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The first step in quieting your overthinking mind is becoming aware of what you're worrying about and how it's affecting you.
How is Your Overthinking Mind Affecting You?
Worrying can take a toll on your physical and mental well-being.
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| How to Quiet Your Overthinking Mind |
Take a step back and notice your thought patterns. When you have a moment to yourself, do you use it to relax or do something you enjoy or do you engage in repetitive thinking where you worry about whether you forgot to perform a task or if you overestimated how much someone likes you or something else you worry about?
If you tend to engage in worrying, notice how it affects your mood and how it affects your life. What's the primary emotion behind your overthinking? Are you feeling irritable, nervous or guilty?
Being aware of the effect of overthinking also includes having bodily awareness. This means you notice your bodily responses, which might include tense shoulders, feeling tightness in your chest or clenching in your stomach--just to give a few possible examples.
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| How to Quiet Your Overthinking Mind |
When you're aware of how you're thinking and the impact it's having on you, you have a better chance of changing it.
What Are Some Tips to Stop Overthinking?
- Distract Yourself With An Activity You Enjoy: Go to your favorite workout class or take up a new hobby. Whatever you choose, make it something that will occupy your mind.
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| How to Quiet Your Overthinking Mind |
- Breathe: Learn square breathing to calm yourself. This can also take your mind off whatever you're ruminating about.
- Meditate: Mindfulness meditation can help you to quiet your mind and be in the present moment rather than worrying about other things.
- Develop a Broader Perspective: To gain perspective on non-urgent matters, ask yourself if you will care about this non-urgent matter in five or ten years. By gaining a broader perspective, you can learn to prioritize other matters that are more important.
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| How to Quiet Your Overthinking Mind |
- Help Others: Rather than worrying, consider helping others. For instance, your friend who has a young child might appreciate a break if you watch her child. You can also volunteer to help those less fortunate than yourself.
- Learn to Reframe Your Negative Thoughts: Instead of going to the worst case scenario, reframe your thoughts to consider possible positive outcomes (see my article: Develop a Different Perspective Through Reframing).
- Validate Yourself For Your Successes: Instead of focusing on things you feel you didn't get right or things you worry about not getting right in the future, acknowledge and validate your successes--no matter how small (see my article: What is Self Validation?).
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| How to Quiet Your Overthinking Mind |
- Take Action: Instead of worrying about the things you have done or haven't done, take action to do things you can take care of now. This can be empowering and give you a sense of accomplishment.
- Embrace Your Fears: Learn to accept that some things will always be out of your control and, instead of trying to push your fears away, embrace them.
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| How to Quiet Your Overthinking Mind |
- Practice Self Compassion: Shift your thoughts and feelings from worrying to practicing self compassion.
If you have been unable to quiet your overthinking mind with self help tips, consider getting help in therapy.
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| Get Help in Therapy |
A skilled psychotherapist can help you to stop overthinking so you can live a more fulfilling life,
About Me
I am a licensed New York psychotherapist, hypnotherapist, EMDR, AEDP, EFT (for couples), Somatic Experiencing and Certified Sex Therapist.
I work with individual adults and couples.
To find out more about me, visit my website: Josephine Ferraro, LCSW - NYC Psychotherapist.
To set up a consultation, call me at (917) 742-2624 during business hours or email me.
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