How to Stop Overthinking to Find Peace This Year
Have you ever wondered how to stop overthinking, but you don’t know where to begin? You aren’t alone.
If you’re ready to put an end to overthinking once and for all, keep reading. We have 10 helpful tips to help you retrain your thoughts and achieve peace of mind.
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Table of Contents
What Causes Overthinking?
Overthinking isn’t considered a mental illness, but it can be associated with symptoms of depression and anxiety. However, your constant state of overthinking doesn’t necessarily mean you struggle with depression or anxiety.
In fact, according to Forbes Health, “research suggests 73% of 25- to 35-year-olds chronically overthink, along with 52% of people ages 45 to 55.” That’s a lot of people!
In order to stop overthinking, you need to first figure out your “why.” Why are you overthinking? Did something trigger these thoughts? Is it a symptom of an underlying mental illness?
If you’re having a hard time figuring out your why, that’s okay. You can still use our 10 tips for putting an end to your overthinking once and for all.
10 Tips to Help You Stop Overthinking Today
Are you an overthinker? According to verywellmind, “Overthinking involves thinking about a certain topic or situation excessively, analyzing it for long periods of time. When you overthink, you have a hard time getting your mind to focus on anything else. It becomes consumed by the one thing you are thinking about.”
If this sounds like you, then you may be ready to put an end to your habit of overthinking. Try applying at least a few of these 10 tips, and we’re sure you will start to see positive changes in your relationships, work and home life, and overall state of mind.
1. Retrain your brain. It’s easy to allow our thoughts to wander, and in order to reel in those thoughts, you’ll need to retrain your brain. That’s right, just like any other muscle in your body, you can train your brain! This will take some practice, especially if you’re one of those people that overthinks the most right before you fall asleep. The next time you start to overthink, immediately stop yourself, reel in your thoughts, and cast them out to something else.
2. Keep a journal. Write down the things that are nagging you or overwhelming you. Once your thoughts are written down, we’re sure you’ll feel a weight lifted off your shoulders (or brain!).
3. Challenge your negative thoughts. Instead of instantly believing the negative thoughts that pop into your head, challenge them! Ask yourself, “Why am I thinking this?” or “Is this even true?” We’re sure that the majority of the time, your negative thoughts are nothing but fiction, which means you’re allowing yourself to get hung up on something that isn’t even factual or real. The less value you give these negative thoughts, the less likely you are to believe them.
4. Pinpoint your triggers. David A. Clark, Ph.D. states, “If you’re a worrier, for example, thoughts about the future may be more likely to trigger overthinking. For another person, it may be thinking about their competence or whether they are liked by others. Whatever the case, it’s important to know the ‘hot spots’ that trigger your overthinking.”
5. Let go of things you cannot control. Easier said than done, right? If there’s just one tip that you want to apply to your life starting today, let it be this one. You are exhausting your brain by allowing yourself to dwell on the things that you have zero control over (which may be more or less than you think!). If it’s something you can control, then take action! If you can’t control it, leave it behind. Your brain will thank you; trust us.
6. Move your body. Give your brain and body an outlet the next time you notice yourself overthinking. We know that it may be difficult to spend a ton of time moving your body or completing a full-body workout every time you start to overthink. Instead, try moving your body in other ways that take less than five to ten minutes. For example, use a fidget spinner, get up from your desk and walk around your workplace, walk to the mailbox and back, do a few jumping jacks, or complete a quick stretching session.
7. Practice other forms of mindfulness. We have an entire post centered around mindfulness and how it can strengthen your marriage, as well as four tips for how to incorporate mindfulness into your life. This post focuses more on the effects of mindfulness in your marriage, but you can apply it to your day-to-day life as well!
8. Schedule your worry time. Kimberly Martin, LMFT says, “The idea is to table your worries until your scheduled worry time. This prevents you from spending too much time dwelling on random worries that appear throughout the day.” In this same article, she also suggests writing down these thoughts throughout the day, stopping when the scheduled worry time is over (as well as adding a limit for how long your worry time is), and making sure you aren’t scheduling worry time right before bed.
9. Pause, breathe, and practice self-awareness. Be aware of how you respond to your thoughts. Did you know that the way you respond to your thoughts can sometimes create a cycle of rumination, aka repetitive thinking? Pretty soon, you’ll have created a bad habit without even knowing it, and you’ll be stuck in the cycle until you decide to break it. Rumination often causes negative consequences on your mental health, too.
The next time you find yourself continuously running things over in your mind, take note of how it affects your mood. Do you feel irritated, nervous, or guilty? What’s the primary emotion behind your thoughts?
10. Talk to someone. Whether it’s a therapist, a close friend, your spouse, or a coworker, as long as it’s someone you trust, open up and talk to them. They may have ideas on how you can better control your overthinking, or they may have some insight as to what your triggers are.
A Book List for Overthinkers
Before we wrap up, we’d love to share some helpful book recommendations that can help you along your journey to achieving peace of mind. These books are highly rated on Amazon!
Please note that while we have not read all of these books, we feel confident that the information aligns with our values here at The Dating Divas. Because of this, we feel comfortable sharing these resources with you.
- Stop Overthinking: 23 Techniques to Relieve Stress, Stop Negative Spirals, Declutter Your Mind, and Focus on the Present, written by Nick Trenton. This book has over 9,000 positive reviews! Consider adding Nick’s Official Workbook to your cart, too.
- Don’t Believe Everything You Think: Why Your Thinking Is The Beginning & End Of Suffering, written by Joseph Nguyen. This book is a best-seller and has over 5,000 four-and-a-half-star reviews.
- How to Stop Overthinking: The 7-Step Plan to Control and Eliminate Negative Thoughts, Declutter Your Mind and Start Thinking Positively in 5 Minutes or Less, written by Chase Hill and Scott Sharp. Over 2,000 people have enjoyed this book, and most of them have written glowing reviews about the helpful tips provided.
We hope you’ll find the resources in this post, along with our book recommendations, helpful in your journey to end overthinking.
Good luck, and Happy New Year!
