“Did I turn that report in? Have I calledBlack Tie Moving yet? Do they really like me? Do I really like them?”
Does this thought pattern seem somewhat familiar to you? We’ve all experienced the unease that comes with overthinking, and it can be hard to pull ourselves out of its grip. That’s why we’re here to help by offering 6 ways to stop overthinking everything.
Find the Core of Your Overthinking
There’s a reason that you’re prone to overthinking everything, and it’s important you get to the root of it. Without understanding why it’s hard for you to not obsessively think about something, you’ll never truly be able to work through it.
Practice Mindfulness
Mindfulness is one of the most effective tools to get you out of your head when your thoughts start to spiral. Practicing mindfulness teaches you how to view your thoughts in an objective and non-judgmental way which makes it much easier for you to not get caught up in them.
Ground Yourself
When you’re overthinking, you’re completely disconnected from your body and external environment. That’s why in order to stop compulsively thinking about something, you need to learn how to ground yourself. Meditation, yoga, and breathwork are all effective ways to come back to the present moment and out of your head.
Write it Out
Writing out your thoughts is a great method to stop overthinking. When we’re having a hundred thoughts at once, there’s no place for them to go. That’s why we end up in this spiral of negative or anxious thinking. When you write down your thoughts, it slows the whole process down. You’re able to step away from the thoughts and release them, which will help to calm you down and get more centered.
Openly Communicate
If you’re prone to overthinking about someone else, it’s important that you communicate with them. Oftentimes, overthinking can be the result of holding something in out of fear. You need to work past this fear and allow yourself to be vulnerable with how you feel and what you think. When you express your thoughts to someone else, there’s no more room for guessing or assuming – which is often the cause of overthinking.
Focus on What You Can Control
Overthinking often stems from our focus and attention on things in life we can’t control. We feel anxious and overwhelmed, and since we can’t always control what will happen in the future, we feel the only control we have is to think about it. However, we know that this just makes things worse. That’s why when you find yourself overthinking about something you can’t control, shift your thinking to the things that you can control. There’s an old and powerful saying that goes, “If I can’t control it, why worry? If I can control it, why worry?” The next time you’re caught up in overthinking, recite this to yourself.
