Most useful tip to stop overthinking & ruminating?

[Stormydays]

What is your most useful tip to stop overthinking & ruminating? What works best for you personally?

[Xene]

Hi, counting and deep breathing at the same time works best for me. When concentrating on counting I can’t be thinking of anything else or I’ll lose my place and have to start again. I go down and up from 100 as many times as I want. Usually best at night but it is as boring as anything. I can’t do spoken meditation as my mind is all over the place no matter how often I bring it back to the orator. Different strokes for different folks I guess.🤷‍♀️

[fauxartist in reply to Xene]

great idea.....thanks Xene

[bonkers65 in reply to Xene]

I count too. When I first get up in the morning. If I didn't I would start worrying about everything.

[Xene in reply to bonkers65]

Good for you, I tend to do it at night when I’m laying in bed awake for hours on end and it’s so damn boring but at least it will shut my brain down when nothing else will and sometimes I will actually drop off to sleep.😂🤷‍♀️

[Stormydays in reply to Xene]

Hi Xene, that sounds like a good idea. Sometimes, our minds are overstimulated & night & something boring is just what we need.

[MindfulMoment]

I use two different methods. Sometimes I need to think about something. I can’t think about anything without ruminating so I will set a time limit how long I’ll allow to think. After that I use the “turn the page”. Anytime the thought comes in my head I acknowledge I had it and turn the page to something else in my mind. Thinking is what our minds do so stopping thinking isn’t an option, instead I might read a book, sing, anything to distract my mind on to something else. I don’t know why worrying and ruminating in the moment feels like control, as if we can think things into existence or into not happening. It never works lol

[Stormydays in reply to MindfulMoment]

Hi Mindful moment, the time limit is a very good idea. I've tried it in the past- I need to do this more consistently. You're exactly right, overthinking feels like being in control but we're actually moving further away from control when we do it. I think a part of the solution is accepting that despite our efforts, we can never be in 100% control of any situation.

[Beevee]

To quieten the mind and stop overthinking, learn to observe the thoughts that trigger overthinking instead of engaging with them i.e. overthinking them.It is the overthinking that fuels the anxious thoughts and keeps them coming.

I used to call those thoughts the "What ifs??" 😱 but changed my attitude towards them and changed my response to "So What!!? and let them go.

[Stormydays in reply to Beevee]

Thanks Beevee, I find it requires a lot of self-discipline to practice observing my thoughts & avoiding crossing the line into engaging with them. But that's definitely the goal

[Beevee in reply to Stormydays]

It is difficult to begin with, undeniably, but you will get better at it.I remember struggling with some thoughts because they felt so real and couldn't let them go. I'd been reading about how the tboughts were just a by product of anxiety and to let them go but even then I felt I had to make a leap of faith in accepting them. The phrase faking it until you make it springs to mind but it paid off.

When I say it gets easier, you may start to glimpse reality with a clear head, have moments of peace where those thoughts simply arent there and then wonder why you spend so much time ruminating about them. You will see for yourself that they don't deserve the attention or respect you have been giving them and lose interest in them. You accept them. The thoughts may still come because of memory or habit but the spell they had over you is finally broken and they will eventually die away, possibly without you even noticing.

[Beevee]

They are great distractions [like walking my dog but no grandchildren yet] but might just be so long as you are prepared and accept that your anxiety will demand that it comes along for the ride. In terms of distractions. I used to swim long distances. I wasnt particularly good and only did it because I knew it would stop me feeling very anxious. When I learned about acceptance, I realised my attitude towards anxiety was completely wrong and had been deliberately distracting myself and avoiding the feelings. Slowly, I changed my attitude and carried on swimming because I enjoyed it and for no other reason.

[Melody717]

Write down any thought that comes into your head and throw it away(Literally)

[Stormydays in reply to Melody717]

Hi Melody717, That works a treat for me sometimes. On other days, I can't stop writing & it becomes a rambling piece of writing that frustrates me even more because I think my thoughts should be clearing now...

[Adlon57]

Trying to turn your mind blank, I have ADHD from my epilepsy and its medication, I know from personal experience slamming away at the keyboard, of my laptop, not good! Not to everyone's taste I theologise lying in bed, had epilepsy over 50 years, so deep reasoning works for me? Very much in the realms of meditation as Xene infers👍

[Stormydays in reply to Adlon57]

Hi Adlon57, I like the idea of deep reasoning vs. rumination & overthinking. Sometimes when I use CBT prompts to challenge my irrational thought, I do feel I did some form of deep thinking.

[Adlon57 in reply to Stormydays]

When lying in bed I 'theologise' [heavy reasoning🤔] and if I come to a rational conclusion😵 a peace of mind, thus sleep comes easy! In theory not necessarily in practice🙄

[fauxartist]

I actually tell myself...in my head of course, to just 'stop'.....and change the subject. I am learning how to switch that stinkin thinkin off more quickly....rumination is part of my disease....

[Xene in reply to fauxartist]

I use to ruminate for the universe, well probably still do but at least it’s not as negative as it use to be. I’ve come to the decision that I’ve got a very busy brain and just go with the flow.

[fauxartist in reply to Xene]

Mine never stops, it's why I have a hard time sleeping... but it's also a creative mind, and I do like to figure stuff out to a solution, thats also too much thinking sometimes. So I veg. out learning stuff... or watching films, I like anything good. Especially the old film school classics, sci-fi classics, and for a brain drain...bad 'b' movies are hilarious.

[Xene in reply to fauxartist]

I’m defo not creative, must be lovely being an artist. My brain is hardwired as too logical and too practical, I use to be like a dog with a bone trying to fix stuff and not give up. 😂 But with poor physical and mental health now it’s hard to keep plodding on. I tend to find movies too long now and prefer my entertainment in whatever form packed into one hour at a time to prevent getting bored.

Wouldn’t it be lovely to have an on and off switch for our brains, maybe one day in the future when we’re all robots we will.😂😘

[fauxartist in reply to Xene]

I've often thought of that, as long as I was the only one able to flip the switch.

Elon is now going forward with his brain implants...

[Adlon57 in reply to fauxartist]

Ever read "The World's Worst Movies" by Tim Healey, about some of the 'stories', even have the No. 1 on DVD "Plan 9 From Outer Space" an Ed. Wood production, 😝🙄🤬🥶🤭🤭🤭what a hoot!👍

[fauxartist in reply to Adlon57]

I love Ed Wood's-Glen and Glenda, and Roger Corman's-Attack of the Crab Monsters the Wasp Women...the list goes on....they are hilarious to watch.

[Stormydays in reply to Xene]

Hi Xene, I like your relalxed approach to it. Sometimes, incorporating acceptance into our approach works better than trying to fight it which usually backfires.

[Stormydays in reply to fauxartist]

Hi fauxartist, the struggle is real. Learning to switch it off even just a little bit more quickly than the last time is definitely a worthy goal.

[fauxartist in reply to Stormydays]

Yeah, is is harder sometimes for me when I'm angry about something, that's when the over thinking kicks into high gear.

[Stippler]

I have a real hard time with all of this, but what sometimes helps me is to catch myself and deliberately think of something positive - Something I am looking forward to, or counting my blessings or something else positive. I think they call it "thought stopping." Anytime I go into bad thinking, I just interrupt the bad thoughts and replace them with good thoughts. It doesn't matter how many times I have to do this (no need to beat myself up). It will take as many attempts as it needs to.

[Stormydays in reply to Stippler]

Hi Stippler, listing what I'm grateful for (no matter how seemingly small) has helped me a fair bit over the past year. I used to think it was overrated, but when I actually start doing it consistently I realized it has helped me to stop & appreciate the small everyday things in life which I'd forgotten how to do for a long time due to my overthinking, anxious brain.

[Artistfriend]

Stay in the present moment, not the future or the past

[Stormydays in reply to Artistfriend]

Hi Artistfriend, that is indeed the ultimate goal. I've been practicing staying in the present moment this past year with mixed results, but I guess anything worth doing well is worth doing poorly at first.

[Stormydays]

You're 100% correct catloverforlife50. I find when I'm out socialising, doing sports or even going shopping; I'm forced to interact with my external environment & other peoples cues instead of my own thoughts. Only thing is, I'm an introvert & I need certain amounts of solitude & reflection to re-charge even after I enjoyed the event. I guess, the challenge is not to let that re-charging time become a worry session or go on uninterrupted for too long.

[operalover12]

I listen to classic FM, always works, relaxes me