6 Ways To Reduce Overthinking And Protect Your Mental Health × Follow Us Create Notifications New User posted their first comment this is comment text Link Approve Reject & ban Delete Log in Manage your profile Editing Story Queue Video Queue Editing Stats Writer Home SEO Redirection Admin Wiki Edits Taxonomy Home Edit Site Menu Mapping Dashboard Tag Pages Community Social Feed Queue Feed Center Notification Center Affiliate Home Manage Pages Bottom Tagline Dash Timeless Stories Logout Health and Fitness Listicle

6 Ways To Reduce Overthinking And Protect Your Mental Health

By Steve George Verghese Modified 01 Sep 2022 Follow Us Comment Share Overthinking causes significant harm to our mental health and can severely impact our well being (Image via Pexels/Andrea Piacquadio) Overthinking is not a mental health disorder on its own. Still, it is a form of rumination that, if left unresolved, can lead to illnesses like depression, anxiety, and chronic stress, according to research. Research shows that overthinking is a form of uncontrollable worry where the brain is in overdrive and can affect sleeping patterns, cognitive abilities, physical well-being, and overall quality of life. There are many complex reasons why we overthink. It is a subconscious way for us to avoid painful experiences such as rejection, criticism, and failure. We tend to overthink things that have happened or may happen in the future. Problems arise because we reaffirm our fears when we overthink, and this leads to an increase in anxiety. View this post on Instagram Instagram Post Overthinking is also linked to perfectionism, where people set unrealistic standards for themselves, which in turn leads to mental agony when they fail to meet those standards. 'All or nothing' cognitive bias is another cause of overthinking, as those who subscribe to that line of thinking believe that there is only one right choice or decision. This puts undue mental pressure on people as they feel their decisions must be perfect without any room for failure.

Ways to stop overthinking

While there are many different causes of overthinking, according to research data, there are things that a person suffering from the condition can do to alleviate their difficulties.

1 Therapy

Since overthinking is caused by factors like distorted cognitive thoughts and self-belief and is linked to several mental health problems, therapists can help individuals deal with this problem. Therapists are capable of helping individuals challenge their negative perceptions and thought processes and helping them realize the root cause of their overthinking. Therapy also facilitates individuals working on reframing their thoughts that lead to overthinking while learning how to cope with stressors and anxiety more healthily.

2 Journaling

Journaling is a great mental health tool with a wide variety of benefits, including the ability to help individuals with their overthinking problems. Journaling can help individuals identify the triggers that cause them to overthink and write down negative repetitive thoughts. Journaling to overcome rumination begins with writing down feelings without judgment as they occur. Writing these thoughts down without initial judgment allows individuals to analyze these thoughts later with a clear and rational mind. This allows individuals to objectively analyze their thoughts and thought processes and judge whether they are helpful. Journaling also allows individuals to hone their thoughts and focus on things of their choice.

3 Mindfulness

Mindfulness is essential for combating overthinking as it allows individuals to control or focus their attention. This allows individuals to feel an inner sense of calm and increases self-awareness. The increased self-awareness helps individuals to understand their thoughts and behaviors in a nuanced manner. One way to practice mindfulness is through guided meditation, which allows individuals to enter a calmer state of mind and focus on the present. Living and thinking in the present moment dissuade the mind from running away with thoughts.

4 Distractions or change the channel

Trying to stop thinking about things or trying to avoid specific thoughts can cause individuals to overthink. To stop overthinking about a particular topic, sometimes the best option is to distract yourself by doing something else. Engaging in certain activities like exercising, cooking, reading a book, watching a TV show, and going for a drive can act as distractions and allow individuals some reprieve from ruminating.

5 Setting a time to overthink

People who overthink often experience severe mental distress because it is a recurring problem in their lives. Once they start encountering this problem, it persists with them day and night and affects all aspects of their daily lives and sleeping patterns. To deal with this situation, individuals can start assigning specific time periods regularly where they intentionally think about things that are troubling them or causing concern. The key is to allow overthinking only during this particular period of time, which trains the mind to limit overthinking to that time period. Individuals should move on to doing something productive or positive once that specific time is finished.

6 Shifting to solution oriented behaviors

Overthinking revolves around things that happen to us or worrying about negative scenarios that may happen in the future. One way to overcome this issue is to move from focusing on the problems to shifting toward solutions. Individuals should focus their time, thoughts, and efforts on ways to improve their situation rather than fixating on what they cannot control. Overthinking is a problem that everyone goes through at some point in their lives. It is not an unsolvable problem, as there are plenty of ways to combat rumination and avoid its negative effects. Steve Verghese is a trained psychologist with an MSc in Counseling Psychology from the Indian Institute of Psychology and Research. Poll : Do you face problems with overthinking? Yes No 1 votes Edited by Babylona Bora × Feedback Thank You! Be the first one to comment Follow Us Share Show More Comments GIF Comment in moderation 0 0 Reply x Edit Delete Delete the comment? No thanks Delete GIF Cancel Update GIF Cancel Reply ❮ ❯ GIF Comment in moderation 0 0 Reply x Edit Delete Delete the comment? No thanks Delete GIF Cancel Update GIF Cancel Reply ❮ ❯ Be the first one to comment on this story More from Sportskeeda Fetching more content... 1 Manage your profile Editing Story Queue Video Queue Editing Stats Writer Home SEO Redirection Admin Wiki Edits Taxonomy Home Edit Site Menu Mapping Dashboard Tag Pages Community Social Feed Queue Feed Center Notification Center Affiliate Home Manage Pages Bottom Tagline Dash Timeless Stories Logout No Results Found Get the free App now Manage notifications Popular ‍ Sports (30+) CricketCricket HomeScheduleT20 World CupT20 warm upIND vs SAENG vs PAKAUS vs ENGLegends LeagueECS T10 CroatiaWBBL 2022ECC T10SMAT 2022Bukhatir LeagueNZ T20 Tri-SeriesWomen's Asia Cup 2022ECT10 FootballFootball HomeNewslettersSK Experts ScheduleEPLNations LeagueLa LigaLigue 1Champions LeagueFIFA WCMLS Bundesliga Serie A WWEWWE HomeNewslettersRumor RoundupRAWSmackDownResultsRosterChampionsWWE Crown Jewel 2022PPV ScheduleAEW EsportsEsports HomeMinecraftOverwatch 2RobloxGenshin ImpactFortniteGTAStreamersFree FirePUBGValorantBGMIPop CultureAnimeGaming TechWiki Guides TennisTennis HomeTennis calendarTennis Results TodayATP RankingsWTA RankingsRoger FedererRafael NadalNovak DjokovicSerena Williams MMAMMA HomeUFC NewsONE ChampionshipUFC Fight NightScheduleRankingsResultsUFC Fights TonightONE Championship ResultsONE Championship ScheduleONE Championship Rankings KabaddiKabaddi HomePKL 2022PKL SchedulePKL Points TableKabaddi Rules WikiWiki HomeMinecraft WikiNaruto WikiTikTok WikiYoutube WikiGTA WikiTerraria WikiOne Piece Wiki MoreSportsBasketballIndian FootballNFLMinecraftFormula 1NascarPop CultureCollege FootballHockeyGolfAthleticsBadmintonGymnasticsWrestlingSwimmingTennisShootingBoxingArcheryWinter SportsRobloxFree PicksSkateboardingKho KhoLifestyle LINKS About Us Write For Us Policies Editorial Standards Journalism Awards Fact Check Affiliate Program Careers CSR Privacy Policy Contact Us Edition: English हिन्दी