How to stop Overthinking?Apr 18, 2022
Has Overthinking prevented you from achieving your goals and finding peace in your life?
Overthinking is overburdening ourselves with thoughts that arise from our own imagination that are beyond our control in the present. The accuracy of the predictions that we make from them may not be helpful for us in our current situation in life.
In this state of mind we tend to get stuck in our own thinking that is based on strong beliefs and conditioning. This prevents us from taking healthy risks in our life and also leads us to a place of disappointment eventually.
Overthinking arises from fear of threat or danger that can affect us . Chronic overthinking develops into mental health issues that include anxiety and depression.
According to Forbes, 73% of the people between the age group of 25-35 are affected by chronic overthinking along with 52% of the people between the age group of 45-55 .
So, how can we stop overthinking ?
Today, i am going to share with you 4 simple strategies to stop overthinking
Accept - Develop an attitude to question the thoughts that arise in your mind based on actual facts before believing them completely and entertain only the thoughts that actually confirms the validity based on your analysis.
Retrain - Not all thoughts that come up are urgent or important enough to pay attention in the present moment. So, if a thought comes about the future or past, retrain your mind through self talk to postpone it for a later time.
Engage - Often, we get into overthinking mode when we are idle or when we are less occupied in our daily life. Notice the times when you often get into overthinking mode and find a way to engage in any activity that shifts your thinking into an immediate activity that needs your focus and attention.
Recharge - Take moments in your day to free yourself by relaxing your mind and body. For example - Incorporate activities that include meditation, music, exercise, nature walks to relax your mind and body.
By performing the above 4 strategies, we are training our mind from overthinking to a state of action that eventually would lead to success and happiness.
So, next time you get into overthinking mode, redirect your creative energy instead of allowing yourself to go into depletion.
In Bhagavad Gita, when Arjuna faces this situation where he is unable to control the mind, Lord Krishna says
असंशयं महाबाहो मनो दुर्निग्रहं चलम् |
अभ्यासेन तु कौन्तेय वैराग्येण च गृह्यते || 35|| (Chapter 6)
It is definitely difficult to control your mind, but with practice and detachment, you can definitely gain control over it.
I know so many people that struggle with overthinking. Thank you for sharing some strategies to help. I love to exercise especially outside to help rebalance myself.