Modern life is a never-ending loop of second-guessing ourselves, and overthinking has become the default mode for many of us.
No entanto, overthinking and stress aren’t modern problems. People have been battling their minds for thousands of years.
We’ve always feared making bad decisions and our inability to control all outcomes.
Here’s how the Greeks dealt with it.
1. Anankephobia: The Root of Our Fears
The Greeks recognized that their minds could trap them in endless cycles of worry, which they called “Anankephobia.”
It’s an intense fear that every decision, no matter how small, could have irreversible consequences.
This fear leads to paralysis, making people overthink all the things that might go wrong instead of what they can do right now.
However, the Greeks, who were above all logical, understood that these thoughts stemmed from unrealistic fears.
And since they were able to recognize the pattern of overthinking, they were able to take the first steps toward freeing their minds.
They realized that most of their worries about necessity – things that might or might not happen – were just mental illusions.
They called this “Ananke,” and they knew how dangerous it could be.
2. Ataraxia and Mental Clarity
The Greeks went beyond complaining about overthinking; they actively looked for a way to free themselves dele.
Their answer was “Ataraxia,” which means “not disturbed.”
Ataraxia doesn’t stand for forcing positive thoughts but for mental clarity – deciding which issues truly deserve your energy.
It’s actually one of the core principles of Stoicism.
It involved dividing your issues into three circles, in order to separate the things you should concern yourself with from the things you shouldn’t.
This shift in mindset came down to practical wisdom, and that’s why it still works to this day.
3. Three Circles of Control
So, let’s divide all the things we tend to think about into three zones.
O primeiro is what you do control in your life: your choices, effort, actions, and reactions.
O segundo is what you might influence: outcomes, relationships, and results. And the third is what’s outside of your control: other people, the past, the future…
Overthinking typically happens in the third circle, where we obsess about things we can’t change.
We try to control outcomes and future events that are beyond our reach, which often makes us spiral.
When you truly accept that some things are simply out of your hands, you prevent your mind from getting trapped in that mental prison.
4. Overthinking Is Not a Personality Trait
Another important thing that the Greeks understood thousands of years ago is that overthinking doesn’t define who you are.
How many times have you heard someone say, “I’m such an overthinker?”
The Greek treated it as misdirected energy that your mind creates to try and solve problems that aren’t actually solvable.
This is a big deal, because it clarifies that the endless spiraling and worry isn’t something you just have to live with. You just need to know how to properly direct your mental energy.
Once you understand that your efforts are misplaced, you can start to change your thinking habits – and go from futile worry to practical action.
5. The Power of Apatheia
The Greeks also introduced the concept of “Apatheia,” which is often misunderstood as apathy.
It actually means freeing yourself from destructive passions – emotional storms that cloud your judgment.
Achieving Apatheia means you’re emotionally aware, but not controlled by your feelings.
You achieve mental clarity, where your emotions are felt and acknowledged but don’t dictate your actions.
Instead of suppressing your sentimentos, you choose to observar them objectively.
This allows for good decision-making, even when it comes to issues you’d typically overthink.
This emotional independence might have been the whole reason behind the Greeks’ incredible insight.
6. Thinking Practically
Ancient Greeks didn’t try to think less or to find distractions; they aimed to think more practically.
Instead of fighting their thoughts or trying to force happiness, they observed their negative thoughts from a logical perspective.
If the issue was something they couldn’t control or influence in any way, they simply accepted it as a fact and moved on.
This practice turned overthinking into a rational assessment that gives you clarity rather than making you spiral.
Por focusing on what mattered, they avoided wasting energy on futile worries.
This clever approach is a timeless lesson: we should all learn to think smarter and prioritize better.
7. Recognizing False Anxieties
The Greeks had a term for anxiety about things that never happened: “Prolepsis Kakon.”
It describes our tendency to worry about potential catastrophes that almost never happen.
They understood that much of overthinking is tied to anticipation – an unnecessary rehearsal of possible disasters in our minds.
Their solution was to recognize this anxiety as a cognitive error.
They didn’t validate them as actual problems, but accepted them for what they really are: imaginação running wild.
8. The Modern Relevance
Today, overthinking is even more common, since we’re flooded with information and endless choices.
Still, the ancient Greek approach remains incredibly relevant.
Their mindset encourages us not to suppress thoughts but to observe and categorize them logically.
By doing so, we can stop spiraling into anxiety and paralysis, and take concrete actions to fix that things that we actually can control.
Their concept of Ataraxia teaches us to conserve mental energy for things that truly matter.
This Greek philosophy offers practical tools for mental clarity.
It teaches us to think wisely, and that’s an attitude that never fails.
A little Aquarius, devoted to writing and embroidery. Through my writing, I hope to empower readers to align with their true selves and navigate life’s mysteries with confidence.