Overthinking is one of the most common causes of unhappiness. It can create problems that don't exist or may never happen in the first place. Many of us feel that overthinking is a way of helping prepare or protecting ourselves in some way- where, in fact, we are conjuring up problems or situations in our mind that are fear and worry based and do not help us. What we are really doing is preventing ourselves enjoying what is happening right now.
Once overthinking becomes our normal pattern of behaviour it can feel difficult to change but it is possible.
Four Ways to Try to Stop Overthinking:
1. Focus on the positive things going on right now
As a society, we have allowed overthinking and negative thinking become the norm. By simply shifting our focus to what makes us happy, or what we’re thankful for, we can start to retrain our mind to think more positively. This will not happen overnight, we need to keep practising until it feels natural.
As a result, we put less emphasis on the negativity we perceive within and around us and we will begin to feel more calm.
2. Your own peaceful mantra
Often, if we were to stop and consider what we are feeling right now we most likely find that we are worrying about what we need to get done or what others have said or done leaving us with negative feelings such as anger or we might not be being kind to ourselves. With so much negativity around us it's not a surprise that maintaining a constant positive mindset isn't easy.
Introduce calming words into your awareness, such as: Tranquil, Calm, Peaceful, Serenity, Light, Love, Relaxing, Breeze. Words carry a lot of meaning and power, so we can use them to our advantage whenever we feel anxiety coming on - use simple peaceful words to actually counter the negative, stress-inducing thoughts.
3. Live in the present moment
Most anxiety can be caused by simply living in a time other than the one we have right now, so bring ourselves back to the present whenever we feel our thoughts taking us elsewhere.
By allowing ourselves to flow from one moment to the next, just as we did as a child, we can recapture what it means to feel calm.
4. Get out into nature
There have been numerous studies showing getting outside into nature has a positive impact on our mental health and well-being. As more and more of us move from one man made environment to another and even our exercise is, more than likely, inside in a gym - we need to make an effort to get outside; whether this is walking the dog in the woods, having lunch in the park, enjoying our own gardens or taking time out in the countryside. Remember to turn your technology off during these times so you can feel the full impact of being out in nature.
