4 Tips on How to Start Spiraling [From a Therapist]
Takeaway: Feeling like your thoughts are spinning out of control? These therapist-backed tips can help you break the cycle, ground yourself, and regain a sense of calm, no matter how overwhelming the moment feels.
A client once shared that her thoughts felt like a downward spiral - one worry triggered another until she was convinced something terrible was going to happen. Even small things, like a delayed text or a critical email, could send her spiraling for hours.
I'm a licensed psychotherapist specializing in anxiety, trauma, and self-esteem. In my work, I've seen how negative spiraling mentally can test a person's sense of safety, making it hard to trust themselves or stay present. You might be asking yourself "What is spiraling?" "Have I had spiraling thoughts before?" Through this article, you can focus on building awareness, becoming more aware of your emotions, discover how to stop spiraling anxiety, break free of catastrophic thinking, and improving your mental wellbeing.
Spiraling happens when your mind locks onto a fear or self-doubt and runs wild with it, often looping through worst case scenarios, shame or catastrophizing. It's not just "overthinking" - it's your nervous system sounding an alarm that's hard to silence. We'll explore why spiraling thoughts happen, when it's time to seek support from a mental health professional, and how to break the cycle with grounding, compassionate tools, and explore positive experiences.
Why traditional advice doesn’t work
If you've ever googled how to stop spiraling or how to calm anxiety, you've probably come across the same usual advice: "Just think positive," "Take a deep breath," or "Don't worry so much." Of course, this is much easier said than done and often more challenging to do when handling stressful life events. While well-intentioned, these tips often fall flat - especially when your nervous system is in overdrive.
Traditional advice tends to oversimplify anxiety, treating it like a mindset issue instead of a physiological and emotional response. Forced positivity can feel dismissive of your emotional and physical symptoms. Unfortunately, deep breathing isn't always effective if you're too activated to access calm in the first place. Mental health issues can leave you feeling isolated with spiraling negative thoughts that feel impossible to overcome.
What actually helps is learning how to regulate your body first, then gently working with your thoughts. The strategies I'll share are rooted in nervous system awareness, trauma-informed care, and emotional validation instead of surface-level fixes. They meet you where you are, not where someone thinks you should be. In therapy you can identify early warning signs of negative thinking patterns, common triggers, and work through challenging situations to improve your overall well being.
How to stop spiraling thoughts
When you're on a downward spiral or having more negative self talk than you'd like, your thoughts can feel chaotic and endless, jumping from one worst-case scenario to the next. It's hard to access logic or calm when you have anxious thoughts or your body and brain feel like they're in crisis mode. The good news is there are strategies that can help interrupt the spiral before it takes over. These techniques work best when practiced regularly - especially when paired with therapy - but they can also offer support in the moment.
Here are a few grounding strategies to try the next time your mind starts to spiral:
1. Name What's Happening
How to do it: When you notice yourself spiraling, say (out loud or in your mind), "I'm spiraling right now." You might also name the emotion or thought spirals: "I'm feeling anxious and overwhelmed."
Why it helps: Naming what you're experiencing brings awareness and creates distance between you and the spiral. It shifts your brain from reactive mode to observer mode. By putting your focus on what you can control, it can make you more aware of what's challenging in your life and end your anxiety spiral.
Therapist Tip: Many people feel shame when they are on a downward spiral, but naming it with kindness can interrupt self-judgment. The goal isn't to stop the spiral instantly - it's to recognize it's happening so you can practice self care for yourself differently.
2. Anchor Into Your Sense
How to do it: Try the 5-4-3-2-1 grounding technique:
5 things you can see
4 things you can touch
3 things you can hear
2 things you can smell
1 thing you can taste
Why it helps: This sensory-based approach helps you bring you back into the present moment, out of your head, and when you're spiraling late at night it can help you fall asleep. It calms your nervous system by activating your body's safety signals.
Therapist tip: If five full senses feels overwhelming, simplify it by naming 3 things you can see and one thing you can touch. The point isn't perfection, it's connection to the here and now. When you are having negative thoughts, do you what feels comfortable for you.
3. Move Your Body
How to do it: Go for a brisk walk, stretch for five minutes, or shake out your hands and arms. Even 30 seconds of movement can shift your energy.
Why it helps: Physical movement like exercise helps discharge the stress chemicals building up in your body when you're spiraling in difficult times. It's a way to reset your nervous system and bring yourself out of fight/flight/freeze mode.
Therapist tip: You don't need a gym or fancy routine to exercise or move your body. I like to recommend "anxiety walks" to my clients whether it's a walk around the block or dancing to your favorite song. By letting it be simple and imperfect you can shake out the persistent negative thoughts you're feeling.
4. Support Yourself
How to do it: Try saying, "I'm doing the best I can," "This moment will pass," or "It's okay to feel overwhelmed." Choose a phrase that feels kind, believable, and true to your experience to relieve any negative thinking.
Why it helps: Self-compassion helps reduce the intensity of spirals by softening judgment and offering internal safety. It speaks to the part of you that feels scared or out of control.
Therapist tip: Most of us have a harsher inner critic that fuels spirals. Practicing supportive self-talk rewires that narrative over time. It may feel awkward at first - that's normal. Therapists at Madison Square Psychotherapy have experience supporting individuals with anxiety, dating & relationships, depression, and trauma by utilizing different therapeutic approaches like CBT, Psychodynamic Therapy, and EMDR.
Spiraling doesn't mean you're weak - it means your mind and body are trying to protect you, even if the method feels chaotic. These strategies are starting points to help you interrupt that loop and return to yourself with care. If spiraling feels like a daily battle, therapy can help you understand the deeper roots, regulate your nervous system, and build lasting tools for calm. You deserve support that actually works.
When to consider therapy to help you stop spiraling
When you feel like you're having negative thought spirals happen, it can be hard to ground yourself or find clarity. While self-soothing tools and mindfulness practices can help your mental well being, they aren't always enough - especially if the spiraling negative thinking becomes frequent, intense, or overwhelming. These techniques are not a replacement for seeking professional intervention.
Here are some signs that it may be time to consider therapy:
You're constantly overwhelmed by anxiety, guilt, or shame
Coping strategies you've tried aren't working anymore
You feel stuck in negative thought loops that affect your mood or daily functioning
You avoid responsibilities or relationships because of how you're feelings
Friends or loved ones express concern about your mental health or suggest seeking professional help
If any of these signs resonate with you, therapy can offer structured support, tools for self care, identify thought patterns and warning signs, and a safe space to explore what's going on beneath the surface. You don't have to manage it all alone. Therapists at Madison Square Psychotherapy can help you practice self compassion, learn alternative ways to reduce stress, and end the vicious cycle of emotional spiraling.
Final thoughts
Spiraling thoughts and negative emotions can feel isolating, exhausting, and deeply overwhelming - but you're not alone, and you're not broken. In this blog, we explored what spiraling thoughts look like, why traditional advice often falls short, and when it might be time to seek help from a therapist. Your mental health is of the utmost importance and deserves professional help to identify common triggers, thought patterns, and positive perspective.
One client I worked with came to therapy convinced she just "wasn't good at coping." Over time, she began to understand that her spirals were protective patterns rooted in past experiences. Through nervous system regulation, self-compassion, and targeted coping strategies, she learned how to pause the spiral instead of getting swept away by it. During times of stress, it's important to focus on positive emotions, spending time with people that support you, practice mindfulness, and learn cognitive behavioral techniques to break through negative thought patterns.
If this sounds familiar, therapy can offer more than just relief - it can give you the tools and insight to build real emotional resilience. If you're ready to feel more grounded and crave support for improved mental health, I'd be honored to support you. Please reach out by clicking this link to book a free consultation.