Overthinking and Trauma: Is EMDR the Missing Link to Mental Calm?
- Dana Carretta-Stein
- Sep 23
- 3 min read
Updated: Oct 22
Why overthinking may be your brain’s trauma response on repeat
Trauma and Overthinking: The Connection
If your mind feels like it never shuts off, you’re not imagining it—and you’re definitely not alone.
Many clients tell me things like:
“I just can’t stop overthinking.”
“It’s like my brain won’t give me a break.”
“I go down the rabbit hole every night before bed.”
Overthinking can feel like anxiety—but for many people, it’s actually trauma in disguise.
When you’ve lived through something overwhelming or unpredictable, your nervous system stays on high alert. Your brain starts scanning, overanalyzing, predicting—and replaying the past—in an effort to prevent pain from happening again.
In other words:
✨ “Should I have said it differently?”
✨ “What if I made the wrong choice?”
✨ “What if something bad happens again?”
This kind of overthinking isn’t just mental noise.
It’s a trauma loop—a way your brain tries to stay safe, even when the threat is long gone.
EMDR’s Role in Healing Trauma-Driven Overthinking
Here’s the good news: You don’t have to live with a mind that feels stuck in overdrive.
EMDR therapy for overthinking helps your brain do what it wanted to do back then: Fully process the experience so it no longer feels like a present-day danger.
When that happens, the system can finally rest.
Here’s how clients often describe it:
🔹 “I still remember it, but it doesn’t hijack my day anymore.”
🔹 “It’s like I don’t need to keep analyzing it again and again.”
🔹 “My mind feels so much quieter now.”
Think of EMDR as a nervous system reset.
Old “danger scripts” get updated.
Overthinking stops feeling like a survival strategy.
And you can respond to the present, instead of being trapped by the past.
If talk therapy helped you understand why you overthink—but EMDR helps you stop—
it might be the missing link you’ve been looking for.
What to Do Between Sessions: Support for Overthinking
While EMDR does deep internal work, here are a few things you can do between sessions to support your healing journey and manage overthinking in the moment:
🌀 Name the pattern. When you catch yourself spiraling, gently say: “This is a trauma loop—not truth.” Just naming it helps reduce its power.
🌀 Ground your senses. Use grounding to bring your body out of the overthinking mind and back into the moment. Touch something textured. Breathe deeply. Sip something warm. (P.S.: Download our free grounding guide below for support.)
🌀 Co-regulate with someone safe. Overthinking thrives in isolation. Let your nervous system borrow calm from a friend, partner, or therapist.
🌀 Shift from thought to action. Instead of chasing every thought to its end, shift your energy. Journal. Take a walk. Do something with your hands. Your healing isn’t only mental—it’s physical, too.
Remember: Overthinking isn’t a flaw—it’s a flag.
It tells you that your nervous system still doesn’t feel safe.
But there is a path forward—and EMDR can help you walk it.
You Don’t Have to Stay Stuck in Overthinking
If overthinking is running your life, please know:
It’s not because you’re weak.
It’s because your brain is doing its best to protect you—with outdated tools.
EMDR offers a new way forward.
Not just coping—but healing.
Not just understanding—but releasing.
💬 Book a free 15 minute consultation with Peaceful Living to explore how EMDR can help you move beyond the overthinking and into peace.
Internal Resources
Book Therapy at Peaceful Living Counseling
Feeling ready to take the next step in your healing journey? Dana’s team at Peaceful Living Mental Health Counseling offers EMDR therapy and trauma-informed support both in-person (Scarsdale, NY) and virtually.
Start Healing at Home with The EMDR Therapy Progress Journal
Not quite ready for therapy? Dana’s EMDR Therapy Progress Journal is the perfect self-paced tool. It blends neuroscience-backed strategies, practical prompts, and actionable steps to help you:
✅ Track emotional triggers
✅ Build coping skills
✅ Understand how past experiences shape your present
Go Deeper in Your Healing Journey
📚 Check out my blogs at The EMDR Coach, where I break down EMDR concepts, trauma education, and practical healing strategies you can start today.
About Dana Carretta-Stein
Dana Carretta-Stein is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and founder of Peaceful Living Mental Health Counseling, PLLC, and Carretta Consulting in Scarsdale, NY.
She is a certified EMDR therapist and EMDRIA Approved Consultant and is an expert in trauma-informed care in Westchester, NY.
Dana is also a skilled business coach for wellness practitioners who are looking to build and grow their private practice.
Check out Dana's website to learn more about her and EMDR Therapy:
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