This article is all about overthinking.
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Overthinking is an issue that has become more prevalent. Learning how to stop overthinking can be a challenge as the mind can be difficult to manage.
The stress caused by overthinking can make it more difficult to focus and get things done. It’s really a major inconvenience,
Learning how to stop overthinking can keep you on track with your goals as well as encourage you to do things that scare you.
Here, we can take a deep dive into the tips that will reduce your overthinking and help you manage stress in a more beneficial way.
This article is all about overthinking.
How to Stop Overthinking
The Issue with Overthinking
It is not a bad thing to think, but thinking is usually productive when it is followed by action. If you get stuck at the thinking stage, then you may never be pushed to act on your thoughts, plans, or feelings.
Overthinking is usually associated with negative things such as doubt and fear and is a common symptom of those who lack confidence.
Overthinking perpetuates a cycle of nothing getting done because the mind acts as an obstacle. If you want to learn how to stop overthinking, then the primary culprit should be addressed, your mind.
Write Down Your Issue – Acknowledge it
Do you know what makes overthinking 10x worse? Losing track of what you just spent x minutes thinking about.
It is essential to acknowledge the catalysts for your overthinking. Not only may it prevent you from overthinking the same thing in the future, but you can better recognize your triggers and find the necessary methods to disengage.
Identifying your issue in a finite number of words can help you gain clarity on what it is that sparked your overthinking or spiral. Seeing your thoughts on paper takes them out of your head and engages different parts of your body.
Anything that you can do to bring your attention out of your head and back into reality will be beneficial.
Writing down your issue will also give you something to reflect on later. I know that there have been times when I got so deep into thought, that I forgot about what it was that initially sparked my spiral.
A great step to take towards learning how to stop overthinking is physically acknowledging the catalyst.
Another post that you will enjoy: https://thrivingindependently.com/insecure-overachiever/
Meditate
As someone with strong symptoms of ADHD, I find this tip to be one of the most difficult. When you do learn to meditate, you unlock a new state of life.
I think one of the greatest benefits of meditation is learning to self-soothe. You can meditate anywhere and it doesn’t need to be long either.
One reason that meditation is a great aid in stopping overthinking is that it causes you to be more intentional with your mind and thoughts. You can control where you want your thoughts to go and how long they stay there.
You can think and repeat thoughts that are more productive and positive to bring you peace. Meditation can put you back in control of your thoughts and that is a great way to learn how to stop overthinking.
If you are working on your meditation skills, here are some things that you could try:
Go through the Worse Possible Scenarios
Since you are using all of this brain power to think, you may as well use it to your advantage. If your overthinking is fear-based, then you are probably apprehensive of something going wrong.
Going through the worst possible scenarios can give you a sense of peace because you can determine beforehand if you can withstand these scenarios. For example, if you have a person in your life that you have feelings for and have never expressed, you may overthink asking them on a date.
It can be difficult for you if they say no, but is that rejection the end of the world? Probably not.
Going through the worst-case scenario is also beneficial because it gives you time to prepare and anticipate what you may feel.
If you allow yourself to have feelings in your rational state, then you can better handle your emotions if the situation ever presented itself.
Focus on what you can control
One of the best ways to get better at how to stop overthinking is to divert your attention. Uncertainty and external factors can cause anxiety and stress, but we all have to learn how to cope.
If your anxiety is stimulated by a lack of control, it is only natural for overthinking to enter the picture. When you focus on what you do and what you can control, you give yourself the power back.
You no longer become a victim of what the world or other people do to you but you decide to interact with others on your terms.
Another post that you will enjoy: https://thrivingindependently.com/the-growth-mindset/
Some things that are easy to overthink are the course of your life and especially the course of your life compared to others. You can find tips on dealing with uncertainty in your life here.
If you are worried about a difficult conversation that you need to have, then you should focus on the things that you can control such as your tone, the topics you discuss, and your body language.
People don’t realize that there are methods of tipping the odds in their favor.
The more time you spend preparing, the more time you take away from overthinking, which will get you closer to learning how to stop overthinking.
If the problem is related to a person, ask them
This applies to the people that you have access to. As we are the main characters of our own worlds, we can overestimate the impact the things that we have done or said have on other people.
If you are worried about how you delivered a statement to someone else, you have free reign to ask them about it. You might benefit from being considerate of other people and their feelings.
Many of the questions that we ask ourselves when overthinking can be solved by asking for different perspectives or answers from the source of our stress.
Now, you may not get the answers that you anticipate, but you would still be better off than if you left it up to your mind to fill in the gaps.
Set limits
To gain control of anything you need to set boundaries. This goes for your mind too. If you are a busy person, you can afford to just sit and stress yourself out over something that happened hours ago.
There are always better ways to spend your time than overthinking. Finding ways to bring your mind back to focus on what it is that you choose to focus on is how to stop overthinking.
One limit that you can set for yourself is time. You give your mind permission to run free and then you reel it back in after the time is up. It is important to process your emotions as avoiding them will only suppress them and not get rid of them.
Overthinking is not something that you want to dedicate much time to either. Your time will be better spent actually doing the thing that you are thinking about. When you look back at the day you will be more proud of the progress that you made than the hours you spent overthinking.
The second limit that you should set is the options that you have. You have to make a clear path of what your options are and set it up so that you are making a choice. Having fewer options gives you less to overthink and it can result in a more obvious answer.
Another post that you will enjoy: https://thrivingindependently.com/too-much-to-do-not-enough-time/
Reduce the pressure
Overthinking can be a large weight on your shoulders. Constantly going through different scenarios that are usually negative will wear anybody down.
A method that may help you is to take the pressure off of yourself. If you are a perfectionist, you might consider the fact that you will be okay no matter what happens. It may not go how you planned, but you have found a way through any other obstacle that you have faced.
If you can reduce the pressure that you put on yourself to solve these problems, then you give yourself more room to navigate life. You wouldn’t need to have everything figured out beforehand because you know that you are capable of finding solutions, which is a great outlook to have when you are figuring out how to stop overthinking.
I hope you absorbed these tips on how to stop overthinking. Gift yourself power over your mind and watch how you flourish!
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