![]() Rumination, according to Gordon, is one of the most common reasons why people see a therapist. “You’re just kind of saying, I’m going to address that later.” 4. “You’re not telling your mind, just push away the thoughts,” she says. Though this technique may sound overly simplistic, it does seem to help. “Any other time during the day when I start thinking about it, I’m going to just gently remind myself that I have a time aside time later,” she says. The trick is to then do your best to confine your rumination to the time you’ve set aside. Per Gordon, you want to tell yourself that’s the time you’re going to let your mind just go and think about whatever is causing you to overthink. To try it, set aside 10-20 minutes a day. The concept of worry time is one tool used in cognitive behavioral therapy to help people manage overthinking. “But if you’re never knitted before, and you are watching a video and trying to knit along, then it is a good cognitive distraction.” 3. “If you’re an experienced knitter, you can do that and ruminate at the same time,” Boyes warned. It’s best to try something new when you’re trying to distract yourself, as it will demand more of your focus and keep you out of your head. Hey, Look Over There!ĭistraction is an excellent way to get back on track when you find yourself overthinking. Pause for as little as two minutes, speak to yourself with kind words, place your hands over your heart, and remember that even if you feel alone, you aren’t. She suggests taking a self-compassion break when you feel pain or other emotional turmoil. Psychologist Kristin Neff, who studies self-compassion, acknowledges that people are often reluctant to treat themselves empathetically. ![]() Rumination is being stuck in your head, and by helping you connect with others, self-compassion, helps you escape. “It’s naming the specific emotions that you’re feeling, like feeling anxious or feeling embarrassed or guilty.”When you reflect on your feelings, remember that how you’re feeling is human and that all people experience the same kinds of feelings.” “It’s basically acknowledging what you’re feeling, not pushing it away, not making it bigger or smaller,” said Boyes. Go Easy On YourselfĪdopting the habit of self-compassion, or treating yourself with the same empathy that most of us would naturally offer to someone else in distress, is one way to beat rumination. So if you are stuck in a cycle of overthinking, here are a few straightforward strategies to consider. If, per Boyes, “you’re finding that you’re getting irritable with people because you’ve got this second level of stress that’s making your fuse shorter,” then it’s worth taking some steps. If you’re thinking yourself in circles instead of sleeping, it might be time to consider some changes. ![]() Signs that you’ve crossed the line from productive concern to troublesome overthinking include sleeplessness and disruptions in your relationship, according to Alice Boyes, Ph.D., a former therapist and author of The Anxiety Toolkit: Strategies for Fine-Tuning Your Mind and Moving Past Your Stuck Points. A parent who is worried about a proposal to lift a mask mandate at their child’s school, for example, may feel motivated to speak out at a school board meeting.īut if you’re kind of repeating thoughts over and over again once you’ve done those things in your control and you find that it’s amplifying the anxiety without leading to a helpful action, then that, per Gordon, can be an indication that its rumination. “Worrying is helpful when it can lead to an action that will actually reduce risk in some way,” explains Katie Gordon, Ph.D., a licensed clinical psychologist who specializes in cognitive-behavioral therapy and author of The Suicidal Thoughts Workbook. Now, it’s important to further understand the distinction between overthinking and worrying. Unlike concern or even worry, which can lead us toward productive action, overthinking is circular, an endless cycle of chewing over what’s already happened, from small social missteps to life-changing choices. Yale psychologist Susan Nolen-Hoeksema famously linked rumination, the clinical term for overthinking, to depression. Overthinking is closely connected to unhappiness. But if you’re still kicking yourself because your kid caught COVID at a family gathering last year or replaying that awkward Zoom meeting on a loop in your brain, you’re trapping yourself in your own head - which can be exhausting and harmful for your mental health.
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