A Guide to Overpower Overthinking
Practice Makes this Perfect
Thoughts are hard to control. Days go by thinking & we lost count of how many days. We breathe but we forget to live. We forget things when we get so consumed in our thoughts. Friends and family talk to us but we rarely listen to the whole conversation. We get caught up in our minds while we walk, eat and do chores or shopping. We are present to the world outside, but we live in our heads.
At times, we become exhausted with these never-ending thoughts. Either it is the memories that clog our vision or the anxiety of what’s yet to come. When this overburdens us, we wish for this to stop. To pause. But then again it never happens so we resume from where we stop.
I find this intriguing. How as a human who can do extraordinary things, finds it hard to control oneself. It’s hilarious but I spend hours thinking of ways to stop overthinking. I came up with many weird ideas but later realized those were not practical. I tried indulging myself in work where I had to use my intellect. At first it worked, but later I realized it was just a distraction and that I have not overcome it. I found myself multi-tasking. It’s mind boggling but my brain could process two at a time. I started feeling infuriated and eventually it became bothersome.
In this mind race, I then realized that in the end either I’ll come to a reality, or I’ll lose my sanity. It’s us who can decide the outcome and finally I took my first step. That is, to confront my thoughts.
The first thing I did was to slow down. Slow down meant to not get lost and be present. To be conscious of the fact that I was overthinking, and it was never the truth or the reality. When we try to come to terms with this, our thought process gets easier.
The next in line was to understand what triggered me. It is necessary for one to understand what it is that makes one start overthinking. For some it may be the memories that ignite the thoughts while for others it may be the ‘what ifs’. Some get so lost in the thought of what is to come. Their breath gets stuck with uneasiness. The chest tightens and the sirens of the mind get alerted. It’s often the excruciating pain in my mind that stops the thoughts in my head for the time being. And every time the realization hits hard that understanding what triggered me and doing what the situation called for was the ultimate solution.
When we understand these concepts, we understand the reasons behind them. When we get to know the reason, we find out the answers to all the whys. Then all we have left is to accept. Accept the past and the present and ready ourselves for the future.
To be honest, when it comes to overthinking, we cannot just try to stop it after we’ve read a few tips. It is a process. A process that needs consistent action. I’d say it’s an action of our mind trying to control its innate mind.
