All of us overthink and experience worry from time to time, whether that be a big presentation, interview, or personal finances, it is okay to experience a restless night once in a while. But worry no more, we have curated these 7 tips from both personal experience and research to help you cope with these tough times and put your mind at rest.
* If you would like these tips in poster form click here.
Tip 1: Notice when you’re stuck in your head
The first step to tackling overthinking is noticing that you're overthinking. When you’re replaying events over and over in your head it is very unproductive, it actually makes the situation worse. So how do we notice overthinking? Overthinking is simply thinking too much, it's thinking the same thought over and over, it's 'over analyzing the simplest of situations until all sense of proportion is gone'.
Tip 2: Focus on problem-solving
Thinking about problems isn’t helpful. You must also ask yourself, do I have control over the outcome? If not, then there is simply no reason to worry about it but if you do then exert that worried energy into the outcome. Use your problem-solving skills to fix it.
Tip 3: Challenge the thoughts
Negative thoughts spiral. Ask yourself, what evidence do I have to prove my thoughts true? And what evidence do you have to prove it untrue? Even if your thoughts do prove true, it still helps us put a sense of proportion back into our thinking and realize the 'littleness' of our problems.
Tip 4: Schedule time for reflection
You must try and stop overthinking for long periods of time, instead incorporate thinking time into your daily or weekly schedule. When you begin to overthink outside of your thinking time just remind yourself that you need to wait until your time.
Tip 5: Practise Mindfulness
You can’t overthink the past or the future when you live in the present, mindfulness helps us do that. It is a skill that needs practice but over time it decreases overthinking greatly. If you don't know where to start with meditation we have a selection of short free meditation booklets written by Buddhist monks from around the world.
Tip 6: Change your activity
Telling yourself to stop overthinking doesn’t work, it just causes the thought to pop up more often. To stop overthinking change your activity. Do some exercise, read or watch some TV, anything that puts an end to the repetition of your thoughts. If you want a free self-care checklist with lots of self-care ideas click here!
Tip 7: Recognise your triggers
We experience thousands of separate thoughts daily, but as little as one anxious thought can snowball and turn the whole day into worry and anxiety. Don’t avoid your triggers but research them and practice coping with them.
We all get worried from time to time and it's completely normal, but these 7 tips should be enough to help you cope with worry and overthinking when it arises. 6 of these tips are for the short term but if you want to stop overthinking in the long term you must start meditating consistently, even as little as 5 minutes a day can solve the issue of overthinking. If you want these tips in poster form to stick on your fridge, bedroom wall, or just for a paper copy when needed click here.
Thanks for reading and I hope this article helped!
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