Overthinking: My Greatest Nemesis
My thoughts are spiraling. They are getting out of control
and I can’t stop them. Every scenario of what could go wrong is playing in my mind. I'm replaying a conversation over in my head again. I'm running through every scenario and every possible outcome.
When we get into that mindset, I know how hard it is to pull ourselves out. Especially when you're trying to get some sleep. It seems like you’ll never get your mind to shut up.
It’s normal to have those kinds of thoughts but when you’re working yourself up and reaching the point of extreme anxiousness, that’s a problem. You’ve entered the realm of overthinking.
I would always like to run through every possibility of what could happen and devise a plan of action for each so that way I was prepared for if it did happen. The possibilities can be endless though and spending so much time worrying about it was physically making me sick. I would get headaches and my stomach would be in knots making me nauseous.
How do I pull myself out from that? Well, what I’ve tried and found that works best for me is speaking out loud. I’ll say, “Ok, Molly, you’re overthinking things right now. You need to stop.” Speaking out loud helps me focus my thoughts better because it pulls me out of that frantic state. I reassure myself (still while speaking out loud) that everything is going to be fine. I do this until I feel like I’ve regained some sense of calmness.
The next thing I do is ask myself if the situation I’m dwelling on is something that’s in my control or not. If it is, then I allow myself a little time to think on it. If I feel myself starting to slip back into the obsessive thinking then once again, out loud, I try to reassure myself that things will be fine.
If it’s something that is out of my control, then it’s out of my control. There’s nothing to be done on my part and I’m quite literally making myself anxious for no reason. I will tell myself to let it go, to stop worrying about it. I do this until I feel that I can relax. If that doesn’t work, then I’ll write down my thoughts and feelings. Sometimes, it isn’t until I can see my thought process on paper that I realize how crazy I’m being.
If I’m in bed while my thoughts are going haywire, then I try to stop myself from thinking about anything causing me anxiety at all by doing a little relaxation/breathing technique. Doing this out loud takes all the attention away from those nagging thoughts because I’m focusing my energy on telling my body to relax. I find this technique to be the most helpful, especially at night, because that’s when my overthinking is usually the worst.
I start at the bottom of my body and I’ll say, “I’m beginning to relax now. My toes are relaxing. All the stress and anxiety I’m feeling is being released from my toes. You can feel your toes relaxing now.” I might say that two or three times while also making sure I’m breathing in through my nose and out through the mouth. Then I move on to my heels, then my feet, and so on until I reach the top of my head. Honestly though, I don’t think I’ve ever made it past my knees because I end up falling asleep.
If you are like me and you get overwhelmed by all those pesky thoughts running through your mind, then I definitely recommend trying that relaxation/breathing technique. You might find that it works wonderfully for you.
Good luck!
With Love & Support,
Molly
When we get into that mindset, I know how hard it is to pull ourselves out. Especially when you're trying to get some sleep. It seems like you’ll never get your mind to shut up.
It’s normal to have those kinds of thoughts but when you’re working yourself up and reaching the point of extreme anxiousness, that’s a problem. You’ve entered the realm of overthinking.
I would always like to run through every possibility of what could happen and devise a plan of action for each so that way I was prepared for if it did happen. The possibilities can be endless though and spending so much time worrying about it was physically making me sick. I would get headaches and my stomach would be in knots making me nauseous.
How do I pull myself out from that? Well, what I’ve tried and found that works best for me is speaking out loud. I’ll say, “Ok, Molly, you’re overthinking things right now. You need to stop.” Speaking out loud helps me focus my thoughts better because it pulls me out of that frantic state. I reassure myself (still while speaking out loud) that everything is going to be fine. I do this until I feel like I’ve regained some sense of calmness.
The next thing I do is ask myself if the situation I’m dwelling on is something that’s in my control or not. If it is, then I allow myself a little time to think on it. If I feel myself starting to slip back into the obsessive thinking then once again, out loud, I try to reassure myself that things will be fine.
If it’s something that is out of my control, then it’s out of my control. There’s nothing to be done on my part and I’m quite literally making myself anxious for no reason. I will tell myself to let it go, to stop worrying about it. I do this until I feel that I can relax. If that doesn’t work, then I’ll write down my thoughts and feelings. Sometimes, it isn’t until I can see my thought process on paper that I realize how crazy I’m being.
If I’m in bed while my thoughts are going haywire, then I try to stop myself from thinking about anything causing me anxiety at all by doing a little relaxation/breathing technique. Doing this out loud takes all the attention away from those nagging thoughts because I’m focusing my energy on telling my body to relax. I find this technique to be the most helpful, especially at night, because that’s when my overthinking is usually the worst.
I start at the bottom of my body and I’ll say, “I’m beginning to relax now. My toes are relaxing. All the stress and anxiety I’m feeling is being released from my toes. You can feel your toes relaxing now.” I might say that two or three times while also making sure I’m breathing in through my nose and out through the mouth. Then I move on to my heels, then my feet, and so on until I reach the top of my head. Honestly though, I don’t think I’ve ever made it past my knees because I end up falling asleep.
If you are like me and you get overwhelmed by all those pesky thoughts running through your mind, then I definitely recommend trying that relaxation/breathing technique. You might find that it works wonderfully for you.
Good luck!
With Love & Support,
Molly
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