Some books stay with you because they don't simply give you more things to think about. They make you question the way you've been thinking in the first place.
Joseph Nguyen's Don’t Believe Everything You Think is one of those books.
Its central territory is our relationship with thought — particularly what happens when we become caught up in negative thinking, self-doubt and mental suffering. The expanded edition draws on philosophy, spirituality and psychology while deliberately taking a different approach from simply replacing negative thoughts with positive ones.
If that perspective resonated with you, you may be looking for books similar to Don’t Believe Everything You Think that explore overthinking, worry and the inner voice from different directions.
Here are seven worth considering.
1. Chatter by Ethan Kross
Best for understanding your inner voice
If Don’t Believe Everything You Think encouraged you to question your thoughts, Ethan Kross's Chatter takes you deeper into the voice producing so many of them.
Kross explores the conversations we continually have with ourselves and why that inner voice can shift from being helpful to becoming a source of rumination, self-criticism and repetitive thinking. His approach combines psychological research with practical strategies for changing how we respond to our internal dialogue.
This is particularly relevant if your overthinking tends to involve replaying embarrassing moments, analysing past conversations or repeatedly criticising yourself.
Rather than asking you to eliminate your inner voice, Chatter is about learning to use it differently.
Read this if: your biggest problem is the conversation happening inside your own head.
2. The Happiness Trap by Russ Harris
Best for learning not to fight every uncomfortable thought
A common assumption about personal growth is that feeling better requires getting rid of unpleasant thoughts and emotions.
The Happiness Trap offers another way of looking at the problem.
Russ Harris's approach is based around Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT), which places less emphasis on eliminating difficult thoughts and more on changing how we relate to them while continuing to move towards what matters.
That makes it an interesting companion to Nguyen's book.
If you've spent years trying to control, suppress or out-think unwanted thoughts, this book offers another possibility: perhaps not every thought needs to be defeated before you can get on with living.
Read this if: you're exhausted from fighting with your own mind.
3. The Worry Trick by David A. Carbonell
Best for the endless “what if?” thinker
Not all overthinking is focused on the past.
For some people, it's almost entirely about what could happen next.
What if I make the wrong decision?
What if this doesn't work?
What if something goes wrong?
David Carbonell's The Worry Trick focuses specifically on the cycle of worry and anxiety. Carbonell is a psychologist specialising in anxiety, and the book draws on Acceptance and Commitment Therapy and cognitive behavioural approaches.
One of its useful themes is the counterproductive nature of constantly trying to resist anxiety and obtain certainty.
That's an important distinction for chronic worriers because endless analysis often masquerades as preparation.
Read this if: your thoughts constantly race ahead into possible futures.
4. The Untethered Soul by Michael A. Singer
Best for stepping back from your thoughts
Michael A. Singer's The Untethered Soul takes the conversation in a more spiritual and philosophical direction.
Instead of concentrating on individual problems one by one, Singer invites readers to notice the constant stream of thoughts and emotions occurring within them.
That makes it a natural follow-on for readers who were drawn to the broader philosophical side of Nguyen's writing.
The interesting question becomes less:
How do I stop this particular thought?
And more:
What happens when I stop treating every thought as something I must follow?
This won't be everyone's preferred approach, particularly if you're looking for a highly structured workbook. But for readers who enjoy contemplative personal-growth books, it offers another perspective on creating distance from mental noise.
Read this if: you enjoyed the philosophical dimension of Don’t Believe Everything You Think.
5. Quiet Nights by Julian Merren
Best for people whose overthinking gets louder at bedtime
Overthinking has an inconvenient habit of becoming particularly persuasive when the rest of the world goes quiet.
During the day, there are distractions everywhere.
At night, there's suddenly nothing between you and the conversation in your head.
Quiet Nights: Stop Overthinking and Finally Sleep Peacefully by Julian Merren focuses specifically on this part of the experience.
It's designed as a gentle, practical bedtime companion for people dealing with racing thoughts, worry and the pressure that can develop around trying to settle down at night.
Rather than demanding an empty mind, Quiet Nights explores ways of responding differently when thoughts arrive, alongside journalling, breathing, bedtime habits and mindset shifts that can support a calmer evening.
That makes it particularly relevant if you enjoyed Nguyen's ideas but find that your relationship with thought becomes hardest once your head reaches the pillow.
Read this if: your mind waits until bedtime to revisit everything.
You can discover Quiet Nights by Julian Merren here.
6. The Power of Now by Eckhart Tolle
Best for readers drawn to present-moment awareness
Sometimes overthinking keeps us almost everywhere except where we actually are.
We're reliving yesterday.
Preparing for tomorrow.
Imagining conversations.
Rewriting decisions.
Predicting outcomes.
The Power of Now approaches that tendency through present-moment awareness and a spiritual exploration of our identification with thought.
Like The Untethered Soul, this is considerably more philosophical than a conventional step-by-step self-help manual.
But that may be precisely why it appeals to someone who enjoyed Nguyen's broader message.
Instead of providing another collection of things for your mind to analyse, the book asks you to examine how much attention you're giving to the mental stories that continually pull you away from the present.
Read this if: your overthinking continually pulls you into the past or future.
7. Unwinding Anxiety by Judson Brewer
Best for understanding repetitive mental habits
Overthinking can sometimes feel automatic.
A thought appears.
You respond to it.
That response creates another thought.
Before you realise what's happening, you're twenty minutes into a familiar mental loop.
Psychiatrist and neuroscientist Judson Brewer's Unwinding Anxiety examines anxiety through the lens of habits and repetitive behavioural patterns.
That's what makes it such an interesting final recommendation.
Instead of seeing overthinking purely as a collection of troublesome thoughts, this perspective encourages you to become curious about the patterns surrounding them.
What triggers the loop?
What do you do next?
What keeps bringing you back?
Recognising that sequence can provide another way of understanding why certain thought patterns become so persistent.
Read this if: your overthinking feels like a habit you repeatedly fall into.
Which Book Should You Read Next?
The best choice depends on what you appreciated most about Don’t Believe Everything You Think.
For inner dialogue and self-talk, start with Chatter.
For acceptance rather than fighting thoughts, consider The Happiness Trap.
For future-focused worry, try The Worry Trick.
For a more philosophical or spiritual perspective, explore The Untethered Soul or The Power of Now.
For habitual anxiety loops, consider Unwinding Anxiety.
And for overthinking that becomes particularly difficult at bedtime, Quiet Nights offers a more specifically evening-focused approach.
What connects these books similar to Don’t Believe Everything You Think isn't that they all offer the same answer.
It's that they challenge the idea that every thought passing through your mind deserves your attention.
Sometimes the next step isn't learning how to think your way out of overthinking.
It's learning when you don't need to follow the thought at all.
If nighttime is when that becomes hardest, you can learn more about Quiet Nights here.
Books can be valuable sources of perspective and practical ideas, but persistent anxiety, distress or sleep difficulties may also deserve individual support from an appropriately qualified professional.
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