Overthinking is linked to psychological problems, like depression and anxiety. It’s likely that overthinking causes mental health to decline and as your mental health declines, the more likely you are to overthink.
Overthinking, does not necessarily mean that you have a mental health diagnosis. However, it can mean that your process things differently than most people. Overthinking can be linked to anxiety and is something that can be treated with the proper treatment and coping skills. One of my favorite treatments to use for Anxiety is Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.
Anxiety is a normal and often healthy emotion. However, when a person regularly feels disproportionate levels of anxiety, it might become a medical disorder. Anxiety disorders form a category of mental health diagnoses that lead to excessive nervousness, fear, apprehension, and worry.
- Try to identify your triggers! What sets you off the most is it going to work, spending time with certain people, parents, a spouse?
- Get plenty of sleep- try to start a bed time routine perhaps sleepy time tea or lavender bubble bath.
- Limit your caffeine and alcohol intake. These two will be sure to help aggravate your overthinking.
- Try meditation – Not sure how to mediate try guided meditation it tells you exactly what to do. There are tons of Youtube videos. My favorite is the mindfulness movement on Youtube. Start with 5 or 10 mins and gradually increase overtime.
- Try Tai-Ci or Yoga – both are very relaxing and can be either vigorous or low impact
- Invite a little humor into your life! Life doesn’t have to be so serious all the time.
- Accept that you don’t have total control of the outcome. Sure we want all things to go our way but that’s just unrealistic.
- Talk to someone! Talking to a therapist is not such a horrible thing find someone that you can relate to and it can be life changing. If your still not ready to see a therapist then share thoughts with a close friend.
- Your enough…. Know that! Don’t be so hard on yourself. Instead of aiming for perfection, aim for the target that is right in front of you. Baby steps… There’s levels to this!
- Try some deep breathing… I have heard some say that this is kind of corny but trust me it works inhale 8 seconds exhale 5 seconds.
A few facts about anxiety!
- National prevalence data indicate that nearly 40 million people in the United States (18%) experience an anxiety disorder in any given year.
- Approximately 8% of children and teenagers experience an anxiety disorder with most people developing symptoms before age 21.
- Only about one-third of those suffering from an anxiety disorder receive treatment, even though the disorders are highly treatable.
- In addition, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), 1 in 13 globally suffers from anxiety. The WHO reports that anxiety disorders are the most common mental disorders worldwide with specific phobia, major depressive disorder and social phobia being the most common anxiety disorders.
