overthinking is natural in modern lifestyle where you use mind more than your heart and body.
one of the best decision you can take to stop overthinking is to bring a change in your lifestyle. take a break for few days and spend time alone in nature. retrospect and find out what is really important for you. set your priorities right. try to connect with your inner self, with your family and with nature.
also read – 7 lifestyle changes to stop over thinking
when you will get your inner balance and harmony back, then overthinking will automatically be reduced and stopped with time. here i am sharing top tips which can help you.
16 tips on how to stop overthinking:
1. don’t try to control outcome of events
overthinking is a sign that you are trying to control things. give your best shot and rest leave it on god. no matter how powerful you are in the society but still you cannot control the outcome of events. remember, you cannot come first every time. so don’t plan too much. try to live spontaneously.
2. acceptance and let go
whatever is the situation, accept it deeply. just visualize what could be the worst that can happen. then mentally prepare yourself to accept the worst outcome. once you accept the worst outcome deeply then you will be immediately at ease. once you are at ease then you can think clearly what needs to be done in that moment. at times, you need to just let go and accept the situation. prayer also helps a lot. have trust in god and divine justice.
3. relax your body
body and mind are deeply connected. if you can relax your body then your mind will automatically be relaxed. so take a hot water shower or go for head massage or foot reflexology or anything which helps you to relax your body.
4. deep breathing
the pattern of breathing is directly related with our emotions. when you are angry then your breathing pattern is different. when you are relaxed then your breathing pattern is different and so on. so one of the quickest way to slow down overthinking is to breathe deeply. slowly breathe deeply for some minutes and you will feel the difference. if any strong emotion is affected you. then visualize the emotion and exhale deeply. strong exhalation will release the energy which is producing that emotion in you. within 5 minutes you will feel the positive difference. if this works for you then consider learning vipassana meditation.
5. do some physical work
do any form of physical exercise like jogging, walking, yoga, gardening, swimming, cycling or any other physical activity like cooking, baking, cleaning the house. all this will help to change the direction of your energy. right now your energy is going in overthinking. if you tire yourself physically then you won’t have energy for overthinking. one of the reason for overthinking at times is sedentary lifestyle. so try to include yoga, pranayam, swimming, brisk walking, jogging, active meditation techniques etc in your lifestyle.
6. don’t put too much information in your head
you can cut down on your time on social media sites. because sometimes they have news which agitates you or makes you upset, angry or fearful. spend less time on reading news or watching them in TV. instead watch light hearted movies or read content which makes you relax and at ease. remember, because of overthinking your mind is already overworked and burdened. so give it a break and much needed relaxation by not adding unnecessary information into it.
7. cultivate any hobby
in modern times when most of you do sedentary lifestyle then its important to have a hobby like gardening, cooking, baking, dancing, singing, yoga, meditation, pranayama, pottery or various arts and crafts. any activity which gives you joy will do. cultivating a hobby not only makes your energy creative but also gives you lot of satisfaction and contentment.
8. active meditation techniques
since you are already overthinking, so passive meditation like vipassana will not suit you. so try some active meditation techniques to slow down the overthinking. if you want to practice vipassana then try walking consciously or eating consciously. if you include meditation in your life on regular basis then overthinking will not happen. because meditation slows down the mind. it gives you clarity over issues and you can make intelligent decision without too much thinking. a meditative person lives in the present moment. he does not allow his mind to move too much into past or future. if you can stay in present moment then overthinking cannot happen.
9. distract yourself and don’t sit ideal
read a book or watch any good movie or do gardening or go for a walk. do something productive. if you keep on sitting ideal then mind will start thinking too much. another good option to distract yourself is to spend time with your friends and family or participate in any community service or becoming part of an NGO. doing something good for society will always give you an emotional boast.
10. don’t be serious about life
don’t take life so seriously. life has ups and downs. learn to accept things as they come. laugh as much as you can. if you have the habit of overthinking then laugh for some before going to bed for sleep. when you wake up in the morning then again start your day with 5 minute laughter session. in working hours, take things lightly and don’t be too much serious. start enjoying small things of life. don’t wait for big occasions to celebrate. make everyday a special day to live and celebrate.
11. spend time in nature
if you are grounded or in touch with nature then it is difficult to overthink. so connect with mother earth. take walks regularly in garden. spend some time in beach or river side or waterfalls. try gardening or planting trees in your neighborhood. this all will helps to make your energy flowing and clears the stagnation in your thought process. you might suddenly get a cool idea which might solve your problem.
12. spend time with children
when you are with small children they you can be yourself. they don’t judge you and their innocence easily puts you at ease. play with them and be childlike. with children you don’t need to use your mind, so you start using your heart. this removes seriousness from your mind and makes you light hearted and spontaneous.
13. take help from your friends
if some issue is troubling you too much, then better to take advise from your friends. since your friends are not identified with the problem, they can have a better look at your issue.
14. take a break and chill
if nothing works then just take a break from everything and go for a small vacation. sometimes going to new places (specially close to nature) helps you to get a better prospective about things.
15. eat healthy and sleep well
try to change your diet. eat healthy food. don’t skip breakfast. drink lot of juices, eat lot of fruits, salads and green leafy vegetables. never cut on sleeping time. sleep as much as you can. good night sleep will always refresh you.
16. vatta dosha in ayurveda
in ayurveda there are three doshas – vata, pitta and kapha. when your vata dosha becomes aggravated then one of the outcome of this is overthinking. so if you have the habit of overthinking then go for the diet and lifestyle which helps to control vata dosha. one of the very popular ayurvedic medicine for overthinking is ‘brahmi‘. it helps to slow down the overthinking. regular intake of ‘brahmi’ relaxes the mind and it is also good for stress, nervous system, insomnia and excellent for your brain.
i hope this post helped you. in the end, i must also mention that some people simply think too much. this is because thats how the planets in their horoscope are influencing them. you cannot take worry and overthinking from the life of few people. but if they try the above mentioned tips then their worry and overthinking will definitely reduced.