While some people are aware of their thoughts always running, they sruggle to identify their emotions.

Common causes include childhood trauma, hypervigilance, generalized anxiety, depression, and self-criticism.

The way out of overanalyzing is to slow down and practice becoming more aware of sensory experiences.

Maybe your head is always running, a nonstop stream of thoughts, double- and triple-analyzing every little thing. Or when someone asks how you feel, your first response is to think about what might really be behind their question, or to think about thinking about how you’re feeling, but you can never cut through the layers of thought and get down to that emotional bottom floor. If you’re looking for a break from this constant mental chatter, or if you sense that your thinking is like a blanket smothering your emotions, maybe it’s time to begin rewiring your brain.

But first, let’s look at some common causes:

Childhood trauma and numbing

I’ve met hundreds of clients who, unfortunately, experienced childhood trauma and say they feel nothing. They are aware of their thoughts but are numb from the neck down. This absolutely makes sense; it is their brain’s protective mechanism to keep those strong traumatic experiences at bay. They often dissociate in stressful situations.

In contrast to numbness, some people exposed to traumatic situations become hypervigilant: always looking around corners, hypersensitive to what others are doing,........

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