The Spleen and Overthinking: When the Mind Won’t Switch Off

If you’ve ever found yourself lying awake replaying a conversation you had six hours ago—or worrying about something that hasn’t even happened yet—you’re not alone.

That’s been the story of most of my life.

I’m not just someone who overthinks. I loop. I analyse. I plan for every possible outcome.It’s how I’ve stayed safe in a world that hasn’t always made sense to me.

And it’s only in recent years—after learning I’m autistic and have ADHD—that I’ve begun to understand just how much of my energy goes into over-managing, over-caring, and over-preparing.

The Weight of Constant Mental Activity

For years, I thought overthinking was just a personality trait. Something I’d been born with.But the more I look back, the more I see how it was a response to uncertainty.

When you grow up masking, when you’re always the one trying to keep the peace, when you carry other people’s emotions as your own… it becomes second nature to scan for danger. To plan your words. To watch for shifts in tone or energy.

It’s not overthinking.It’s survival.

And over time, it wears you down.Mentally. Physically. Energetically.

What Chinese Medicine Says About Overthinking

In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), the spleen is responsible for digestion—not just of food, but of information and emotion. It’s the organ linked to worry, rumination, and overthinking.

When the spleen becomes imbalanced or depleted, it can show up as:

• Brain fog

• Digestive issues (especially bloating and fatigue after meals)

• Heavy limbs

• Lack of focus

• A tendency to dwell or get stuck in thought loops

It’s the part of us that struggles to switch off.To let things go.To find mental stillness.

And it’s a pattern I know well.

Modern View: Executive Dysfunction and Emotional Load

From a modern perspective, the spleen’s emotional role overlaps with what we now call executive dysfunction, emotional labour, and cognitive overload.

For neurodivergent people like me, the world can feel relentless.

• Social interactions require planning and recovery.

• Everyday choices come with layers of unseen processing.

• Emotional responsibility becomes a full-time job.

And when you live with ADHD or autism, switching off the mind isn’t just hard—it can feel impossible.

I used to think something was wrong with me.Now I see it as part of the way I’m wired.And the key has been learning how to support that wiring, not fight it.

Where Sound Comes In

When my mind is on overdrive, talking it out doesn’t always help.Writing sometimes helps.But sound—that’s what shifts things.

Sound doesn’t ask me to explain.It doesn’t ask me to process.It just moves through me.

Especially when I’m humming, toning, or lying in the centre of a soundbath, I can feel something inside my body unhook from the mental loop.

I don’t have to “try” to calm down.The sound does it for me.

1. Sound Interrupts Thought Loops

Overthinking is like a skipping record.Sound provides a new rhythm.It literally entrains the brain into slower, more grounded frequencies—helping shift from anxious beta states into calming alpha or theta waves.

2. Vibrations Help the Body Digest Emotion

The spleen doesn’t just digest food—it digests experiences.Low-frequency vibration, like bowls or gongs placed near the belly, helps bring attention and circulation back to the gut.That gentle stimulation supports emotional and energetic digestion.

3. Sound Creates Spaciousness

When I’m in a state of mental clutter, I can’t always “figure my way out.”But if I lie back and let the sound carry me, even for 20 minutes, my nervous system resets.I don’t need to solve the problem.I just need space.

People-Pleasing and the Spleen

I’ve spent most of my life putting others first.Trying to make sure everyone else is okay, even when I wasn’t.

That habit of scanning, fixing, absorbing—it all sits in the spleen.It’s the part of me that’s always on call. Always trying to digest too much, too fast, without enough rest.

And over the years, I’ve had to learn how to pause.To say no.To rest.To reclaim my own energy.

Let’s Leave You with This

If your mind loops.If your stomach churns when you overthink.If you wake up already mentally tired...

You’re not broken.You’re responding to life with the tools you had.And now, you get to create new ones.

Start by listening.Not to your thoughts—To the space underneath them.

Because sometimes the most healing thing we can do…is let the sound hold us while the mind finally rests.