It was Friday, I came back home from my work. I was so exhausted because on that day I was busy. I came home and looked at myself in the mirror. I couldn’t believe it. Was it me in that new coat with that clothing tag?
To be honest, Friday morning I overslept and was late. Unfortunately, I didn’t have any clean and tidy clothes to wear. So, I just take that new coat that I bought the day before and went to work.
Anyway, whenever I saw that misfortune, I started to think about it again and again. My mind was tired, I didn’t have any energy and couldn’t do anything but my thoughts about the whole day were repeated in my head.
Now I think it was ok and can happen for everyone, but I was an overthinker person. If you are like the last version of me, don’t worry and be disappointed. Because I want to share my results and experiences with you.
What is overthinking?
Overthinking is thinking too much. When you analyze, comment, and repeat the same thoughts over and again, instead of acting, you are overthinking.
I can remember When I was overthinking everything, I spent a lot of time just thinking about useless and unreal things that never happened. Now that I think about it, I could spend my time doing something and finding a solution. :/
I was so anxious and had negative thoughts.
Cause I was seeing that I was annoyed by these thoughts, I decided to seek help. I went to a psychologist, read a lot of articles, and experienced many ways and now these are the things I reached out to.
How could I overcome my overthinking?
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Become aware of and challenge your negative thoughts.
This is the first step. When you feel overthought, try to calm yourself down by taking deep breaths and noticing how your body feels. Identify the thoughts or beliefs that are making you stressed and challenge them in a non-judgmental way. I always write my thoughts; it can help me to make my mind empty and see my thought visually.
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Consider ways to problem-solve.
Taking action alleviates stress and feelings of helplessness. Brainstorm and write down a few actions you can take to mitigate a situation you’re overthinking. This will help you externalize and disempower negative thoughts.
One of the best techniques that my psychologist suggested is building a “Thought Box.”
In this method, you set aside a little time in the day, e.g 20 minutes, when you will allow yourself time to overthink. Set up an alarm on your phone for the end of this interval. During this time, begin by telling yourself you have absolute freedom to ruminate until the alarm bell rings.
Then let your mind do all kinds of overthinking. There are no limits and no control over your thinking process. Call this your “Thought Box.”
By allocating definite time to thinking, you can overcome your overthinking more easily.
So, whenever you were overthinking, say to yourself that you should think about them at your thought box time.
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Understand what you can and can’t control.
To accept it or not, there are many things that you cannot control.
Obsessing over something out of your control compounds feelings of stress and helplessness. Recognize that repeatedly thinking about a situation without taking action is unproductive and unkind to yourself.
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Ask for help
As a last point, I should say that you don’t have to go it alone. Seeking outside help from a qualified therapist can help you develop new tools for working through your thoughts and even changing your mindset.
I never could succeed without my therapist’s helps.
To sum up, I know how hard is to be an overthinker person. To not be able to concentrate, relax, and decide well. But don’t worry. You can conquer it as I could. Try your best to have a peaceful life.