What I do when I can’t turn off my overthinking mind? Introverts and mostly people with OCD ask themselves this question probably too often.
Introverted people or anyone else suffering from this mental condition can actually practice this. You can develop strategies that will help you get rid of those excessive and obsessive thoughts.
Before you start feeling fear, remember that the power of control is in your hands. What’s in your head now doesn’t have to stay there forever.
By being productive, going on therapy, and acting on it, you can make all the negative thoughts disappear.
In today’s article, we will be talking about not just one example, but 5 examples of how to get rid of overthinking. When you reach the point where you see it’s obviously wrong and overwhelming, we’re here to lead you from that point.
What Is Overthinking And Why Do I Overthink So Much?
The overthinking state involves thinking (in abnormal amounts) about a topic, situation, or a certain subject.
When the overthinking moment occurs, introverts, people with anxiety, etc, analyze certain events or topics to their limit.
From a perspective of psychological science, people who suffer from obsessive-compulsive disorder, people who’re already struggling with anxiety, and introverts overthink, a lot.
To some people, this comes naturally due to their personality traits, or sometimes certain things only trigger overthinking.
Certain mental health conditions such as this one are very well known for their “ability” to completely steal your focus.
Is Overthinking Mental? Signs That You Might Be Overthinking
Overthinking is one of the mental health conditions caused by stress, negative emotions, self-doubt, and life experiences.
A study from Abnormal psychology says that overthinking can increase the risk of mental health problems.
Overthinking is often a sign of depression, post-traumatic disorder, anxiety, a more extreme form of introversion, etc. This condition also leads to a negative mindset and destructive thought patterns.
Are you repetitively having the same thoughts-racing thoughts? It seems to like you always have a busy mind, and you just can’t stop thinking about a certain thing. Signs of an introvert are beyond many reasons overthinking process as well.
Sometimes, you even overthink so much that you have problems falling asleep. Before you know it, this becomes sort of an unhealthy habit of yours.
Your brain just can’t shut down your thoughts, and your feelings start growing from positive to negative in a few minutes.
These are the concrete indicators of the overthinking state, if you recognize them, you’re overthinking:
- you worry too much about silly things from the faraway past or the recent past,
- when thinking about certain situations, you only acknowledge negative examples,
- you reflect on “bad things” you’ve done only,
- you can’t sleep very well,
- when thinking about the future, you focus on negative things only and then you start worrying,
- overthinking sometimes can cause sudden mood swings as well.
What Can I Do When I Can’t Turn Off My Overthinking Mind? 5 Ways To Stop Overthinking
From the moment you decide to work on this problem, it will be your daily task. Below we bring you the most effective ways, determined by psychologists and psychotherapists who solve the overthinking problem. Our main part of the article is below, so let’s find out more about it.
1. Try To Find A Distraction
Although it seems like a very simple thing to do, it will be effective in avoiding overthinking thoughts. What does distraction refer to in this context?
When the fateful moment occurs, from which your thinking only builds and grows, remember something you love. Maybe it’s your favorite series, your favorite movie, a book, your favorite place in the city, or similar.
Turn on that series, watch that movie again, go to a cafe, drink coffee, invite a friend out, etc. Distractions are effective, but they are effective in the short term.
When some of the distractions have passed, perhaps the same thoughts will return to you in the evening when everything is quiet and black.
Therefore, it is better to look for the long-term methods below, so that you can get rid of this problem once and for all.
2. Meditate Or Include Any Physical Activity In Your Day
In addition to health, the effects of sports are the ability to help us focus only on the activity we are doing.
Many athletes, especially introverted athletes, have repeatedly emphasized the psychological benefits of sports.
When you do physical activity like jogging, working out in the gym, playing tennis, or anything else, your brain requires focus only on that.
If you introduce sports into your weekly routine, your thoughts will be occupied by other things. In addition, you will have personal growth and progress, and you will soon look better.
3. Confront Someone If They’re The Reason Of Your Overthinking
This seems like a difficult task for all people who face this problem, but especially for introverts.
Introverts are anxious and scared in regular conversations, and some cannot even imagine confrontations.
However, the easiest way to stop the overthinking cycle about a person is to talk to them. Sometimes it will be a person you are in love with, sometimes an ex-love, and some unanswered questions from your past relationship.
Whoever it is, confrontation, however difficult it may seem, is the best option. When you solve the unresolved issues and find out everything there is to know, your mind will finally be free.
4. Avoid Picturing Worst Case Scenarios
A university professor came up with a method called “go to the la la land.” What does this method actually represent in this case? When the yellow minute comes and you see that you are about to step into a dark area, imagine the opposite scenario.
Instead of imagining the worst possible scenario, remember all the good things about that event, people, moments, etc. The professor says that reality is usually somewhere in between.
Reality will never be as beautiful as the creative mind can imagine it to be. However, this hypothetical reality, i.e. the future, will not be as bad as you imagine.
Hyperbolizing events in your head only leads to bad and negative emotions. If you keep spinning them in circles, the toxicity will exceed all measures and you will be stuck in the zone of negative emotions.
5. Forget About The Past (Mistakes) And Live In A Present Moment
The past is often the culprit of overthinking sessions, not only for introverts and anxious people but for all of us.
These few steps will help you forget about the past (mistakes):
- learn to deal with your emotions
- forgive and forget (to yourself or others)
- pay attention to what triggers you the most and face it
- focus on happy things in the present
- write down negative emotions on paper
Just because it eats you up so much and you think about it so much is proof that you are a better person now and that you have learned from that mistake.
Forget about the past, let it be far behind you, and build a better present and future without looking back.
What Can Overthinking Cause If We Don’t Stop It?
When we analyze something too much, we have little time left to focus on personal growth and to focus on ourselves and our obligations in general.
Overthinking doesn’t only reflect on our mind, it reflects on our body too. Physical symptoms can be a faster heart rate and loss of weight. Over long periods, this can be a serious issue that will need a problem to solve eventually.
In Conclusion
What I can do when I can’t turn off my overthinking sessions? We learned in the article above that it is not easy to solve this problem.
However, no problem is solved overnight and we don’t necessarily have to solve anything on our own.
Remember that you always have people around you who are ready to help you and talk to you. If the introvert in you still does not feel free to share it with a close person, contact a professional.
Take action, make yourself feel better, and turn off everything that makes you feel nervous or scared. We hope we helped you with today’s article.