Intrusive thoughts

Telling people who have intrusive thoughts to stop overthinking is often not an effective strategy because the nature of intrusive thoughts is that they are difficult to control or ignore. The mind has a tendency to focus on what is being suppressed, making it difficult to simply "not think" about a particular thought.

The idea of "not thinking about unicorns" is a classic example of this phenomenon. Telling someone not to think about unicorns often leads to an increased focus on the idea of unicorns, making it difficult for the person to let go of the thought.

Similarly, telling someone with intrusive thoughts to simply stop overthinking can be unhelpful because it does not address the underlying causes of the thoughts, and can even lead to increased anxiety and stress.

Instead of trying to suppress or ignore the thoughts, it may be more effective to address the root causes and work on managing anxiety and stress through other means, such as therapy, mindfulness practices, or medication.