What Is Overthinking Disorder
Overthinking is not a disorder, but instead tends to be a part of anxiety disorder. People who overthink may pick through their worrying thoughts with a fine-toothed comb, using all they can to worry and over-analyze their thoughts. While critically thinking about your life is important, overthinking tends to involve making a mountain out of a molehill, and it’s important to learn ways to stop worrying and overthinking if you want to have peace of mind.
Avoid Eating From Containers
Eating chips out of the bag, ice cream out of the carton, or takeout straight from the box can lead to consuming more food than is recommended as a serving size.
Instead, portion out a single serving size on a plate or in a bowl to help control the number of calories you consume in one sitting.
Use measuring tools to train your eye on what a normal portion should look like for different types of foods.
Summary Instead of eating food straight from the package, portion it into a dish. Try measuring out appropriate serving sizes to help train your eye to identify how much food is recommended as an average portion.
How Do I Let My Thoughts Come And Go
No matter how hard you try, you are going to have thoughts that enter your mind and seemingly refuse to leave. How can you let them come and go? It can take some time to combat self-doubt, catastrophic predictions, and other problematic thoughts when your brain seems to refuse to delegate tasks that are helpful and instead focuses on the bad. However, there are some ways.
- When they come, distract yourself. Whether its looking at your phone, taking a few deep breaths, exercising, immediately find a way to distract yourself and make it a habit.
- Usually, these thoughts are worries. Are they valid worries? If so, think of ways to control them. Some people become control freaks of their own mind, separating the helpful from the unhelpful, and thats a good thing.
- Substitute that thought for something better. Even if it comes back, keep substituting.
- Seek help from a therapist. When people have positive things happening, but they worry constantly, they may have other mental health problems they are unaware of. Seeking help from a therapist may be your best bet to stop those thoughts.
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Ways To Finally Stop Stressing About Money For Good
Have you had enough? Are you ready to finally stop stressing about money? Try these 7 proven tips so you can take back control and have confidence with your money again.
Have you had enough? Are you ready to finally stop stressing about money? Youve come to the right place.
Money is stressful, and it creeps into every part of your life. Then the next thing you know, youre stressed out, worrying all the time, and not sleeping.
Sound familiar?
For many of us, we are stressed about money and our jobs our entire adult lives. We get stuck in this cycle of being broke and not knowing how to deal with financial stress.
But then one day you wake up and realize it doesnt have to be this way. Maybe you want more out of your career and life than simply the basics.
You have the power to stop stressing about money for good! Here are 7 steps to take to change your financial situation from basic to beyond amazing.
In This Article
Chronic Worry Is A Mental Habit That Over Time Can Be Broken
For some worriers, anxious thoughts are fueled by an underlying belief about worrying â that itâs somehow protective, will help us avoid bad things, or prepare us for the worst. Worry might keep our minds busy, but not in a constructive way. So we owe it ourselves to break the worry habit and start living.
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Learn To Recognise The Signs That You Are Becoming Stressed
There are a wide range of possible signs and symptoms that may be associated with stress. These include headaches, stomach upsets and indigestion, and sleep problems. Many people also find they become very emotional and have trouble regulating their emotions.
Unfortunately, most of these signs are fairly non-specific: that is, they may be associated with many different illnesses and conditions. It can therefore be hard to identify when your symptoms are the result of stress. You should always consult a doctor if these symptoms last any length of time.
It is a good idea to learn to recognise the signs that you are becoming stressed, so that you can take action early on.
There is more about this in our page on What is Stress?
Dont Run Yourself Ragged
Say no! If you are a people-pleaser it is very hard to say no when someone asks you to do something, even if your schedule is already overwhelming. I suggest that you always say let me get back to you on that then actually ask yourself:
a) Do I want to do it?
b) Do I have time to do it without making myself overwhelmed?
It is usually easier to say no when you are not face to face with someone.
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Tip : Interrupt The Worry Cycle
If you worry excessively, it can seem like negative thoughts are running through your head on endless repeat. You may feel like youre spiraling out of control, going crazy, or about to burn out under the weight of all this anxiety. But there are steps you can take right now to interrupt all those anxious thoughts and give yourself a time out from relentless worrying.
Get up and get moving. Exercise is a natural and effective anti-anxiety treatment because it releases endorphins which relieve tension and stress, boost energy, and enhance your sense of well-being. Even more importantly, by really focusing on how your body feels as you move, you can interrupt the constant flow of worries running through your head. Pay attention to the sensation of your feet hitting the ground as you walk, run, or dance, for example, or the rhythm of your breathing, or the feeling of the sun or wind on your skin.
Take a yoga or tai chi class. By focusing your mind on your movements and breathing, practicing yoga or tai chi keeps your attention on the present, helping to clear your mind and lead to a relaxed state.
Practice progressive muscle relaxation. This can help you break the endless loop of worrying by focusing your mind on your body instead of your thoughts. By alternately tensing and then releasing different muscle groups in your body, you release muscle tension in your body. And as your body relaxes, your mind will follow.
Relaxation techniques can change the brain
Remember To Seek Help And Support When You Need It
Remember, that it is okay to ask for professional help. If you feel that you are struggling to manage on your own, then you can reach out. It is important to know that you can get help as soon as possible, and that you deserve to get better.
The first person to approach is your family doctor. He or she should be able to give advice about treatment, and may refer you to another local professional. Cognitive Behavioural Therapy and Mindfulness based approaches are known to help reduce stress. There are also a number of voluntary organisations which can help you to tackle the causes of stress and advise you about ways to get better.
Anxiety UK
Anxiety UK runs a helpline staffed by volunteers with personal experience of anxiety from 9:30-5:30, Monday to Friday. Call 08444 775 774.
Citizens Advice
Citizens Advice provides free, independent and confidential advice for a range of problems as well as providing information on your rights and responsibilities.
StepChange
StepChange provides help and information for people dealing with a range of debt problems. Freephone 0800 138 1111.
Mind Infoline
Mind provides information on a range of mental health topics to support people in their own area from 9.00am to 6.00pm, Monday to Friday. Call 0300 123 3393 or email .
Rethink Advice and Information Service
Rethink provide specific solution-based guidance – 0300 5000927 Fax: 020 7820 1149 email .
Samaritans
Specialist mental health services
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Stop Overloading Your Schedule
When we are too busy, even if the schedule is filled with exciting things, we can feel more stressed, simply from a lack of downtime. If the schedule is cluttered with stressful or unnecessary activities, it becomes even more draining. Learning to say no to demands on your time and cutting out the things in your life that stress you are great strategies for cultivating inner peace.
Ways To Stop Stressing About Things You Can’t Control
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There’s a brutal truth about life that some people refuse to acceptyou have no control over many of the things that happen to you.
People who resist this truth fall into two categoriescontrol freaks or worry warts. Control freaks believe if they can gain enough control over others, and the situations they find themselves in, they can somehow prevent bad things from happening.
Worry warts, on the other hand, fret about everything from natural disasters to deadly diseases. Its as if they believe thinking hard enough about all the potential worst case scenarios will somehow keep them safe.
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But neither of these strategies can prevent a catastrophe. Instead, worry warts and control freaks put their time and energy into the wrong places. And ultimately, those strategies backfire and create even more stress.
Here are six ways to stop stressing about the things you can’t control:
1. Determine what you can control.
In reality, there are many things in life you have zero control over. You cant force your spouse to change, you cant prevent a storm from happening, and you cant control how other people feel.
Sometimes, all you can control is your effort and your attitude. When you put your energy into the things you can control, you’ll be much more effective.
2. Identify your fears.
Are you predicting a catastrophic outcome? Do you doubt your ability to cope with an undesirable outcome?
3. Concentrate on your influence.
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How Do You Let Go Of Something You Can’t Change
There are many things in life we cant change. For example, if a potentially good party got ruined due to the weather, you cant change that. However, you may find yourself worrying about the next party.
Everyone thinks about what they cant change, but there are times where it gets toxic. You may try to force other people to change and scare them away. You may handle the worst case scenario of something you cant change by always thinking about it, while ignoring the better cases.
Heres how you can gain enough control of your mind to stop worrying about what you cant change.
- Think about what you can change and what you cant. Find ways to increase your thoughts about what you can change. For instance, lets go back to the party. Maybe you cant change the weather, but you may be able to build a roof to prevent a storm from ruining a party.
- Think about what you can change and then model and set healthy goals to bring about change. Even if you dont succeed, theres a good chance youre stronger for trying to make the change.
- If you’re still unable to let go of what you cant change, think of quick little phrases to get that out of your head. For example, when youre ruminating, Change the channel is a good phrase to help you move away from what you cant control.
What Can We Control
It’s important that you focus on what you can control. Without getting too deep about freewill and whatnot, here are a few things that you’re able to control.
- Your mindset. While there are some aspects of your personality you cannot change, you can train your brain to be more mindful, empathetic, and open to new ideas.
- To an extent, your health. You can choose to eat right and exercise. Certain life circumstances can make this easier or harder, but for the most part, it can be done in the end.
- Your skills. You can learn new skills for a job and go on a journey to the career of your dreams.
- Your thoughts. Using mindfulness or cognitive behavioral therapy, you can learn how to acknowledge that your thoughts are there and not let them control your life.
- Who you choose to associate with. While you can’t control your family, you can control your friends and who you decide to talk to.
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Turn Your Negative Thoughts Around
As we focus on one negative thought, it primes our brain to look for more. And more negative thoughts usually follow. Looking for a silver lining can help train your brain to be on the look out for positives and interrupt the cycle of constant worry. This is one reason why a daily gratitude practice can be so helpful.
If youre having trouble finding something to be grateful for about a situation, take a step back and look for what is interesting about the situation or even funny or ridiculous. In addition to gratitude, engaging your mind through curiosity and humor can quickly shift you into a better place and provide a break from the negative. You can even try to be curious about the way you worry!
Accept The Things You Can’t Change
Changing a difficult situation isn’t always possible. Try to concentrate on the things you do have control over.
“If your company is going under and is making redundancies, for example, there’s nothing you can do about it,” says Professor Cooper.
“In a situation like that, you need to focus on the things that you can control, such as looking for a new job.”
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Put Stress In Its Place
Stress is an inevitable part of life. How you cope with it has an effect on both your physical and emotional state. Here are 10 calming strategies you can use right now to get into a less stressed space and achieve stress relief. Use one of these strategies the next time you’re looking for one of the ways to stop stressing.
So How To Stop Worrying
If you notice you’re caught up in a worrying storyline, know that you have the power to break the cycle. When it comes to short-circuiting the anxiety loop that worry puts us in, meditation can be a great ally. With practice, we learn to step away from the thoughts and emotions that entertain worst-case scenarios instead, we develop an awareness that allows us to not only see what our mind is inventing, but to also be less triggered by worry. We are essentially training the mind to be calmer, more at ease, and less reactive.
One such tactic is to acknowledge the presence of such thoughts in the mind, as uncomfortable as that may be. A trick to accomplish this is to think of your worry as a movie playing in your mind. As a viewer, you are there to sit and watch the film â not change the film in any way, even though you might naturally want to rewrite the script or silence the film altogether. Hitting âmuteâ might seem appealing, but it doesnât allow us to see the worry for what it really is: another thought among many, many thoughts.
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Treat Money Like Energy
Money is energy. Its meant to be spent, saved, and given away. It flows from you to others, and from other people to you. If you hoard it all for yourself, youre choking out two-thirds of what money was created to do.
And then money doesnt have a chance to live up to its true purpose.
Once I let go of the illusion that I was control of my money, and let it start telling me what to do, things started changing for the better, rapidly! I received daily financial opportunities in my inbox.
I connected with amazing people who wanted to hire me .
In other words, when you treat money like energy youll find the answers youre looking for and no longer feel confused about the future.
Give freely and become more wealthy be stingy and lose everything. Proverbs
Dont Ban All Favorite Foods
Restrictive eating patterns that eliminate many of your favorite foods may cause you to feel deprived, potentially leading you to binge on forbidden treats.
Diets that concentrate on whole, unprocessed foods are always best, but making room for an occasional treat is perfectly healthy.
Swearing to never have a scoop of ice cream, slice of pizza, or piece of chocolate again is not realistic for most people.
That said, in the case of food addiction, a person may need to permanently abstain from trigger foods. In this case, its a good idea to find healthy substitutes that are satisfying.
Focus on providing your body with mostly healthy, nutritious food while giving yourself the freedom to truly enjoy a treat here and there.
Summary Eating patterns that are too restrictive may drive binges. The key to a sustainable, healthy diet is to concentrate on eating whole, unprocessed foods most of the time while allowing for a treat here and there.
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How To Stop Stressing About The Future:
The solution: Trusting in Gods formula, instead of our own.
Trusting Gods formula for the future takes the pressure off ourselves. Allowing God to have the weight of what tomorrow holds brings you to a place of freedom. Freedom from stress begins when you start to trust God completely.
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Proverbs 3:5-6
Trusting in Gods formula is where stressing about the future ends. If we look to God to define our future, well enter a place of peace with Him. Even when things happen in life that would shatter our own formula, if our trust is in God, then we know it is part of His purpose.
