When you finally have some quiet time to yourself, you instantly begin to second-guess yourself and wonder if you should have sent the thank-you note or if you overestimated your odds of earning the promotion.
Sounds recognizable? Overthinking and worrying are normal human behaviours, but if they become excessive, they can harm your mental and physical health.
So what should someone who overthinks do? You can make progress with these suggestions.
1. Take a step back and assess your behavior.
Rumination, or recurrent thinking, can sometimes be maintained by the way you react to your thoughts. Rumination frequently has detrimental effects reliable resource for information about mental health.
The next time you find yourself constantly going over something in your head, pay attention to how it makes you feel. Do you experience annoyance, anxiety, or guilt? What main feeling underlies your thoughts? Self-awareness is essential for shifting your thinking.
2. Inhale deeply.
Even though you’ve heard it a gazillion times, it still works. The next time your mind keeps you up at night, close your eyes and take a few deep breaths.
3. Meditation
An effective technique to quiet your mind of anxious chatter by focusing your focus inside is to establish a regular meditation practice.
You only need a peaceful area and five minutes.
4. Take a broader perspective
How will the problems that are currently bothering you affect you in five or ten years? Will it really matter that you didn’t make a pie from scratch but instead brought a fruit tray to the potluck?
Don’t let little problems become big obstacles.
5. Recognize your accomplishments
Take a break from overthinking and grab a notebook or your preferred note-taking app on your phone. List five things that went well over the past week, along with your contribution to each.
These don’t have to be significant achievements. Perhaps you cleaned out your car this week or stuck to your weekly coffee budget. You might be shocked by how these minor details add up when you see it written down or displayed on a screen.
If it feels useful, return to this list whenever you notice your thoughts getting off track.
You’ll be happier, more rested, and have a great impact on others around you after you learn how to quit overthinking and live in the now. Always keep in mind that life occurs to you, not for you. If you approach your unpleasant emotions as gifts that have been given to you in order to help you develop, even they can result in wonderful outcomes.
