We all have spent our time wondering about something, followed our train of thought and felt amazed at their impermanence and fleeting nature of it. How easily we start thinking about trivial things and don’t stop until we have made up scenarios, circumstances, and predicaments that were not present in the beginning. These thoughts upset us, make us miserable, and detach us from the real world. Overthinking can become a habit and soon start affecting our mental calmness and health. Devina Kaur, a radio host, producer, and the author of Too Fat Too Loud Too Ambitious shares a few tips that you can keep in mind if you have a habit of overthinking and wish to put a stop to it.
Know yourself
It is always encouraged to take time off the world and indulge more in ourselves and our thoughts. Spending time with our thoughts is essential to knowing ourselves better but diving into them more than necessary can become unhealthy. Overthinking can be addictive and it can be challenging to force yourself to stop it altogether and all at once but you can make efforts to know and understand your thoughts. Once we understand our train of thoughts and how much we spend time with our thoughts, we can start by discerning them into productive versus unfruitful ones. We can then make better mindful choices.
Accept your past and fears
Oftentimes, overthinking is borne out of our fears and from our past doings. As humans, we tend to carry regrets and guilt from our past. Something that may have happened a couple of years ago still has a hold on us and haunts us. One step toward putting a stop to overthinking is by accepting your flaws, faults, and fears. Once you start seeing yourself under the light of your true self and not tainted by your past and imperfections, you are making efforts in accepting yourself and over time, you will also learn to focus more on the present and not brood over what has already happened or over something that we do not hold the power to change.
Release stress and negativity
We spend time overthinking because we are surrounded by negativity and stress has built up in our bodies. We should opt for ways to release tension that has accumulated in our bodies. It is advisable to meditate before you go off to bed at night and evaluate your day; appreciate the good things that have happened to you and learn from your mistakes, not hold on to those. Exercising and meditative sessions have helped me a lot in various aspects of my life and certainly, they will make you calmer about your environment and help you become more mindful of the thoughts that you entertain.
Mirror therapy
One of the side effects of overthinking is self-doubt. Our self-doubts make us uncertain of our choices and stop us from making any decisions. One of the ways to overcome self-doubt is through mirror therapy. In mirror therapy, stand in front of a mirror and tell yourself that you are a confident person; appreciate your body and mind-the quality of your thoughts; remind yourself of your inner sexy brilliance. Once it becomes a routine, instead of seeing flaws, you’ll notice the positivity in yourself and feel more comfortable and confident in your skin than ever did before.
(N Lothungbeni Humtsoe can be contacted at lothungbeni.h@ians.in)
