Shaheer Ahmed
Worrying is a common symptom of overthinking and often entails dwelling on unfavourable memories of the past or even the present. There are constructive strategies to reframe your ideas and reduce stress, whether your overthinking tends to focus on the past or the future.
While overthinking itself is not a mental illness, it is associated with conditions including depression, anxiety, eating disorders and substance use disorders. Try the following tactics the next time you notice yourself descending the rabbit hole of rumination if you have a tendency to overthink things.
Rewire Your Brain:
Rewiring your brain means you have to train your brain to do otherwise—particularly if you’re overthinking at certain times, like before bed. It’s possible to reprogram that habit with other mind-clearing activities. Instead of what could have happened or why try looking at the positives. Maybe the situation wasn’t as bad as your mind is trying to convince you. Always keep a positive mindset and refigure your thoughts into something constructive.
Meditate:
Meditation is a long swore upon technique to relax the mind. The tactic is to keep your mind relaxed and focus on thinking about one particular routine such as gardening or walking at a beach side. The calmer your thoughts are the more benefits will be achieved through meditation. It not only helps refraining from overthinking but will also clear your subconscious.
Release your thoughts:
Writing down what one may be feeling is an easy way to let go of stress. Whenever the mind is in the state of overthinking, simply journal the thoughts on a piece of paper or even on the notepad in your phone. You will feel at ease. It is a simple therapy that can help you get rid of any negative thoughts that may put pressure on your mind.
Train your thoughts:
The brain is constantly churning out all kinds of thoughts, but thinking is a two-way street. While the brain may offer numerous or near-constant ‘thought suggestions,’ it’s ultimately up to us to decide if we accept them. You don’t have to take every alarming thought that pops into your head as truth. In fact, you can use those overthinking moments to question and fact check what’s true, so the worried thought doesn’t have as much power over you.
Your constant habit of overthinking can result in anxiety which is not only harmful for you but also your surroundings. The well-wishers around you are also affected by your habit as they can feel overwhelmed or suffocated depending on how you channel towards them.
People who tend to overthink a lot end up isolated as their social circle starts to avoid them. Overthinking may simply seem like an unwanted thought now but it leads to long term effects which are unwanted. If you ever find yourself engaged in overthinking, apply the techniques mentioned above. You will definitely benefit but if this habits persists, you may want to see a doctor before it worsens.
