You'd be lying if you say you don't overthink! Everyone does! There is no measure of how much a person overthinks because it all depends on what you are going through! These reasons range from career problems to relationship problems. We all have been there!
In the last two years of the pandemic, we all got a lot of time to sit indoors and do a good amount of overthinking! At least that was the case for me. I went through both emotional lows and highs throughout this pandemic and the feeling of helplessness frustrated me the most.
So I decided to do something about it. When I was going through a fairly smoother phase I picked up a few habits that I thought would help me stop overthinking. Well, they did not stop it as such but definitely helped a bit. Today I want to share those with you and try giving your mind a rest!
Here are 5 things I did to reduce overthinking:
1. Write about it!
At the start of the year, I picked up daily journaling as a habit to help de-clutter my mind. We all might have realized that overthinking is basically one thought going in a loop in our heads. Writing them down helps break the loop and sometimes we get the answer we are looking for.
There is some clear energy that is released while writing it. Which feels liberating in a way. Having a gratitude journal helps the most!
2. Spend time with friends and family and talk about the thing I am overthinking about!
This happened recently! I was overthinking about something a lot which was actually a pretty small thing but it had somehow hurt me. I knew I was overthinking about it, but the thought just won't leave my head! So I called my best friend and told her about it. By the end of the call, I had completely forgotten about that thing, and I was actually feeling a lot better!
Talking to someone close to you always helps! Not because they have the answer but because you get to see you have someone that cares for you. Be grateful for those people!
3. Divert me to my main mission!
This might be something that only works for me. I call myself a man on a mission! And I am! I always find that whenever I overthink I am not looking at a bigger picture. My mission is the bigger picture. It's mostly the smaller things that are the reason for us to overthink.
Usually, when I am deep in thoughts (overthinking ones), I just pull my plans and review them. It helps me see how much work I have put into my growth. It pulls me out of that small box and helps me see the bigger picture.
4. Watch some Movies!
Sometimes we make wrong decisions when we are overthinking which is worse than the overthinking part! Watching movies or something to take my mind off of the topic helps me come back to it with a bit of an open mind. Which I find is really important!
Whenever you are overthinking, and you feel the thoughts are getting heavier, just give yourself time off and do something that helps you get your mind off of that topic. Watch something comedy! Laugh a bit! After it's done then think about it but this time with an open mind.
5. Resolve the issue if it is related to a specific person!
This is a scary one! That's why I have kept it as my last resort. But I have solved so many of my problems by just communicating my problems with that person. Most of the time we overthink later to realize there was a misunderstanding. We create alternate realities which are far from the real ones!
Talking to that person will bring you back to reality and help you dissolve that thought properly.
I know the list only talks about how to reduce overthinking when you start overthinking. What to do to avoid overthinking? That is something I am currently working on as well. People doing things is inevitable, but it affects us is not. Overthinking is not an action but a reaction to things and situations. If we were to not overthink at all we would need to stop letting things affect us. That's the tough part!
But I am sure we can work up to it. We need to be self-sufficient and super focused on something to not be affected by external things. Maybe let's dive deeper into this concept in a future blog!
I'll see you all next week!
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