm going to do my best to undertake the homework activities in the book. Often times when I do read books in this area, I don't want to do the activities. I say this so you guys understand what a compliment that is when I say it!

The audiobook is also highly enjoyable and added a lot to the experience!

[Hyunji Kim · Rating 3 out of 5]

i will do anything but go to therapy

[Kate Hair · Rating 5 out of 5]

So much of this book rang true for me - wholly recommend to anyone that has struggled with anxiety, depression, perfectionism, or incessant worrying. The thought virus concept is a particular breakthrough; and somehow reading it on paper makes it seem that much more beatable.

[Joy Reading · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was so wonderful. I have suffered from a combination of anxiety and depression for many years and much of what I read really resonated with me. I'm going to do my best to undertake the homework activities in the book. Often times when I do read books in this area, I don't want to do the activities. I say this so you guys understand what a compliment that is when I say it!

The audiobook is also highly enjoyable and added a lot to the experience. If anything, it really provided me with even more motivation as I could have it pumping in my ears!

[Ashley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Even though I didn't read the book that came before this one, it was a good listen! I often overthink everything and allow my thoughts to shape my feelings and day. This book gave me tidbits on how to work through those moments and what to do in the future when feeling those negative or anxious feelings coming on. This book would work great alongside therapy!

Narrator was good. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for giving me this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

[Bailey Follas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I started trying to read this book when I was at my lowest (2 years ago) thinking what a load of rubbish. I’ll never be happy, I can’t control my thoughts -they control me. I’ve put a lot of hard work into myself and re-reading this has made me appreciate that it’s all about perspective, time and recognising your worth. If you can make it through your worst day, you can do anything.

[Alexandre Roméo · Rating 2 out of 5]

Some useful tools, but too simplistic in my opinion. I think it misses approaches and clarifications about why we think this way, and how to stop: one tool in the book is about distracting yourself to stop the thoughts. Not all overthinkers are able to do so, when the storm of thoughts has started. I would have liked more everyday life examples too.

[Krystelle · Rating 3 out of 5]

I appreciate facets of this book, and I think it has real value for some people and some forms of anxiety. However, there are other forms that are, quite simply, far too severe to be able to be managed like this. For generalised anxiety, this is a good tool, but there's some management here missing I think. The strategies are helpful in some ways, but aren't as comprehensive as other books on the topic, and I hope that those who can benefit from this book do. As a psychological text, however, it is by no means as substantive as it could have been- and sometimes, the humour within it completely derails the entirety of the text.

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone who is Type 6 on the Enneagram and highly conscientious as well as highly neurotic, I have struggled with overthinking or 'worrying anxiety' my whole life. I picked this book up in a $10 special bin and it's probably the best book I've read about worrying and how using Cognitive Behaviour Therapy (CBT), we can acknowledge our thoughts and stop the worrying cycle.

This book almost reads like a middle-grade non-fiction, it's written in very simple language and the use of cartoons make it an easy read. It's also funny, I found myself laughing out loud as Gwendoline explained how irrational we become when we worry.

Although I already knew CBT and how to fill out a CBT worksheet, Gwendoline added a new layer to CBT by coming up with a list of what she calls 'thought viruses.' I found this really helpful, so when I have a worrying thought I write down the thought, but also write out what the thought viruses are - am I fortune-telling? Mind-reading? Catastrophising/Magnification? Using all or nothing thinking? Then I can see my worrying thought is really just a series of thought viruses.

This technique has really helped see my worrying for what it is - not reality or fact, but something that just makes me anxious.

Definitely recommended for anyone who struggles with worry, overthinking or anxiety.

[Colette Blackmon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book! To a certain extent it felt like therapy 101, which didn’t necessarily do the most for me personally but I think was kind of the intention. However, there’s always something affirming and interesting to me about putting specific words and phrases to what I’m experiencing. I definitely felt like she was speaking to me and I appreciated the vocabulary and examples. I’m going to try out some of her strategies and see what I think! Also I liked the little cartoons

[Nancy · Rating 5 out of 5]

With this book, people will learn how to focus on facts and truth for rational thinking regardless of their level of worry. There are so many supportive aspects to this audio book that I plan on listening a second time to absorb as many as possible. Thanks to the author for a complimentary copy of the audio book. The opinions expressed are my own.

[Ritwika Chakraborty · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's more like a friend, philosopher and guide than a book. Felt like the author herself is talking to you, taking you through the journey that, you and she, both are parts of.
After she left, I already started feeling like I'm missing my old friend. (Sighed)


Okay! let's cut to the chase.
This therapeutic book is for everyone, whether he/she is an overthinker or not.
Oh.. should I mention we all are overthinkers? Only difference is: whether your overthinking makes you release happy hormones or stress hormones.
Based on that, G. Smith has classified overthinking into (1) positive and (2) negative aka worrisome.

Even though I'm a positive overthinker, I'm not claiming that negative thoughts or worries do not pop up in my mind. They do sometimes, but now I've learned how to deal with them.

I'm glad the author didn't lecture us with all that useless crap like "stop worrying!" "Be positive!" "Smile in the mirror and tell yourself you can do anything!".
I've tried all that stuffs and they do not work at all. At least they didn't work for me.


I kind of despise those motivational books which claim themselves to have benefited millions of people all over the world. They print on their cover pages that they have changed many people's lives who were lacking motivation or something like that.

Everytime I fickle through their pages, I see either the 'Gurus' have left their homes, families and travel around the globe to attain enlightenment; or they go vanished for like 10-15 years and then suddenly appear out of nowhere, with clean shaven face, bald head and an evergreen smile.
Then you will ask them "how did that happen? How have you not aged at all? How are you so peaceful?"
Guru will give you a mysterious smile and will eventually disclose that he had been meditating in a forest full of other monks who themselves either left their homes earlier or are orphans.

So what's the point of all these? You yourself realized that you can't have mental peace among all the negativities and toxicities you are surrounded with, so you kind of ran away from your problems, from your home, from your society.
Now you are showering me with lectures that I can achieve ANYTHING, I can BE POSITIVE, I can have mental peace, I can do this I can do that. How on earth? We can't stop worrying, neither we can leave our families.
Negativities won't go away. They are part of our lives. Earlier you accept this fact, the better.

So what do you actually need? You don't avoid them, rather you learn to deal with them.
I would like to requote the phrase used by author - to ask a worrying person to think positive is like "adding sugar on shit".


Anyway, I would love to have another conversation with you in your next book Ms. Smith!
I need more elaborated discussion on:

1) There is a fine line between thinking and overthinking. How to know when I'm crossing the line? Why am I asking this is because we all know we need to think before we take actions. Now, once an action is taken, you can't really do anything about it and that is absolutely fine. BUT, when you are about to take an action (in certain cases) you are taking into account the possible outcomes. Based on that either you change your modus operandi or you don't take the action at all.
When to step back? If I become impulsive, I may end up engaging in irrational deeds. And when I will start thinking rationally, I may lose track to put a limit on my 'practical thinking' and finally lose an opportunity.
It remains unclear to me.

2) Do I have to reckon that gut feeling is merely a coincidence or the brain is playing a trick with my mind? What's your say on this?


[ P.s. Those who have stage fright, should read this book too ]

[Kirsi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley for the opportunity to listen to this audiobook in exchange for an honest review.

Self-help books tend to be a bit of hit-and-miss with me, with greater emphasis on miss, but this one was actually helpful. That might be because I've always been a worrier and prone to anxiety, so the subject matter hits rather uncomfortably close to home. The author approaches worrisome overthinking from the perspective of cognitive behavioural therapy, patiently explaining what overthinking really is, where it stems from, what it does to you, how utterly absurd it is at the end of the day, and what you can do to unlearn this ultimately useless behaviour.

I took some psychology courses once upon a time, so I wasn't completely unprepared for the language and terminology introduced in this book. It was a lot, but the way the theory was laid down felt casual and very accessible. I was personally slightly annoyed by the -very- down-to-earth presentation, but that's more a cultural issue and a pet peeve than an actual criticism, because I can't deny the many examples and metaphors helped me process the ideas better. The biology part of this book I found fascinating and immediately had to google a couple of things to find out more.

I learned some things about myself while listening to this audiobook. Realising that I've probably inherited my predisposition to anxiety was a rather unwelcome insight, but I can't say I was very surprised. Let's just say that some of the behaviours and internal monologues described in this book sounded awfully familiar. However, learning the terminology was quite useful, as I'm now better able to identify and conceptualise what I'm actually doing (I'm very accomplished at mind-reading and fortune-telling, for example, 'should' is my second name, and I certainly have a PhD in rumination and anticipatory anxiety), and can hopefully influence my own thinking more.

One point was made crystal clear in this book - there's no point in telling a worrier to 'just stop worrying'. It's not going to work and will probably just make things worse. This immediately rang true for me, and so did the solution that was given and explored further in the later chapters. To put a stop to your nonproductive overthinking, you need to sit back and examine the situation, establish the facts and then work on, question and challenge your thinking. It's not easy to keep your thoughts grounded in facts, decatastrophise, reassess where you stand on the terribleness scale and keep your imagination from playing tricks on you, but that's the goal to aim for, and the exercises in this book are pretty solid.

I believe the exercises given in this book will be much more useful if you have a physical copy of the book close at hand, though. The audiobook is clearly and professionally narrated, but at times I would have liked to return to some previously discussed matters to clarify a point or revisit an example, and you can't really do that with audio. Self-help books tend to suffer from this format, I think, and this one was no exception.

Overall, this book was a positive surprise, and I might actually give a go at preparing a thought chart about some things that have been bothering me lately. After listening to this, I can already tell that stuff is nothing to worry about.

[Maher Razouk · Rating 5 out of 5]

يسألني الكثير من الناس: "لماذا عندما أشعر بأنني غير عقلاني ، أشعر أيضاً بأنني خارج عن السيطرة؟"

حسنًا ، أفضل تفسير لذلك هو النظر إلى النظامين في دماغنا الأكثر ارتباطًا باستجاباتنا للعالم:

1. الجهاز الحوفي

غالبًا ما يشار إليه باسم النظام العاطفي (الجزء غير العقلاني من الدماغ). إنه عبارة عن مجموعة من الهياكل العميقة داخل الدماغ التي تنشط في المواقف التي تهدد بقاءنا .
تحت التهديد ، هناك هيكل صغير يسمى اللوزة الدماغية ، تصرخ بخوف. ولكنها أحياناً تستجيب بسرور ، وفي هذه الحالة تطلق الهياكل العميقة الدوبامين الذي هو ، في رأيي ، الأقوى من بين ناقلات المتعة .
الدوبامين هو مجرد واحد من أربعة مواد كيميائية تساعد على الشعور بالسعادة ينتجها دماغك. سوف يغمرك مدمنو التمرين بقصص الإندورفين المرتفعة التي يحصلون عليها بعد القيام بتمرين شاق . غالبًا ما تصف الأمهات الجدد شعورهن بالهدوء الشديد عند الرضاعة الطبيعية بسبب إنتاج الدماغ للأوكسيتوسين ، لذلك يشعرن بالاسترخاء ويتدفق الحليب بسهولة أكبر. السيروتونين هو الآخر مهم ، وينتج في الدماغ والجهاز الهضمي. باختصار أقولها لك : إذا كان الإندورفين يشبه تناول فودكا واحد وعصير توت بري ، فإن السيروتونين عبارة عن فودكا مزدوجة وريد بول . بينما الدوبامين ، وهو أخطرهم جميعًا ، مثل مارتيني صافي بلا ثلج ، بلا زيتون ، أثناء الاستماع إلى المغني دين مارتن.

2. القشرة الدماغية

القشرة الدماغية هي أهم جزء في دماغنا (على الأقل في مجال علم النفس) لأنها ما يجعلنا بشرًا. إنها الجزء الأكثر تطورًا في دماغ الإنسان وهي مسؤولة عن التفكير والإدراك وإنتاج وفهم اللغة. تحدث معظم معالجة المعلومات في القشرة الدماغية. دعونا نسميها الجزء العقلاني من الدماغ.
لذا بالعودة إلى السؤال حول فقدان السيطرة. يلخص هذا الاقتباس من عالم الأعصاب جوزيف ليدوكس ذلك باختصار :

"النقل من الأنظمة العاطفية إلى الأنظمة المعرفية أقوى بكثير من النقل من الأنظمة المعرفية إلى الأنظمة العاطفية."

يشير بعض المنظرين إلى هذا على أنه "اختطاف اللوزة". الرسائل والأحاسيس القادمة من الجزء الأعمق من الدماغ قوية جدًا لدرجة أنها تشق طريقها عبر القشرة الدماغية مثل كرة حديدة عبر شبكة صيد السمك.
.
Gwendoline Smith
The Book of Overthinking
Translated By #Maher_Razouk

[Vidya · Rating 5 out of 5]

For someone who has been diagnosed with anxiety and depression, this book is a godsend.I really like how the book is divided into two parts, the latter explains the physical process that fuels worrisome overthinking and the former is a comprehensive guide to overcome it effectively.I also resonated really well with the CBT model presented by the author and recognising thought viruses has been a personal game changer. Can't thank this book enough for giving me the nudge to deep dive into restructuring my thoughts and evaluating my beliefs. Also, this is not a two minute hack, you have to be mindful on this (long) journey and revisit the concepts introduced in the book when you feel yourself slipping down the spiral toilet of worry. Therapeutic.

[Lamis · Rating 1 out of 5]

This was like a recital of the same terms over and over for an exam. A lot of definitions, oversimplification of such a complex topic like anxiety and cropped scientific facts.

I really didn’t find this useful at all.

[Brittney Kristina · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a simple, short read that, surprisingly, taught me a lot. The information was pretty standard, discussing actions like "mind reading", spiraling, and confusing thoughts with emotions, all of which heighten anxiety. The bit of information that most resonated with me was the mere fact that worrying cannot change the outcome to a situation. At first, I found myself scoffing, but further into the book, I realized that, it was true: worrying does absolutely nothing, except drag you deeper down into your own mind, cause physical symptoms like headaches, digestive issues, etc., and develop new neuron pathways in the mind so that worrying becomes the standard way of thought. Worrying only hurts yourself.

To put it bluntly, we can't alter the future. Whatever happens, happens. But, we can trust in ourselves, and in the people we love, to always come through and choose kindness above all else. Oh, and honesty; that's important, too. And if the outcome isn't as we had hoped, then we can trust that we can make it out just fine. Because we've already come this far. We can learn from it, heal as we need to, and move on. We're always going to come across obstacles, but that's just what makes us tougher.

While we may have gut feelings about situations, these are often systematically learned through subconsciously seeking out ways to confirm our own beliefs. We know that they will leave us, in the end, because everyone before has already left. So, when they do leave, for potentially irrelevant reasons, we confirm our fear. In the future, we then associate our dread and feelings of being unsafe with a "gut feeling", trusting our emotions and predictions over the seldom facts at hand.

If you do have a gut feeling, be honest. Explain how you feel to those around you. There's nothing wrong with seeking validation, if that's how you heal.

Overall, what I learned is to be gentle and kind to your thoughts, and question them before chasing them. Ask yourself, "Is this healthy for me to think this way? Am I mind-reading or predicting the future? Is this making me happier?"

Life is short. Let's not live most of it inside of our own heads! Enjoy the moment. You'll be just fine.

[Gael Browne · Rating 3 out of 5]

For someone who is somewhat familiar with CBT, this book is a good dive into the workings of it all and provides really helpful tips and practices you can implement to help break cycles of rumination, and bring reason when in an irrational state.

There were a few moments where I had concern, though.

In Chapter 8, Smith combats the ‘shoulds, musts, and have tos’ in a way that seems to reject any absolute that guides our behaviour. Whilst I can see that there are times where either self or super imposed expectations of behaviour are unhelpful and aren’t true in their absolutism (e.g. I MUST buy that things so I can fit in, I SHOULD do what that person said otherwise they won’t like me), I believe there are definite times where we are guided by moral absolutes, and her treatment of this language seems to reject imperative behaviours. It could have been handled better, perhaps.

Alongside this, she uses a phrase towards the end of the book when speaking about how we think others perceive us and the spiralling this false ‘mind reading’ can lead to: “If you enjoy YOUR reality, who cares what anyone else thinks?”

Again, whilst I agree with the basic principle of not concerning ourselves with what others think of us or living our lives according to people-pleasing, I don’t like the idea that we can do or be whatever we want without realising that our actions and behaviours can have consequences for others, and we are all connected. If you stretch her quote far enough, you add to our increasingly polarised world, and miss opportunities for curiosity and growth. It also, again, rejects any kind of absolute reality. Which I personally struggle with.

Surely, with the desire to being more rational and ‘get out of our heads’, one of the steps towards that is being open to others and hearing the reality of their thoughts, removing the guesswork?

[Deb✨ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Some notes I took throughout reading this book:

- Relying on other people will only provide you with short-term relief.
- Be comfortable in your own skin.
- You can’t control certain things, but you can take action.
- Behaviour changes the outcome, worrisome thinking changes nothing.
- Catastrophysing: The trigger is not external, but internal.
- Worrysome overthinking slides through logic and rationality.
- To change how you are feeling you need to change how you are thinking.
- Feelings are a mirror of the way you are thinking.
- De-catastrophysing: assigning a percentage of worry to a situation.

Table of things we worry about:
- 40% never happen
- 30% have already happened
- 12% needless worries about health
- 10% petty miscelaneous issues
- 8% real worries: 4% we can do little about / 4% we can

Facts:
- I cannot mind read.
- I am not a fortune teller.
- Not everything is about me.

[Amanda Pierson · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Andrews McMeel Publishing for granting me early access to this audiobook!
Gwendolyn’s Smith takes you on a discovery of worrisome overthinking, cognitive behavioral therapy, and leaves you with tools and strategies to put into practice when you experience the worrisome overthinking spiral and thought viruses.
As someone with generalized anxiety disorder, this book was not only enlightening on why I think how I think, but it also helped me realize things I can do every day to rationalize and actualize my thinking, and consequently, my behavioral and biological response.
I definitely would recommend this book to not just people with anxiety, but to anyone wishing to change their thinking for the better.

[Bidisha Chowdhury · Rating 5 out of 5]

I kinda avoid non fictional or self help or motivational books always. But this book is absolutely what I needed most right now.
Overthinking is a problem which everybody face more or less. And really don't know, how it works or where it goes!
It especially becomes a nightmare when you're a deliberate over-thinker or make overthinking a passion.
This book contains the factors and processes that help you to understand where the problem lies.
And gotcha, that is 50% stress relieving itself. I feel it personally.
Hoping that short remedies will also help me to overcome this overthinking finally.
Lastly thank you @Nisha Nill Mitra di for suggesting me. You're the savior.

[Annie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Mum brought me this book home from work, definitely some helpful tips and took a few notes from it. Really interesting to hear how the author recognised different 'kinds' of overthinking as 'thought viruses', made me reflect and take note on the specific kinds of overthinking that I was doing and how to try and stop it from affecting me.

I enjoyed how it was still lighthearted but very informative.

[Caroline Goodson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really good read for anyone who is an over thinker or has friends and family who are over thinkers. The only reason it got 4 stars was because a lot was copied from her previous book I read - whole chapters at times. If I’d have paid money for both I would have been frustrated but having this on Prime Read I was able to skim read parts I had read before.

[Jessi Collier Wakefield · Rating 4 out of 5]

Maybe I was feeling cynical when I started this book, but I was not expecting anything that would be helpful for my chronic overthinking. But the author has done a great job of presenting clear, concise, and seemingly helpful exercises that might actually be life changing! I appreciate this book.

Thank you for Libro.fm for my ALC!

[Gabi Wagner · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lot of these self-help books, don’t really do much for me, but this one was actually really interesting to listen to, considering the fact that I overthink a lot. It was really helpful, and I would read from this author again.