“To think too much is a disease.” – Fyodor Dostoyevsky
As someone that often deals with overthinking, I’m constantly on the lookout for new ways to cope with the struggles that it brings up in my life. Here’s a list of small, easy, and discrete ways you can cope with overthinking:
- Distract yourself
- Write our your thoughts
- Write out your options
- Call up a friend and tell them your thoughts
- Make a list
- Go on a walk
- Challenge the negative thoughts, ask yourself who told them to you
- Practice mindfulness
- Pay attention to the things you can control
- Focus on something in your environment
- Practice grounding techniques
- Internalize a helpful affirmation
- Practice breathing techniques
- Do some quick yoga and stretching
One thing that I love about all of these is that is it very difficult to abuse them. I love using music or a podcast to distract myself but that can be abused easily and end up with you never facing your thoughts. It is important to know what you’re thinking and feeling so you can express it as needed.
Practice these, and make them habits integrate them into your day to day life, combine them and create your own ways of coping. Be in the moment not worrying and overthinking about what if scenarios.