Survive Overthinking

When faced with stressful periods in their life people react in many different ways. One common way is over thinking or over analysing a situation which is then aggravated by the mental exhaustion that follows. wikihow.com







Stop reading this article! An unusual opening line to an article but if you are reading this then you are already probably on the road to overthinking.



Write everything down. It doesn't have to be structured, just get it all down on paper. An unpleasant image but you need to mentally 'vomit'. Putting pen to paper is the equivalent of putting your fingers down your throat. Once you have exhausted yourself writing, you will find that the pattern of continuously re-visiting arguments and counter arguments will abate a little. You may well even get to sleep tonight.



Do not believe you have gone mad. You are not alone. Other people may look composed and calm on the outside but there is a very good chance that behind closed doors these people are subjecting themselves to a rather heated internal dialogue as well. It's natural, the trick is to try and keep it spiralling out of proportion.



Do something that requires you to concentrate. Not driving, not walking, not running it is far too easy to go onto autopilot and start re-visiting arguments and counter arguments. Playing an instrument, learn to speak German mein lieblings , competitive team sports, anything that requires you to have to actively engage your brain.



Think Black. If you are lying in bed and your brain is humming like a powerline, try to imagine you are in a vacuum, you are powering off your brain like a computer... or if that doesn't work, try to think of only the colour black!



Talk Shows not Music. If it's heartbreak that's causing you to overthink then listening to music can often be the worst thing to do. Go for talk shows, something that engages your mind rather than something that causes you to lament. If you are currently listening to Total Eclipse of the Heart or Nothing Compares to You, turn it off NOW.



Avoid alcohol. Just don't do it. It is a depressant and no matter what you think at the time, the grand conclusions you will have come to in your head will be shaky at best.



Cliche Time. Yes, it's a dreadful cliche but time is the greatest healer. Whether it be a tongue lashing from the boss at work or the trials and tribulations of being in love, the situation will become less raw over time. Over analysis will not solve anything, it will only slow down time rather than speed it up.



Get the Balance Right with your friends. It is important to talk to someone about the situation you are facing but your friends can be too sympathetic and it will cause you to re-visit a situation multiple times. This can lead you into a bout of wallowing in self pity. Think about which of your friend's 'shoots from the hip' their advice is valuable and might kick you out of the martyrdom rut!



Laugh at Yourself. There is a very good chance that you are over egging the pudding! Your boss is probably not the sadistic ogre that you have painted them as, the row that you have just had with your partner is probably not the raging battle between 'Heaven and Hell' that you have created in your mind. Look at your problems through an independent observer's eyes and decide whether the end of the world is really nigh.



Good Luck to You all. Over analysis and over thinking really can be debilitating, I wish you all the best and hope you have found this article useful.

Stop Thinking Too Much

Generally, we should think before we speak or act but sometimes we think so much that we fail to speak or act at all and allow that thinking to breed anxiety. This article will offer some advice to help you know when it is time to stop thinking and move on. courtesy:wikihow.com







Know when thinking becomes thinking too much. Thinking is something we need to do to survive, so it is hard sometimes to judge when we are doing too much of it (not unlike eating!). A good rule of thumb: you know you are thinking too much when you start thinking the same thoughts over and over again (ruminating).



Meditate. If you feel like you don't know how to stop thinking, you need to learn what it's like to "let go" of your thoughts, so that it's something you can do deliberately. Imagine that thinking is like breathing; you do it all the time, without even realizing it. But if you need to, you can hold your breath. Meditating will help you learn how to release your thoughts.



Put your thoughts down on paper. Thinking is a mental tool that is ideally used to analyze your options objectively. So on a piece of paper or on a computer, define a problem, write down your options, and list the pros and cons for each option. Seeing your thoughts in front of you like that will also help you stop cycling through them in your head. Once you can't think of anything more to write, your mind has done its job, and it's time to stop thinking.



Follow Your Intuition. If two or more options seem equally appealing, thinking more will not make things clearer. This is where you listen to something deeper.



Ask for advice. You may have exhausted your own thinking power, but someone else might be able to offer a different perspective that makes the decision clearer.



Act. At this point, you've used your mind, you've listened to your gut, and you've gotten a second opinion. Now you must be bold. Odds are, if you think too much, it's because your fears get the best of you, and you don't want to mess up. But there comes a point where you have to "fish or cut bait"!



Live in the Moment. Once you've resolved the thinking process, and taken action, focus your awareness on the here and now. Your mind will be tempted to pore over your decision, making you doubt yourself and worry, but what's done is done!