are your thoughts always Galloping around do you ever wish your mind could rain in those horses there are decisions in life that require extensive deliberation and thought such as moving to a different country or accepting a life-changing job despite this line of logic everyone has suffered bouts of overthinking the only difference is that some eventually come up with a decision while chronic overthinkers are plagued with questions and doubt you rehash previous conversations relive past events and imagine catastrophic outcomes if you are an overthinker your mind can feel like a never-ending movie of horrible possibilities this
is debilitating in more ways than one not only does it exhaust you mentally and produce anxiety along with many other health issues but it also prevents you from moving forward so here are 10 ways to stop overthinking number one become aware is running a negative mental commentary second nature to you if so it's a habit that you might not be aware of so the first step to tackling overthinking is to become aware of it grounding yourself in your body is a great way to gain awareness a popular grounding exercise is the 478 breathing technique which
involves breathing in for four seconds holding your breath for seven seconds and letting it go slowly for 8 Seconds other techniques are touching an item and really feeling its material weight and temperature and putting your hands in water becoming self-aware is the first step to changing your mind number two focus on productive problem solving do you get wrapped up in the possibilities of what could happen do you busy yourself with solutions for a problem you have not yet encountered or perhaps might not encounter this type of thought pattern is an example of unproductive thinking some
examples of unproductive thinking are if I do this then this usually something negative will happen or why does this always happen to me unproductive thinking usually starts with fear hence it transforms into a loop of negative thoughts that serve to instill doubt when something goes wrong instead of wondering why ask how asking how shifts your focus on what can be done now and helps you be more productive it changes your perspective and helps you focus on what can be done number three schedules some self-reflection time sitting in a stew of your own problems is not
productive it is time consuming and never yields positive results however making time to reflect can help you see and think about things from a different perspective it affords you time to assess pitfalls in your plans and how you can do better it also serves as a mental boundary if something goes wrong Your Instinct may be to run through and see where you failed however having a set time to go through and assess what went wrong prevents you from making hasty decisions number four change lanes did you know sometimes your brain practices reverse psychology on you
the more you tell yourself not to do something the more you might find yourself doing it the same goes for overthinking whenever you find yourself overthinking it's always a good thing to try and get out of your head it surely can be a scary place sometimes by distracting yourself with for example a hobby or exercise it'll not only make you feel happy doing something you enjoy but it will put a stop to that stream of negative thoughts number five look at the big picture are you focusing too much on something that isn't even gonna matter
in a few days time whenever you find yourself overthinking about something ask yourself this will it matter five years from now will it matter a month from now the chances are that it won't life is always changing asking yourself such questions helps put things into perspective and gives you a new approach number six learn mindfulness does it feel like you run on autopilot when you spend most of the time racing in your brain it leaves you feeling less aware your surroundings take a back seat when your thoughts ride shotgun achieving mindfulness does not occur overnight
it requires practice there are many books apps and courses and other resources that can help you become more mindful practicing mindfulness is a great way to ground yourself in the present you will be fully attending to what's happening to what you're doing to the space you're moving through by practicing mindfulness over time you will notice that you overthink a bit less number seven do away with perfectionism perfectionism can be a sign of lingering fears and it often leads to overthinking you become perceptive of your actions and how others might perceive them perfectionism Narrows the scope
of your actions your thoughts and your future it renders you unproductive and incapable of moving past your problems or failures when you find yourself wanting to be perfect and start to overthink things remind yourself that done is better than perfect number eight accept your best are you always pushing yourself to cover that extra mile do you ever give yourself a break practicing compassion helps you move past your mistakes and let go when you become attuned to your emotions and they're accompanying physiological cues you can spot when you need to take a break by acknowledging your
feelings that arise during that moment and saying positive affirmations you can encourage compassion for yourself number nine be grateful gratitude helps you gain perspective sometimes many problems are not as terrible as they seem gratitude opens possibilities for acceptance as well as growth it can also prevent you from falling into a pattern of negative thinking and number 10 acknowledge your success picture this you find yourself amid an overthinking barrage so what do you do during that Avalanche remember to take a moment to write down on a piece of paper five things that went well for example
you cleaned your apartment or stuck to your budget the accomplishments on your list do not need to be grand but looking at this list will make you realize that you've succeeded even in the small things more than you have failed when necessary refer back to this list to keep your thoughts from spiraling out of control when life gets hectic and overwhelming it's important to take a step back and breathe take a break from the constant information and racing thoughts and if necessary ask for help we hope we're able to give you some insight into some
ways that you can stop overthinking do any of these describe your experiences or did any of the points describe you leave a comment down below about your encounters with them if you'd like please feel free to share any thoughts you have as well if you found this video helpful be sure to hit the like button and share it with those out there constantly overthinking don't forget to subscribe to psych2go and hit the notification Bell for more new videos thanks so much for watching
