How to Stop Overthinking Everything
Little voices screaming in my head, “There’s fire on the mountain”.
It’s 11:23 pm or so and I just woke up from the most hideous dream where my opinion on a WhatsApp group chat was debunked. I had the same dream throughout the night and woke up about three times that same night, I actually whispered to myself at one point, “I have to learn how to stop overthinking”.
I’ve got 99 problems but 86 of them are completely made-up scenarios in my head that I’m stressed about for no logical reason at all — Anonymous
Yes, it sounds petty but prior to falling asleep, that was what my mind obsessed about. I had given an opinion on a group chat which was met with silence, and I couldn’t stop my mind from overthinking what people thought about what I sent.
I obsessively dwell on the same thought or situation, analyzing it over and over again, sometimes to the point of exhaustion. It’s crazy.
Overthinking is unproductive, thinking about all the things you could have done differently, second-guessing your decisions, and continuously imagining worst-case scenarios can be exhausting.
So I decided to learn how to stop that repetitive action, hence this write-up. I got on the internet and started reading about it and here are some remedies I thought would be helpful:
- Mindfulness:
Mindfulness is taking charge of your thought process and being aware of what you are constantly thinking about. Overthinking had become such an ingrained habit that I was no longer self-aware of the same thoughts running through my mind until I felt visibly anxious.
When you notice that your mind has been dwelling on a particular occurrence, change it to think about something else. You can read, you can listen to music, and you have the power to change your thoughts. If it is a thought about the past that you can’t change, say this scripture, “All things work together for the good of those that love God and are called according to His purpose.”
Bring those thoughts to be subject to the word of God instead of unproductively dwelling on it.
You can practice mindfulness by journaling. Journaling serves as a vent for your mind, curbing the cycle of repetitive thoughts and providing a new perspective. It offers a safe, judgment-free zone to pour out your worries, fears, and emotions.
- Challenge your thoughts:
Not everything your mind tells you is true, it is just interpreting things the way it perceives them to be. An effective way to curb overthinking is to challenge worries and doubts by trying to take a step back and view them objectively.
Every thought you have will not be truthful, accurate, or even realistic. Learning how to reframe them in a more positive way can help relieve the tendency to overthink.
- Talk to a trusted person about your thoughts:
Talking to someone about what you think gives the thought, less power as you will see it through the eyes of another person. You might find out how irrelevant what you are obsessing about really is.
One time, I was particularly stressed by an unproductive thought that I called up my aunt and spent a few minutes venting. Result? I got to place things in perspective and worry less.
- Schedule “Worry Time”:
A report on the internet wrote, “By setting aside a designated time to address these thoughts, you’re not in a constant battle to push them away. You’re simply postponing them to a more convenient time. If rumination crops up outside your designated worry time, gently remind yourself, “Not now, I’ll tackle this later,” which helps bring greater awareness and control to your thought patterns”. I couldn’t agree more
If you think this is a difficult thing to do, “Schedule thoughts”, think about all those times you were praying and a useful thought came to your mind. The thought was useful, but at that period in time, you didn’t need it so you pushed it out of your mind and said, “Later”, because you needed to concentrate. You can schedule thought time.
- Embrace Uncertainty:
It’s okay to not know everything, you’re not Spiderman, and even Spiderman didn’t know everything. Acknowledge that it’s impossible to control everything, control the things you can, and surrender the things you can’t control.
- Pray:
Bring all thoughts captive to obey Christ. Not every thought is naturally curated, surrender all your thoughts to obey Christ. Don’t be anxious about anything but pray about everything, and you will have peace.
Till next time,
Love and Light.
