Ways to stop overthinking

One proven tool that is incredibly effective in helping people to choose their thoughts and stop overthinking is mindfulness. Mindfulness is actually a way of connecting with your life, and its something that doesnt involve a lot of energy. It involves a kind of cultivating attention in a particular way… Its paying attention, on purpose, in the present moment non-judgmentally as if your life depended on it.

For the overthinkers out there, mindfulness can be a life-saver. Learning to control or focus your attention can enhance an inner sense of calm and lead to increased self-awareness. With this awareness, you are better able to understand and take power over your behavior. Practicing mindfulness meditation can help you to know your thoughts and react more calmly to them, without catastrophizing or allowing them to spiral out of control.

Putting an end to rehashing, second-guessing, and catastrophic predictions is easier said than done. But with consistent practice, you can limit your negative thinking patterns. Here are six ways to stop overthinking everything:

1. Notice When Youre Thinking Too Much

Awareness is the first step in putting an end to overthinking. Start paying attention to the way you think. When you notice youre re-playing events in your mind over and over, or worrying about things you cant control, acknowledge that your thoughts arent productive.

2. Challenge Your Thoughts

Its easy to get carried away with negative thoughts. So before you conclude that calling in sick is going to get you fired, or that forgetting one deadline is going to cause you to become homeless, acknowledge that your thoughts may be exaggeratedly negative. Learn to recognise and replace thinking errors, before they work you up into a complete frenzy.

3. Keep The Focus On Active Problem-Solving

Dwelling on your problems isnt helpful--but looking for solutions is. Ask yourself what steps you can take to learn from a mistake or to avoid a future problem. Instead of asking why did this happen? Ask yourself what can I do about it?

4. Schedule Time For Reflection

Stewing on your problems for long periods of time isnt productive, but brief reflection can be helpful. Thinking about how you could do things differently or recognizing potential pitfalls to your plan, for example, can help you do better in the future. Incorporate 20 minutes of thinking time into your daily schedule. During that time, let yourself worry, ruminate, or mull over whatever you want. Then, when your time is up, move onto something more productive. When you notice yourself overthinking things outside of your scheduled time, remind yourself that youll think about that later.

5. Practice Mindfulness

Its impossible to rehash yesterday or worry about tomorrow when youre living in the present. Commit to becoming more aware of the here and now. Just like any other skill, mindfulness takes practice, but over time, it can decrease overthinking.

6. Change The Channel

Telling yourself to stop thinking about something can backfire. The more you try to avoid the thought from entering your brain, the more likely it is to keep popping up. Busying yourself with an activity is the best way to change the channel. Exercise, engage in conversation on a completely different subject, or get working on a project that will distract your mind from the barrage of negative thoughts.

Further reading

https://www.inc.com/amy-morin/6-ways-to-stop-overthinking-everything.html

https://www.psychalive.org/are-you-overthinking-everything/

https://www.progressioncounseling.com/blog/using-mindfulness-to-stop-anxious-overthinking

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