“Sometimes the worst place you can be is your mind.”
If you are someone who overthinks, you know exactly what it is. I mean, at the end of the day when you finally have this quiet time to yourself, you start to wonder if you overestimated your chances of getting promoted. Or you ponder over the thought that you forgot to thank a friend ‘out loud’ who held the door for you when you entered the office.
Sounds familiar. Right?
Overthinking takes you to this place where you cannot stop dwelling on your thoughts. This is because you are desperately trying to find solutions or meanings to things that aren’t even that important. How to get rid of overthinking then?
When overthinking and the associated thoughts spiral and become insufferable to handle, it is very usual to look for answers to how to stop overthinking.
Table of Contents
Some Common Overthinking Symptoms to Look Out For
If you are someone that is still not sure whether they suffer from overthinking or not, take some time out and ask yourself if you have these symptoms:
PONDERING ABOUT THE PAST
You make yourself uncomfortable with those “could haves” and “should haves” and don’t let go of the past.
PARALYSIS BY ANALYSIS
You replay the choice and the options in your head so any time that you get scared of taking the wrong action, you take no action at all.
CONSTANT WORRY ABOUT THE FUTURE
You never stay in the present and keep thinking as to how to stop overthinking for the sake of your future. You keep making up fake scenarios in your mind about the future, that is yet to happen.
ALWAYS WORRIED ABOUT WHAT PEOPLE THINK OF YOU
If you keep replaying every social interaction and situation in your mind you have social anxiety. To keep thinking over and over again about these interactions is overthinking.
Read ‘20 ways to overcome social-anxiety’ to explore more.
LETTING NEGATIVITY BUILD UP IN YOUR MIND
You need to notice the inner dialogue. Negative self-talk is a big overthinking symptom.
How to Get Rid of Overthinking?
The best psychologist in Pakistan Ms. Ayesha Shahid Sheikh with an experience of 8 years says it is best to face your fears than to keep avoiding them. Some of the most useful ways to get the answer to how to stop overthinking are mentioned below.
1. Identify Your Destructive Thought Patterns
Destructive and negative thought patterns can come in many forms. Some of these are worse than others. These thought patterns are likely to surface during times of conflict and stress. These contribute to the negative effects of overthinking.
There are two common patterns known according to the research called as ruminating and incessant worrying. Ruminating means that there is a single thought or some thoughts that are connected together as dark or sad.
These can run through your mind again and again. This is seen to be very common in perfectionists. It is often so bad that it makes you push other people away or causes depression. It also leaves you with an unanswered question of ‘how to stop overthinking?’
Incessant worrying on the other end involves worrying about every other thing. You constantly stress about and anticipate almost anything in your life that is going wrong. It is just not linked to one event in your life going wrong. Its link is mostly with your deeply limiting beliefs and your story.
2. Take Control of Your Story
It is so common in all of us that we keep telling each other stories. The question that arises here is whether these stories empower you or hold you back.
The stories that we tell ourselves are very important and can leave a very prominent impact on our lives. These can really be factors that come in our way of finding how to stop overthinking.
People who overthink always tell themselves “I have always been the one fighting over my thoughts.” Or “I am always more anxious than people around me.”
These stories can damage you pretty badly and can be very hard to change if you don’t question yourself why you overthink so much.
In order to overcome these limiting these beliefs, what you can do is first identify them. The best way is to catch yourself as soon as you start telling yourself these negative stories. Take the chance and replace them with positive ones. For instance, “I can control my emotions and I am in charge.”
So, once you change your story, you can easily change your life.
Give ‘tips on how you can relax your mind’ a read, to explore more.
3. Focus More on the Solution
The best psychologists at Hameed Latif Hospital say that the answer to how to stop overthinking lies in finding the solutions.
Although the first and foremost step is to identify the problem, then comes giving your power and energy to solutions. Most of the time, after identifying the stress and anxiety people think that the work is done here. The reality is that the real work starts after that.
Now, if your overthinking is caused by your degree, try and look for other options that suit your needs. If you think that you are not where you need to be, then start setting goals for yourself to get there. If you feel that you have zero control over your life, then make a decision today to take charge.
To get the answer to how to stop overthinking, these are big moves and they take a lot from you. Just remember one thing:
No one is in control of your reality, but you.
4. Ask Yourself the Right Questions
Asking yourself questions that are totally wrong including “why do I overthink all the time?” over and over again will never help. It really never helps in identifying where you are wrong.
These only make you indulge in overthinking more than you want to. Try and focus on proactive questions rather than those that trigger rumination. These will ease the process of finding out how to stop overthinking.
Instead of asking yourself, “why do I always mess up my presentations?” ask yourself “what is it that I am lacking that is making me mess up my presentations?”
When you ask questions, that help you change your behavior for the good, then there are high chances of you not becoming a part of overthinking.
When to Visit A Doctor
If you feel like you are suffering from overthinking and are getting consumed every day, try and make effort. If you feel like the efforts that you out are making your overthinking worse rather than getting n answer to how to stop overthinking. Then it is best that you visit the best psychologist near you by booking an appointment via Healthwire.
