Effective Ways To Stop Overthinking

Everyone occasionally overthinks. It is completely normal to overthink and get anxious about things that matter to us. However, one must understand the difference between normal and persistent thinking, as the latter may harm our mental and emotional health and affect the quality of our lives.

Many overthinkers have the courage to come out of their deepest thoughts and live life in the present, while others are unable to stop the thoughts, leading them to depression-like symptoms. [1]

According to a study, the symptom of overthinking, or "thinking too much" is highly present in people with mental health issues. These people are preoccupied with negative ideas related to their lives, particularly their health, relationships, or other factors. [2] Also, overthinking in healthy individuals can increase their risk of other mental health issues.

There are many ways one can make their brain stop worrying. Take a look at a few ways mentioned below.

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What Are Ruminating And Worrying?

Overthinking can occur in two different forms: ruminating and worrying.

Ruminating is the act of thinking about the same problem repeatedly. It occurs when we dwell in the past and consider different aspects of previously-occurred problems. [3]

This act of thinking is often accompanied by remorse, self-hatred and self-blame. Rumination may lead to eating problems, anxiety and sadness.

On the other hand, worrying is the thought of foreseeing the future or say, overthinking negative aspects of what may or may not happen in the future. Worrying about unnecessary things is upsetting and exhausting and can put one under a lot of stress.

Ways To Stop Overthinking

1. Thought-stopping techniques

These include writing down thoughts, starting from the most stressful to less stressful, and then trying to stop overthinking or worrying about less stressful thoughts first and slowly moving to the top. Following this method, sit in a quiet and private place with the eyes closed and focus on all stressful thoughts for 2-3 minutes. After that, shout "stop" loudly. The method helps strengthen the commitment to not overthink when we hear our own voices. [4]

2. Being true to the feeling

Being true to oneself is crucial. This is because when we suppress our emotions, they tend to affect our mental health more and increase the risk of stress and depression. Also, suppressed feelings make their way out through physical stress and cause us symptoms such as pain and high blood pressure. Once we accept our true feelings, be it anger, sad or grief, we realise that we have no control over the situation and, slowly start making significant changes to our lifestyle to deal with those negative feelings.

3. Mindfulness

The practice of mindfulness involves paying attention to one's current feelings, experiences and thoughts without judging them. Mindfulness enables us to be more in the present and separate from our past thoughts. When we start focusing on the present, we tend to stop thinking about negative experiences in the past, which tends to lower both rumination and worrying. [5]

Other Methods

• Getting a good night's sleep.
• Seeking help if needed.
• Getting organised and managing the workload.
• Changing attitude towards stress, such as thinking that it helps gain us experience and deal with any conditions in the future.
• Choosing a specific time to 'worry' and let go of thoughts in the remaining time.

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To Conclude

Training ourselves to stop overthinking may take time, but once a person gains control over their mind and learns how to manage their thoughts, they can proceed to new life challenges with confidence.