How to Stop Overthinking?
Overthinking | Workaholic | Self-care | Perfection | Panic Disorder | True Perfection | Stop Comparing
Have you ever had the feeling that you are overthinking? We all have and its completely fine to feel that way. Our mind works like this. It’s in our psychology to self-reflect, look inward at our own behaviors and responses to the world around us. We can all get lost in our own musings at times over decisions since life can take us down different and unexpected paths, placing us in a dilemma and sometimes pushing one to do a lot of analyzing. But when does that become more like overthinking? Most often when someone cannot stop or quiet their thoughts.
What is Overthinking?
Overthinking which is also referred to as “rumination”, means going over the same thoughts repeatedly or to think about something for too long. While it’s a human nature to analyze and think about things before making a decision, it falls into the activity of overthinking when you can’t get out of your own head, which can be a cause for stress, worry and restlessness. It’s a common habit and we all have been through it. Overthinkers, however, let negative self-talk build up in their mind.
Overthinking is further divided in to two forms:
- Thinking about the past and beating yourself up about “should haves” and “could haves”
- Worrying about the future
Prolonged and chronic overthinking often leads to stress, insomnia and anxiety. One may feel stuck or unable to concentrate on other important aspects of life. Sometimes, overthinking is an advantage, as it may encourage problem solving skills, minimize procrastination, and stimulate creative thought. The other times, it can prevent you from taking decisive action and often triggers anxiety, stress and under extreme circumstances panic attacks.
Do you need to stop overthinking and stop feeling immobilized? Continue reading this blog to the end and explore numerous ways to overcome the habit of excessive thinking and worrying.
Summary: Excessive thinking and overanalyzing the same thought scenarios fall under the category of overthinking. It can potentially trigger anxiety, elevate stress and contribute to depressed mood and insomnia in some individuals. Overthinking is sometimes advantageous and other times unhealthy.
How to Know If You Are an Overthinker Versus Just Focused on Resolving a Problem?
We all think over solutions and scenarios before making a decision but, how to know if you are an overthinker?
Signs of overthinking may include:
- A preoccupation with things you can’t change or control. Mulling over the past
- Remembering and ruminating over uncomfortable interactions with others
- Replaying perceived mistakes you made in your mind
- Questioning the right outcome on an issue but never making a decision or taking action
- As mentioned, second-guessing your decisions
What Causes Overthinking
The most common precipitating factors for overthinking are stress and anxiety. Other potential factors are psychological or physical trauma and chronic illness. Stress can manifest in many common forms associated with our daily lives, be it from a stressful work environment, financial instability, or any dangers that we see posing a threat and uncertainty to our wellbeing.
Individuals who have a fear of judgment, overthink a lot. Some overthinkers want sureness and accuracy and struggle with perfectionism.
Summary: Overthinking may be triggered by stress and anxiety and place the individual in a negative loop that increases stress, worry and anxiety.
How to Stop Overthinking
Before learning techniques to stop overthinking, you must first address the question, “Why do I overthink?” Following are the ways to stop overthinking that may help you start living life peacefully:
- Awareness: The first step is to be aware of when you are overthinking which commonly arises when you are second-guessing a decision. Pay attention to your triggers so that you can be aware of when certain situations might be the most stressful or stimulating.
- Analyze your options: The second step is to deeply analyze truly available options for the problem that is bothering you. Take time and do research to find authentic and realistic options. Don’t rely on the options you initially thought you have. Write all suitable options. It will help you make decisions easily.
- Take a break from problems: It is not essential to solve a problem in just one stretch. You need time to think, reflect and analyze. When you take a break, you revisit the problem and think about it with fresh mind and attitude.
- Think positive: You need to look at the positive aspects instead of looking at the negative ones. Positive imagination can reduce stress and improve mental health. When you think positive, you start seeing possibilities instead of barriers.
- Distract yourself: Find hobbies, visit your loved ones, travel or do something that makes you happy.
- Take a nap: Sleep is the best way to avoid overthinking as it declutters the mind by making way for clearer thinking. It reduces stress as well.
- Accept that nothing is perfect: Stop waiting for perfection. Everything has flaws. Make a decision based on your best assessment of the pros and cons and don’t expect it to be perfect. Embrace imperfection.
- Accept your best and leave the rest: Sometimes, we make good decisions and sometimes bad. That is how life works. Sometimes you may have the advantage of consulting with a mentor, friend or close mature family member.
- Stop comparing yourself: Everyone has different qualities. You need to stop making comparison with others. It will give you mental peace and happiness.
Summary: There are many ways to overcome the habit of excessive thinking. Focus on solutions, setting a decision deadline or taking a break rather than just ruminating about the problem.
Self-Care Should Be Considered Essential
Self-care is taking care of your mind, body and soul by engaging in activities that improve health and reduce stress.
Some examples of self-care include walking, massage therapy, cooking and baking, meditation, artwork, playing games, reading, writing, deep breathing and taking a bath etc. Self-care provides a positive distraction from stressful situations and negative emotions and can be a way of giving your mind a break from overthinking.
Why Is Self-Care Important?
We live in a society in which people are expected to be workaholics, we must always be productive– which can ultimately take us away from opportunities for self-care. However, by taking out some time from our busy schedules for self-care, we may relieve the stress of everyday life and refresh our mind and body to a point where productivity is maximized. Self-care ensures optimal health by improving mental, emotional and physical condition. It helps in reducing stress, improve concentration, minimize frustration, eliminate anxiety, increase happiness, boost energy levels and helps in treating depression.
The Perfection Syndrome – Is It Okay Not to Be Perfect?
In today’s world, people try so hard to seek perfection: to be smart enough, to be beautiful and funny enough. There’s a lot of pressure from both internal and external sources. The feeling of not doing enough or not living up to the standards and the fear of failure can be overwhelming at times. But that’s completely fine. People aren’t perfect, everyone has flaws, but these flaws should not define who you are as a person. If you have made mistakes in past, that doesn’t mean you will fail in the future. Accept your mistakes and learn from them. Remind yourself that your mistakes don’t represent your future. Managing your story and what you tell yourself is the key towards your success.
Any regrets or potential mistakes you may think you made in the past should be left in the past. It’s oftentimes hard for us to let go but the energy expended in this can be exhausting and ineffective. The past cannot be changed. The only thing we can change is the meaning it represents and that meaning can either be interpreted as positive or negative.
The Bottom Line: Stop Overthinking
Yes, its completely okay not to be perfect. No one is flawless. We make mistakes, we repeat mistakes, but the most important thing is we learn from them and grow.
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