Overthinking Is the Mind’s Addiction to Control, Gita Explains How to Stop
Noopur Kumari | Jul 28, 2025, 21:00 IST
( Image credit : Times Life Bureau )
Overthinking is not a sign of awareness; it's the mind's desperate attempt to feel in control of a life it doesn't fully trust. But how do we silence a mind that won’t stop talking? In this emotionally resonant article, we dive deep into the Bhagavad Gita’s timeless wisdom to understand the roots of overthinking and how surrender, mindfulness, and purpose can lead us to peace. Whether you’re stuck in regrets or worrying about the future, this article shows you a path to freedom.
You’re lying in bed, staring at the ceiling. Your eyes are tired, but your mind is wide awake, replaying old conversations, imagining worst-case scenarios, questioning every decision. Overthinking doesn’t let you rest. It drains your peace, delays your actions, and drowns your spirit. But why do we do it? The Bhagavad Gita, a 5000-year-old scripture, offers a powerful answer: The mind overthinks because it wants to control what it cannot accept. And the only way to end this cycle is not by controlling the mind but by transforming it.
Overthinking often feels like you’re solving something but in reality, you’re running in circles. According to the Bhagavad Gita (Chapter 6, Verse 5): Let a man lift himself by his own self; let him not degrade himself. For the self alone is the friend of the self, and the self alone is the enemy of the self." This means your mind can either save you or sabotage you depending on whether you control it or it controls you. Overthinking happens when the mind doesn’t trust what’s unfolding. It clings to the illusion that replaying or pre-planning everything will bring certainty. But life was never meant to be lived on a script.
When Arjuna is overwhelmed by doubts on the battlefield, Krishna reminds him (Gita 2.47): You have a right to perform your prescribed duties, but you are not entitled to the fruits of your actions. This profound line is at the heart overthinking. We overthink because we want guarantees. We want to control outcomes. But Krishna clearly says Do your karma, but detach from the result. When we accept that we are not the doer, but only instruments in the Divine’s hands, the urge to overthink reduces. You still plan. You still care. But you no longer obsess.
Most overthinking stems from ego what will people think? What if I fail? Why did they hurt me? Krishna warns us in Gita (3.27): All actions are performed by the modes of nature, but one whose mind is deluded by ego thinks, 'I am the doer.The ego wants perfection, recognition, and control. So when life doesn’t go its way, it overthinks, complains, and breaks down. But if you can step back and observe, realizing that you are not your thoughts, not your image, not your achievements, then the storm begins to quiet. Freedom from ego is freedom from mental noise.
Krishna says in Gita (2.70): He attains peace into whom all desires enter as waters enter the ocean, which, though ever being filled, is ever motionless."Desire fuels overthinking. We want love, success, answers, closure, justice. But the Gita invites us to let go of desire not by suppressing it but by not being enslaved by it.The more we chase certainty or validation, the more restless our minds become. But when we develop Vairagya (detachment), the mind begins to still itself. This is not giving up; this is growin
In the Gita (6.7), Krishna describes the true yogi: He who has conquered the mind and who is absorbed in the Supreme is said to be of tranquil mind. In cold and heat, in pleasure and pain, in honor and dishonor, he is ever steady." Overthinking pulls us into the past and future. Mindfulness anchors us in the now. When we observe our thoughts instead of reacting to them, we create space. And in that space, we find peace. You don’t need to stop thoughts. Just stop believing every thought.
Meditation, journaling, chanting, and silence are not luxuries they are spiritual necessities to purify the mind.
The Gita doesn’t ask you to escape life. It invites you to live it fully but from a place of clarity, not confusion. Overthinking is not your fault. It’s the mind’s addiction to control, safety, and meaning. But you can heal. You can begin again. Not by force, but by awareness, discipline, and surrender. As Krishna whispers to Arjuna Be a warrior, not a worrier.”
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1. Why Do We Overthink? The Gita Says
shree Krishna
( Image credit : Times Life Bureau )
Overthinking often feels like you’re solving something but in reality, you’re running in circles. According to the Bhagavad Gita (Chapter 6, Verse 5): Let a man lift himself by his own self; let him not degrade himself. For the self alone is the friend of the self, and the self alone is the enemy of the self." This means your mind can either save you or sabotage you depending on whether you control it or it controls you. Overthinking happens when the mind doesn’t trust what’s unfolding. It clings to the illusion that replaying or pre-planning everything will bring certainty. But life was never meant to be lived on a script.
2. The Illusion of Control: You Have the Right to Action
Krishan
( Image credit : Times Life Bureau )
When Arjuna is overwhelmed by doubts on the battlefield, Krishna reminds him (Gita 2.47): You have a right to perform your prescribed duties, but you are not entitled to the fruits of your actions. This profound line is at the heart overthinking. We overthink because we want guarantees. We want to control outcomes. But Krishna clearly says Do your karma, but detach from the result. When we accept that we are not the doer, but only instruments in the Divine’s hands, the urge to overthink reduces. You still plan. You still care. But you no longer obsess.
3. The Ego and the Overthinking Mind
Krishan
( Image credit : Times Life Bureau )
Most overthinking stems from ego what will people think? What if I fail? Why did they hurt me? Krishna warns us in Gita (3.27): All actions are performed by the modes of nature, but one whose mind is deluded by ego thinks, 'I am the doer.The ego wants perfection, recognition, and control. So when life doesn’t go its way, it overthinks, complains, and breaks down. But if you can step back and observe, realizing that you are not your thoughts, not your image, not your achievements, then the storm begins to quiet. Freedom from ego is freedom from mental noise.
4. Still the Mind Through Detachment
Krishna
( Image credit : Times Life Bureau )
Krishna says in Gita (2.70): He attains peace into whom all desires enter as waters enter the ocean, which, though ever being filled, is ever motionless."Desire fuels overthinking. We want love, success, answers, closure, justice. But the Gita invites us to let go of desire not by suppressing it but by not being enslaved by it.The more we chase certainty or validation, the more restless our minds become. But when we develop Vairagya (detachment), the mind begins to still itself. This is not giving up; this is growin
5. Mindfulness Over Mind Games
Krishan
( Image credit : Times Life Bureau )
In the Gita (6.7), Krishna describes the true yogi: He who has conquered the mind and who is absorbed in the Supreme is said to be of tranquil mind. In cold and heat, in pleasure and pain, in honor and dishonor, he is ever steady." Overthinking pulls us into the past and future. Mindfulness anchors us in the now. When we observe our thoughts instead of reacting to them, we create space. And in that space, we find peace. You don’t need to stop thoughts. Just stop believing every thought.
Meditation, journaling, chanting, and silence are not luxuries they are spiritual necessities to purify the mind.
From Mental Noise to Inner Melody
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