Overcoming Overthinking: Steps to Quiet the Mind

“I’m probably overthinking this.” How many times have you said that to yourself? Or had someone tell you, “Stop overthinking so much!”? But what is overthinking and, more importantly, what causes it?

We all worry from time to time — it’s human nature. But when that worry turns into a cycle of perseverating on the same thoughts over and over to the point it becomes debilitating, that’s when we’ve crossed into overthinking territory. People who tend to overthink will even find themselves going through events or situations that have already happened despite the fact there is no way to change them.

What Causes Overthinking?

Overthinking is a product of your analytical mind, and it’s most often triggered by feelings of stress or anxiety. It’s an emotion-driven response that can be further magnified when we have an emotional attachment to certain people, situations, events, or outcomes.

Think about the last time you went for a job interview. After the interview, did you replay the answers you gave the interviewer over and over in your mind, playing out other possible scenarios and thinking of what you could have said instead? Even though the interview had ended — and you knew there was no way to change the outcome — your analytical mind still overanalyzed any alternative possibilities.

Effects of Overthinking

Overthinking can have severe negative effects on our overall health, including constant feelings of exhaustion, and even physical ailments like stomach issues and fatigue. But in addition to its effects on our physical health, the toll overthinking takes on our emotional well-being can be detrimental. Recognizing overthinking and learning how to manage it helps to preserve our mental health in the long term.

Overcoming Overthinking — Quiet Your Mind

Since overthinking generally begins in the analytical parts of our brain, we can alleviate a lot of overthinking by working to quiet our minds. Learning to tune into our intuition, to the totality of our senses can help you stop overthinking before it can even manifest.

Leveraging your intuition, the unused superpower we all have access to, is the gateway to the root of a situation or experience. By understanding the true origin of the circumstance, it spotlights the external sources that cause us to replay and cross into overthinking territory. If you’re able to recognize and identify the behavior, it’s much easier to manage and catch it when it begins.

Remember You Don’t Need Always Need the Answer

Much of the overthinking comes from our analytical mind’s determination to find an answer to every question, to know all the details and outcome. This provides a sense of security that we are “making the right decision.” When you start feeling yourself perseverating over a situation ask yourself, “Why am I so tied to this particular answer or outcome? What about it is so important to me?” Taking the time to pause and ask yourself these questions acknowledges that you are overanalyzing, and it can help you get to the deeper-rooted reasoning behind the behavior.

Sometimes, you just don’t need the answer your analytical mind thinks you do. Our intuitive intelligence can help us balance what we think we should want, and what we really need.

For more resources to achieve undeniable self-trust and overcoming unproductive patterns, visit Mindway.