Five Simple Ways You Can Stop Yourself from Overthinking

Take steps to break this toxic habit to bring back mental balance.

Tell me one thing. Do you overthink things? You would probably say,” Maybe, I haven’t thought about that.” Our brains are always thinking. You can never really stop your brain from having thoughts. What we mean by overthinking here is, are you thinking the same ideas repeatedly, all the time.

A negative remark, a rude look, rejection can make your heart freeze with sadness and depression. You can then spend hours thinking about what they meant by those words, turning them over and over in your heads till they are permanently stuck in your brains.

As Fyodor Dostoyevsky rightly said in his ‘Notes from underground & the double’,

“To think too much is a disease.”

Obsessive thinking or overthinking can make you less productive and unhappy in the long run.

Life is short, and every second is important. Thinking about unimportant stuff that will not matter in a few days robs us of the pleasure of enjoying the present moment to the fullest.

What is overthinking?

It is a continuous process in which you go on ruminating over things over time. If you think about what to cook for dinner and start making the dinner itself, it will not make up overthinking.

When you are stuck with a thought day and night so much that it takes over your daily routine and makes you forget the other important things in your life, overthinking becomes a cause for concern.

Why is overthinking such a big deal?

As thoughts cross our minds all the time, we can think whatever we want over any length of time and still stay healthy, right? So, what makes overthinking the number one issue that affects the mental health of a person?

1. It affects your mental stability.

A study on the subject claimed that constant rumination could lead us to mental problems and be a major trigger for severe depression and anxiety in adults and adolescents.

Overthinking puts you in a vicious cycle as constant ruminating on unproductive thoughts can decline your mental health, leading you to overthink some more.

2. It disturbs your sleep.

Overthinking can make your brain work faster in long unproductive cycles.

When endless thoughts race through your brain, it causes stress and anxiety, leading to sleeplessness, disrupted sleep, and general poor sleeping patterns. A study confirms the direct result of sleep disruption because of endless mind activity.

3. It makes you less productive.

To stay on top of your game and be productive, you need to focus on your immediate tasks. Overthinking makes your mind wander, which can cause you to be less effective in your work environments.

Constant thinking about anything disrupts your normal mental rhythm and throws off your brain equilibrium.

The human brain is a fantastic device if used correctly. It records our experiences since childhood and creates memories until the very end. It is up to you to determine what memories you will nurture. Happy thoughts will create happy memories that you will cherish throughout life, while sad and agonizing feelings will make hell for you even in the best situations.

Overthinking is a harmful habit, and you can control it and train your mind to have a satisfying, productive life, free from constant mind chatter.

Here are some ways you can bring your mental balance back by controlling overthinking.

1. Practise Journaling.

Your mind never stops generating thoughts. But how aware are you of the fleeting thoughts that circle through your mind?

To keep your thoughts positive, and in check, practice journaling your recurring thoughts. Write your ideas down in a notebook or on your mobile as you go about your day. Feel the feelings that arise from those thoughts. Ponder on the way those thoughts make you feel. Doing this for a week would give you an idea of what goes through your mind.

A regular journaling habit would help you become aware of your feelings and take control of them rather than mindlessly allow those thoughts to invade your mind.

2. Meditate on your thoughts.

We often avoid meditating, thinking that it requires chunks of our time as we sit in a tranquil space and breathe away. But that need not be the case. You do not need to follow any specific routine to follow meditation in your life.

Simply put, meditation is controlling your breath and bringing mindfulness into your life. You do not have to set a time for meditating on your thoughts and feelings. You can concentrate on your breathing and focus your attention on the moment even when you are commuting, going on walks, or having a cup of coffee in the cafeteria.

Meditation allows for deep reflection on your beliefs and thoughts as they come into your mind. It helps you dwell on the emotions you feel and find out why you think this way.

Nothing is good or bad in our life. It is how we feel about them that changes our perspective on life.

Deep dwelling on your emotions as they bubble up to the surface of your mind allows you a peek into your emotional conditioning. Realizing your mental setup can help you stabilize and precondition your brain to think happy, positive thoughts and break the cycle of overthinking.

3. Focus on the positives.

Life flows the way you want it to flow. If left alone, the mind will take the short, effortless route and go to the dark, destructive realms that will make you feel negative and keep you stuck in those endless unproductive emotions.

Negative emotions are stronger and more resilient than positive ones. To build up positive emotions, you need to construct them consciously. Focusing on the positive things happening in your life would help you create uplifting thoughts that will make you feel happy and savor your life journey.

4. Exercise.

Moving your body can generate happy hormones like dopamine, improve your mood and relax your mind. Develop a daily routine of taking a walk or engaging in mild exercises to break this toxic habit and bring back peace into your life.

5. Enjoy the journey-

We all have one life to live. Live with joy and happiness. Build solid and lasting friendships and enduring relationships. Don’t give a second of your precious energy to things that dim your light and make you feel less than others.

Enjoy every moment of your life as your last as tomorrow may never come. As you get stuck on your negative experiences, life quietly goes on. Days turn into months, months into year’s and you would soon be nearing the end of your life, looking behind at all the time you have wasted on thoughts that never mattered. Bring your life in control and live with happiness. Take your problems in perspective. Life is in the here and now, and believe that this too shall pass.

Resources:

https://www.inc.com/amy-morin/science-says-this-is-what-happens-when-you-overthink-things.html