11 Tips to Stop Overthinking

You will never be free until you free yourself from the prison of your own false thoughts.

Overthinking is lack of control over one's own mind to stop thinking even when one is consciously aware that it is only creating stress and anxiety. Most of the times thinking goes in a certain loop regarding certain people or situations/events or both, is negative in nature and causes unnecessary drain of energy.

Symptoms of Overthinking

Most people report excessive worry, sadness, anxiety, crying spells, inability to relax, difficulty sleeping, loss of appetite, unbearable stress, negativity, fatigue, lack of desire to do anything, lack of interest in socialising etc

Curing Overthinking

Comforting part is that the techniques that work to prevent overthinking also help to cure it. If we practise them on a regular basis we will ensure sustained mental well-being. But if we have not applied them before, and now have fallen prey to overthinking then it is time we created space for them in our daily life schedule.

11 Tips to Stop Overthinking

1. Get Physical Activity

A very effective way of shifting the focus of mind from thinking is by engaging the body in a physical activity. When the energy is diverted towards exercising the body, there is little left for the mind to think. Go for a run, jog, swim, cycle, dance or anything that gives a good exercise to the body. It will calm your mind.

2. Feed Your Body

Too much thinking impacts eating habits. One tends to feed the mind instead of the body and consumes more sugar. Make sure to eat fresh and wholesome foods, grains, legumes, fresh and sweet fruits, salads and warm soups. Avoid junk foods, colas, processed and packaged foods and to much salt and sugar. Right food will calm the nerves and help stabilise the thinking process.

3. Start Writing Your Thoughts

There is generally an event/situation or person that is constantly running in the mind. What happened, why it happened like that, why to me, what someone said to me, that they shouldn't have, what we said, how it wasn't acknowledged and so on. Instead of just keep thinking about it, start writing about the event/situation from the beginning and all the other thoughts and feelings that are accompanying. One, it will engage you more fully and secondly, when you will read what you have written you will have more clarity about the situation. Often one finds that there were less facts and more projections created by the mind. It can bring favourable insights into one's thinking process and make it more reasonable.

4. Spend Time in Nature:

Nature is a human beings' best friend. It heals on its own effortlessly. Lie down in a park for at least 20 minutes. Results will surprise you. Hug a tree. Sit in a garden. Dance in the rain.

5. Engage Yourself in a Productive Activity

Keeping yourself productively busy diverts the mind and keeps it off from thinking unnecessarily. Clean your cupboard. Bake a cake. Cook a meal. Clean your car. Help your family member with their chores. Make a DIY project. Paint. Sketch. Learn to play an instrument. Learn a new language. Engage yourself in some social service.

6. Listen to Music

Music helps to change the vibrations of your body and mind almost effortlessly. Force yourself to listen to upbeat music if you are feeling depressed, and soothing music if you are feeling anxious.

7. Chant 'Om'

'Om' is one of the simplest yet the most potent of mantras that can be chanted loudly or quietly and helps in both the cases. To halt thinking process, chant loudly for at least 10 minutes at a stretch. It is one of the most effective ways to stabilise the nervous system.

8. Avoid Social Media

It is better to stay off social media when you are troubled with overthinking. One never knows what can trigger or aggravate your situation specially when your mind is not in a position to differentiate between facts and projections.

9. Don't Try to Control Outcomes of Events

Overthinking is also a result of the need to control events. situations and people. While actions are certainly under our control, results often are not. 'Doing your best and leaving the rest' is quite an under rated statement. Everyone knows about it but does not often put into practise.

10. Do 'Pranayama'

'Pranayama' is certainly the most effective method of training and controlling the mind. The simplest way is to practise deep breathing and taking the breath down to the stomach where stomach inflates like a balloon when inhaling and deflates on exhaling. Other key pranayams are Nadi Shodhana, Kapala Bhati, Brhamari, Ujjayi, Sheetkari etc. These can be learnt from a credible source.

11. Accept Your State of Mind

Last but the most important point is 'Accepting what is.' Here it means accepting one's state of mind and not fighting it. Understand this carefully; it does not mean that one need not do any of the above mentioned things. Before doing them, first accept that you are overthinking and it is okay. Accept that you are feeling anxious and unworthy and out of control and it is okay. Once you accept what you are going through without resisting it, half the battle is won immediately. Working on the other methods will further enhance your state of mind.