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Way To Control Overthinking

When you overthink, you tend to delve deep into it and fictionalize things. Here are some tips and ways to control overthinking.

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ways to control overthinking.

Every third person in today's era is gripped by the disease named overthinking. Whether you are busy or sitting ideally, it never leaves you alone yet it isolates you from the rest of the world. Extreme overthinking can cause serious illnesses like depression. It is havoc to the peace of mind and creates chaos in your life. You should work on ways to control overthinking as it helps you in eliminating the excessive long chain of thoughts which destroys mental peace. In this article, we will be telling you what overthinking is, why one overthink, and how you can avoid it.

What is Overthinking

Overthinking in the literal sense means when you think way too much than required. Overthinking starts when you think a lot about something which depresses you and you keep on thinking about it again and again. Overthinking is an issue faced by almost everyone. People are trapped by the vicious cycle of excessive thinking and are unable to think properly and tend to commit mistakes or delay in making decisions. They often fear if they end up making wrong decisions or what would happen if the results are not desirable. This makes people vulnerable. Overthinkers always require valediction whether they are doing well or not and how people feel about them. There are ways to control overthinking which will be discussed later in the article. The signs that you are an overthinker include: you tend to think things repeatedly in your mind again and again, you have a habit of saying sorry again and again, you worry whether your words would hurt others or not, etc.

In the later sections, we will tell you about the tips to reduce overthinking and what are the causes of overthinking. This will help you to tackle your overthinking and as time gradually passes you will find yourself not indulging in overthinking.

Why a Person Overthinks?

There are many reasons why a person overthinks. There is not always an underlying illness but it can be because of any everyday issues or even because of emotions. In this section, we will put forward the most common reasons why you or anyone around you would overthink.

1. Feel Things Deeply

Feel Things Deeply

The first and foremost reason why a person overthinks is that the person feels too deeply. People who are emotional or sentimental tend to feel things very deeply and take everything to their heart. This being one of the mistakes that increase your anxiety is also the reason why they go into overthinking mode. They analyze each and every word spoken and heard and hence give a lot of thought to how things can be, how they are hurt, and whether they have hurt people in any way. These types of people think a lot before doing anything and overthink a lot after they have done something.

2. If You Have Any Fear or Trauma

Fear or Trauma

Among other causes of overthinking is that the person has or has had any kind of trauma or fear. People who have any fear or have suffered from any trauma tend to overthink a lot as they are unable to share their feelings and fear with others because of their trauma. When people have fear or trauma they tend to imagine cases in their heads and run through their thoughts and in the end fix their minds on the worst-case scenario which can happen to them. They also keep themselves isolated and hence talk with themselves in their head which is the root cause of overthinking.

3. Insecurity Regarding The Future

Before trying to find ways to avoid overthinking you know the cause of overthinking. Yet another cause of overthinking is being insecure about the future. Insecurity about the future can cause anxiety and also lead the person to delve deep into their thoughts and look for all the possible chances of making their future which is good actually but it becomes worse and they think of how bad they can end up. This causes a lot of anxiety and they might have to go for anxiety counseling at the end. The future is not only related to career but all aspects of life.

4. Loves to Live in The Past

Live in The Past

Another reason why a person overthinks is that he does not live in the present but in the past or future. It is one of the causes of overthinking because of which the person keeps on thinking about what happened in the past. Their thoughts revolve around what they did on a particular day, what they said, how they acted on a particular occasion, etc. They keep on revisiting their past instead of focusing on their present and enjoying it. These people are among the worst sufferers of overthinking and find it very difficult to avoid past thoughts intruding into their minds.

Ways to Control Overthinking

Among all the ways to control overthinking the most important way is to know the root cause of it. When you are aware of the root cause of overthinking you can easily control it and work on reducing the time you spend on overthinking. Here, we will share some tips to reduce overthinking to help you control it over time.

1. Try to Live in The Present And be Self-conscious

One of the ways to avoid overthinking is to live in the present without paying much attention to the past or future and being self-conscious of what you do. You can learn about how to manage mood swings naturally so that you don't end up overthinking because of mood swings and go back to the past. Try to talk to people, indulge in activities, and enjoy life as it comes to avoid overthinking. You should also know what happens when you overthink a lot as it would help you to avoid it. Overthinking leads to disrupted mental health and also depression. Living in the present also makes you value things.

2. Practice Meditation

Meditation

Another way how to stop overthinking is by practicing meditation. It is one of those habits that will change your life as meditation is not good for controlling overthinking but also for body, mind, and soul. Among all other tips to reduce overthinking, practicing meditation helps you to focus on yourself and the positive aspects of life. Practicing meditation helps you align your thoughts and analyze them. This helps in discarding and removing all the thoughts which can lead to overthinking. Further, it also helps you find solutions to your issues which are the cause of overthinking as it relaxes your mind and calms your soul which helps in reducing overthinking.

3. Don't Always Stay Alone

Among all the ways to avoid overthinking is that you don't isolate yourself and don't stay alone. You can take up loneliness counseling to cope with the desire of staying alone as staying alone increases the chances of overthinking. Try to meet friends, family, go out for a walk, do something, talk things out with someone, express your feelings, do outings with friends, and enjoy life but don't isolate yourself and make it a habit. Staying alone for some time is ok but making it a habit can harm you a lot. A little bit of overthinking doesn't take up a big shape when you are alone and you cannot even resist it therefore if you overthink a lot you must forbid yourself from staying alone for too long.

4. Delay Overthinking

Delay Overthinking

Another method of how to stop overthinking is that you delay or prolong it. Just the way we prolong our tasks by procrastination, you should prolong overthinking by doing some work. Just when you start overthinking, make yourself busy with work but don't avoid it. Say to yourself that you will overthink at night and at that time delay it again. Doing this helps you reduce overthinking. If you witness signs that you keep on overthinking every time then this is the best method to avoid and reduce overthinking. Following tips to reduce overthinking will help you gain peace and a calm soul.

Conclusion

In the article, we explored ways to control overthinking. You can control overthinking by delaying it, being in a group and not staying alone, practicing meditation and trying to live in the present, and being aware of what is happening around you. Normally what happens when you overthink is that it leads to disrupted mental peace, chaotic thinking, depression, anxiety, and mental health problems. You should learn how to control overthinking to help yourself overcome and reduce the habit of overthinking. The causes of overthinking should be acknowledged and uprooted from the core to solve the problem of overthinking. Thus overthinking cannot be avoided but can be reduced to help you tackle it and maintain your mental health.

People Also Read:

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Signs That You Keep on Overthinking

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Frequently Asked Questions

    1 What happens when you overthink?


    When you overthink, you tend to delve deep into it and fictionalize things that won't happen. You think about things you have said and things others have done and analyze them deeply, and wonder if you have hurt others in any way or how others have hurt you or how things have been. You imagine the worst-case scenario which might not happen. This leads to mental health issues, depression, panic attacks, anxiety, and self-doubt. Your confidence goes down. You should know about how to stop overthinking to avoid it and improve your mental health.


    Before knowing how to stop overthinking, you must know whether overthinking is right or wrong. We all do a little bit of overthinking every day. Spending some time with yourself a little every day is not bad, it helps you to know about yourself. However, it should not let you doubt yourself and leave you as a wanderer in your thoughts. When overthinking takes the form of negativity where you doubt yourself and harm your mental health then it should be controlled and reduced.


    The trait of an overthinker is that you tend to think things repeatedly in your mind again and again, the thoughts play in a repeated mode in your mind which disturbs you a lot. You have a habit of saying sorry again and again, you worry whether your words would hurt others or not and hence tend to apologize for every little thing. Further, you stay up late at night because of thinking you can't sleep properly.


    Gender does not play a role in overthinking. Both men and women think a lot. If they have the traits of an overthinker it does not matter which gender they belong to. If they are sentimental and feel deeply then they can overthink. So, it does not matter whether you are young or old, unmarried or married, male or female when it comes to overthinking.


    There are ways to avoid overthinking as it can affect your relationship with people around you. Usually what happens when you overthink is that it makes you doubt yourself as well as the people around you and you can't trust anyone therefore it can harm couples and even hamper your married life. You also isolate yourself and converse with yourself which makes relationships difficult.

About Author
Dr. Neha Mehta

Dr. Neha Mehta

Consultant Psychologist Hisar, India
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About Author
Dr. Neha Mehta

Dr. Neha Mehta

Consultant Psychologist, Clinical Psychologist Hisar, India

Area Of Expertise : Child Counseling, Couple Counseling, Marital Counselling, Parenting, Self Improvement, Sleep, IQ Testing, ADHD, Adolescent Counselling, Stress Mgt.

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