Do you worry too much? Do you overthink things, the meaning, the causes and consequences, the whys?
When we are sad, we try to fully understand the situation that is causing us discomfort in order to find solutions and answers.
However, over the last 20 years, numerous studies have shown the exact opposite. Overthinking has many adverse consequences, have you noticed? Your mood worsens because it stirs up your most negative thoughts and feelings, so it doesn’t help you find solutions to your problems, but it does kill your desire to try to solve them. All it achieves is a distorted and pessimistic view of life.
If you tend to overthink, your goal will be to develop the ability to cut off obsessive thinking, to reinterpret and replace these thoughts with constructive and realistic ones.
Truly happy people have the ability to distract themselves and focus on enjoyable activities that take them away from these gloomy thoughts. Those who struggle to let go of negative information are the most unhappy, because, since it depends on negative interpretation, almost any event can make them feel bad about themselves.
How to stop overthinking?
This is a difficult task; ideally, one should not start doing it, because once it begins, one feels the overwhelming need to solve everything.
The first thing you need to do is cut it out: stop overthinking! There are five effective strategies:
1 – Get distracted!
The activity you choose needs to be interesting enough. The best activities are those that make you feel happy, curious, calm, amused, or proud.
2 – Thought-stopping technique
It consists of telling yourself “enough, ” giving yourself the command to stop when you realize you’ve overthought again, and immediately ceasing to do so.
You have to recognize that you’ve started to overthink, and you can use your emotions to help you with this—those warning signals that will appear as a warning in an unpleasant way.
Then you give yourself the instruction to stop and shift your focus from whatever you were doing to a distracting activity that appeals to you.
3 – Thirty minutes
The third option is to set aside thirty minutes every day to overthink …yes, that’s right, you’ll have a limited time each day to worry, but a specific time; you can’t do it the rest of the day. If worry arises at an unplanned moment, you should postpone it until the agreed-upon time.
Ideally, those thirty minutes should be at a time of day when you’re not feeling anxious or sad. Most often, when the time comes, it will feel unnatural to force the thought, or you’ll simply forget about it.
4 – Talk to a good friend
Someone understanding and trustworthy to confide in and get advice from. This person needs to be able to think objectively and not make you feel worse. You also shouldn’t overuse this strategy, or you’ll end up tiring your friend.
5 – Write down those concerns
Writing will help you organize your ideas and find meaning in many of your thoughts.
On the other hand, it will be essential that you start addressing the specific problems within your reach, little by little, but get going as soon as possible.
If you’re unsure how, make a list of all the alternatives you can think of and start implementing the ones that appeal to you most. If you live in the capital and need support, a psychologist in Madrid can be a great help.
I love this part: If you have doubts, think about how someone you admire would act . Don’t wait for them to come and help you or solve the problem; take action now, because even the smallest step will help improve your mood and confidence.
And reflect: will this worry that is weighing you down now still matter in five years? In two? In one? The answer to these questions will help you understand its true importance.
If the answer is yes, you will need to focus on learning from the worrying situation, growing as a person, and persevering.
And you? What strategies do you use to curb excessive worry? Would you like to share your experience with us?