How to manage your Over Thinking
Photo by Jennifer Marquez on Unsplash
Over thinking is essentially “analysis paralysis”.
The act of overthinking is often presented in my therapy office. I hear a lot of clients say “I would like to stop over thinking” when they come in for an assessment and sessions. Over thinking can heighten anxiety and emotional distress.
Over thinking can be draining, yet we seem to find ourselves engaging in this never ending loop.
When we over think we might engage in:
Taking our time to make decisions and when a decision is made, we may fret that we have made the wrong one or procrastinate on making future decisions.
We may over analyse what friends and family members say. “What did she/he/they really mean?”.
Re read messages and try to read between the lines
‘ifs’ and ‘shoulds’ hijack your thinking.
We may have poor sleep
There are various to why we as humans may over think, its boils down to the individual at hand. Sometimes early childhood experiences can play a part. For example, if a parent was overly critical, you may have doubted your ability to act.
Over thinking keeps you stuck in thought with any action.
How do we manage our over thinking?
Get into your body and out of your head
Grounding techniques can be helpful in aiding over thinking. Pay attention to your surroundings by using the 5-4-3-2-1 technique, which pays particular focus on what you can see, smell, hear etc.
Doing a body scan allows you to focus on parts of your body and any physical sensations you may be experiencing. A body scan typically involves focusing on your breath, and your body from head to toe.
Mindfulness
Pay attention to your thoughts without engaging with them. Simply, allow them to go and come freely. Mindfulness can help you to be present in the moment and slow down your thinking.
Write them down
Journalling can be a powerful tool when it comes over thinking. I often support clients to do a ‘brain dump’ where the just put words down on a piece of paper. I’ve used this in my own healing journey and found it to be helpful.