{"id":11050,"date":"2022-02-27T23:09:11","date_gmt":"2022-02-28T04:09:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?p=11050"},"modified":"2022-02-27T23:09:11","modified_gmt":"2022-02-28T04:09:11","slug":"3-ways-to-stop-overthinking","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?p=11050","title":{"rendered":"3 Ways To Stop Overthinking"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

\"CartoonWe have all heard the term “overthinking”, but what is it actually, and how can we get control over it?<\/p>\n

Overthinking is\u00a0when you dwell or worry about the same thought repeatedly. People who overthink can be paralyzed by their worries and may struggle to make decisions or take action. Overthinking can be caused by \u2014 and can contribute to \u2014 depression, anxiety, and other mental health disorders.<\/p>\n

Plus, it’s likely that overthinking causes mental health to decline … and as your mental health declines, the more likely you are to overthink. It’s a vicious downward spiral.<\/p>\n

These three techniques provided by psychotherapist Jenny Maenpaa, LCSW, can help.<\/p>\n

1. Positive reframing<\/h2>\n
\n

This is often confused with \u201ctoxic positivity,\u201d which asks people to think positively \u2014 no matter how difficult a situation is.<\/p>\n

Positive reframing, on the other hand, allows you to acknowledge the negative aspects, then asks you to evaluate whether there\u2019s another way to think about the situation. Perhaps there are benefits or things you can change about it.<\/p>\n

Example:<\/strong><\/p>\n

You constantly find yourself complaining: \u201cI hate being a boss. On top of all these deadlines and responsibilities, it\u2019s hard to manage so many complex personalities. It\u2019s emotionally and mentally exhausting. My job just sucks.\u201d<\/p>\n

Venting might feel good for a second, but it doesn\u2019t solve anything. And you\u2019ll likely continue to dwell on how much you hate your job or how bad you think you are at managing.<\/p>\n

To practice positive reframing, replace the thought above with: \u201cThings are challenging right now and I\u2019m feeling disconnected from some things on my plate. I wonder if I can change anything about this situation or my expectations about it.\u201d<\/p>\n

This thought pattern gives you the power to change your situation. You could start small by examining what important tasks needs to get done first, then either delay or delegate the rest until you are feeling less anxious. The key is to take a step back and deal with things one at a time.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

2. Write down your thoughts once, then distract yourself for 24 hours<\/h2>\n
\n

When our brains think we are in conflict or danger, a built-in alarm system goes off internally to protect us.<\/p>\n

One thing I have found success with is writing down my feelings and waiting at least 24 hours (or just a few hours if it\u2019s an urgent matter) before replying or taking any sort of impulsive action.<\/p>\n

Then, I put that draft away while I distract myself with another task.<\/p>\n

Example:<\/strong><\/p>\n

You just received an email about something that went awry. You are upset, your heart starts to race, your breathing gets shallow, and you become hyper-focused on what\u2019s going wrong and why it\u2019s your fault.<\/p>\n

If you respond to the email while your brain is in \u201calarm mode,\u201d you might say things you\u2019ll regret later on, which may then fuel the vicious cycle of overthinking.<\/p>\n

Writing negative thoughts down takes the power out of them; I often don\u2019t feel the need to take action based on my anxious thoughts once I\u2019ve written them down.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

3. Practice \u2018specific gratitude\u2019<\/h2>\n
\n

In psychology, we know that\u00a0expressing gratitude can increase our happiness. It can help us contextualize our frustrations against what we love and help us connect to something larger than ourselves \u2014 whether that\u2019s other people, animals, nature or a higher power.<\/p>\n

But I find that repeating the same gratitude practice over and over again can become rote and diminish the returns. For me, it can start to feel like a meaningless chore instead of a mindful practice. So, I like to practice something that I call \u201cspecific gratitude.\u201d<\/p>\n

Example:<\/strong><\/p>\n

Instead of writing in my journal every day that \u201cI am grateful for my health,\u201d I\u2019ll write something like, \u201cI am grateful that I woke up today without any back pain and have the ability to do today\u2019s workout.\u201d<\/p>\n

This helps me stay focused on the here and now, rather than overthinking on general abstractions. Tomorrow, I might still be grateful for my health, but I might specifically be grateful that I have enough energy for a long run.<\/p>\n

Article adapted from this original piece.<\/a>\u00a0 \u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

We have all heard the term “overthinking”, but what is it actually, and how can we get control over it? Overthinking is\u00a0when you dwell or worry about the same thought … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":11051,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[494],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11050","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-articles"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/mlcmmqmgggev.i.optimole.com\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/f:best\/https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/02\/Overthinking-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1707&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7Qv5g-2Se","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":13303,"url":"https:\/\/www.mymedwellness.com\/blog\/?p=13303","url_meta":{"origin":11050,"position":0},"title":"Take Time To Smell The … Leaves?","author":"Will Clower","date":"October 8, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"You\u2019ve likely heard the adage that we should take time to smell the roses. 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