7 Ways to Keep an Overthinking Mind Under Control

Do you find yourself overwhelmed with an endless line of thoughts that keep you up at night? While it's only human to have an inner monologue now and then, not being able to concentrate on the present because of your tendency to overthink is something that must be addressed. Overthinking can be destructive to your well being and research has found it leads to emotional distress, including disorders such as depression and the inability to fall asleep.

Eventually, overthinking takes a toll on both your professional and personal lives, making it hard to remain a functioning member of society. So how can you keep an overthinking mind under control?

Here are 7 ways that will help anyone who overthinks every little thing:

1. Become self-aware

The first step to conquering the overthinking mind is to make an effort to be aware of what situations cause you to overthink. Becoming self-aware is the starting point to self-improvement. Notice when you begin to overthink events and make a note of how unproductive these thoughts are. It also helps to try and replace negative thinking with logic and reason.

2. Think positive

Try to stem any overthinking by acknowledging that your thoughts are detrimental, unnecessary and unreasonably negative. Instead, choose to focus not on your problems, but on the solution to the problem. This means making mental space for self-reflection and asking yourself what you learned from a situation that caused the overthinking in the first place. If something doesn't go according to plan, as is often the case in life, in both professional and personal matters, try not to be too hard on yourself.

It can be destructive to your mental well-being to keep thinking about your problems over a long time period. However, to make self-reflection productive, try thinking of ways in which to do things differently next time, what you can improve and how to achieve those goals. It's helpful to set aside a certain amount of time that focuses on only your worries, as a way to plan for the future in a productive manner.

3. Be productive

Make sure you don’t mull over anything endlessly. Instead, after a set amount of time, make sure you hit the mental brakes on these thoughts. A great way to make sure you stop thinking is to immediately start doing some productive or mentally stimulating to distract you. Sometimes when we tell ourselves to stop thinking about something, we only end up doing the exact opposite.

A large portion of overthinking is related to ruminating, which is when we overthink an event that took place in the past and this is another form of self-criticism. You will achieve nothing by berating yourself repeatedly for something that happened in the past. Instead, try to show yourself some kindness and practice the art of letting things go. In fact, some medical professionals even recommend distracting yourself with the mentally demanding game of Sudoku as this has shown to be a highly successful distraction method.

So make sure you keep busy with something; exercise is another great example of a productive yet distracting activity to drive away negativity from your mental space. Remember, the energy that you spend worrying and overthinking can always be used towards more positive activities.

4. Beat anxiety by being prepared

If you suffer from an anxious mind, try to use it to your advantage. When you find yourself often thinking about the worst case scenario for any given situation, for example, if you have a big presentation at work in a few days and you are stressing about it, try to visualize how best to prepare for any hurdles you may face. Overthinking can, in fact, allow you to better prepare for difficult situations.

5. Delegate to avoid procrastination

Another form of anxiety and overthinking is procrastination, or when we try to put off certain tasks for tomorrow. These could be at work or at home, but this behavior must be addressed. Try making a list of everything you have been avoiding and set aside a chunk of your time every week, or even daily to take care of each of those tasks. A great way to avoid tasks piling up is to break problems down. For example, if the thought of cleaning your room gives you a headache, try cleaning one part of the room every day.

6. Learn from criticism

For those who can't stand criticism, try to see the bright side of any situation. Constructive criticism plays an important part in self-improvement so learn how to take feedback without it causing you a lot of mental anguish. It may help if you pick someone you trust and feel comfortable with to give you some constructive feedback. Think of criticism as an opportunity not as a something to be avoided.

7. Perfection vs obsession

There is a fine line between being a perfectionist and obsessing endlessly. If you find yourself constantly rechecking your work, set a fixed time limit to work on any given task. In order to relax and mentally switch off, try to participate in activities that have no given measure of performance. Something as simple as painting or playing with your children will do wonders for your mental wellbeing.

It's important to remember that while overthinking has become a part of our daily lives, no good can come from this ultimately destructive activity. There is simply no point in mentally indulging in this wasteful activity that is also a cause of major stress. Master the art of letting go while becoming self-aware with the goal of having a more empowered mind.