How to stop overthinking

angelmariya
angelmariya Community Member Posts: 23 Connected
in Mental health and wellbeing

I am a overthinker person I spend a lot of time replaying conversations I know everyone overthinks sometimes, but lately it feels like it's becoming a habit and it's exhausting. I find it hard to relax because my mind is always analyzing something.

Comments

  • OverlyAnxious
    OverlyAnxious Community Member Posts: 6,229 Championing

    Doing practical tasks and getting outside are a great distraction from overthinking. If you can't do many practical tasks due to medical conditions or living arrangements then it is more difficult.

    One thing I do is allocate a specific amount of time to something. For example, I'll give myself 1 hour to choose an option. By the end of that hour I will choose one option, whether for better or worse, and then manage the outcome of that choice on another day.

    If it's overthinking about something that I can't change then I just shout 'stop' in my mind to break the over-thinking cycle. Sometimes takes a few attempts, but usually does work for me now.

    Other people prefer mindfulness, but that's not for me. My mind's too active and needs to be occupied all the time.

  • Mary_Scope
    Mary_Scope Posts: 5,072 Scope Online Community Children and Family Specialists
    edited June 10

    I relate to this a lot @angelmariya. Especially about past conversations or situations that cannot be changed as they are in the past.

    I find physically getting up and doing something quite helpful, even if it is just standing up and refilling my water bottle or getting a cup of tea because it is a distraction for me.

    I also find crosswords, wordsearches and colouring really distracting for my brain especially when it's night time as this tends to be the time I'm more likely to overthink. I usually have a safe, comforting TV show or Youtube video on in the background too.

    Similar to @OverlyAnxious, I literally just say to myself "no we're not thinking about that today" or "we've spent enough time thinking about that today" and this sometimes help but not always.

    What sort of things have you tried @angelmariya?

  • angelmariya
    angelmariya Community Member Posts: 23 Connected

    Thank you for sharing your advice. I also find that staying busy helps me stop overthinking.

  • StarryEyed
    StarryEyed Community Member Posts: 1,527 Championing
    edited June 22

    Hi guys. What a great discussion! This is something I struggle with too but have learned lots of helpful tools. Great to be sharing them! Recently I saw this video that I find really helpful to have a concrete image to be working with.

    https://youtu.be/IHOieCU4WQs?si=4ftHsihLVlvF1FBv

    Also I find this playlist of bilateral EMDR music super helpful to slow down my thinking and clear my thinking (needs to be listened to with headset/earbuds)...

    https://youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_lckpq2WE4J8tXZ3bwSd-YMp2GHCgH7u8A&si=VKrUH4MXhDS4R_-W

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