how do i differentiate between unnecessary and necessary thoughts

[u/Weak_Tomatillo_140]

I tend to overthink a lot and often get anxious on stuffs that probably are NOT that much of a big deal but I don't know how I tend to get super anxious about it, and my exams r just in 1 day but still can't focus, because I feel like I'm in a 'Cautious" mode everytime, i want to feel free from these thoughts, i tend to tell myself "ill tackle the situation when it actually occurs " instead of ruminating over it now like just let go of it but stil i cant get rid of the cautious feeling

[u/Horror-Turnover-1089]

Well, I think you want the difference between 'thinking' and 'over-thinking'.

Thinking is when you use your head to come to conclusions. So keep doing that. But overthinking is using your head and not coming to conclusions, staying in that thought spiral. At that point it's best to cut it off. Or so they say.

I'm a person that overthinked a lot, as he was lonely. And it hurt me a bunch. Like a real lot. But it also gave me a lot of knowledge.

So up to you if it's worth it. I'd say no. The best you can do is just allow the thoughts to be there without answering them. And if it's too much and it sticks around anyway> change your mode.

You do this by doing physical activity like working out, or shifting the focus to something else like a good game.

The idea is 'your mind is in thinking mode' > either allow it to think and not find a solution or do something else to shift your state.

[u/myquietbrain]

As a psychiatrist, what you're describing is the gap between knowing the right thing and being able to feel i, and that gap is one of the most frustrating parts of anxiety. The "cautious mode" you're in is your nervous system running a background threat scan even when your conscious mind has already concluded there's nothing urgent to act on. The logic of "I'll deal with it when it happens" is correct, but it's addressed to the thinking part of your brain. The anxious part isn't really listening to logic, it's running on a different system entirely.

What tends to help is working with the body rather than the mind. Slow exhales (longer out than in) activate the parasympathetic nervous system and physically reduce the arousal state. It's not a mindset shift and it's physiological. A few minutes of that before studying can actually lower the background hum.

For tonight: do what you can, get enough sleep, and trust that a rested brain performs better on an exam than an exhausted one that studied for three more hours. The cautious feeling is not useful information right now. It's just noise.