🌊 Overthinking: How to Stop

You know when you’re thinking about something, then a negative thought pops up, one thought leads to another, and next thing you know you have this crazy scenario in your head that’s causing you to feel worry, doubt, & anxiety? It’s called overthinking & we ALL do it. We think anywhere between 60,000 & 80,000 thoughts per day. It’s inevitable that some of those thoughts are going to be negative, but did you know that your mind lies to you - a lot? Overthinking comes in when we actually start to believe those negative thoughts & allow them to pile up. Think of it like this: you’ve got a little kid who is afraid of the monster under their bed. They have trouble going to sleep, they’re afraid to be in their room alone, & they even have nightmares - all because their mind told them that there was a monster under their bed so they believed it. They trust their mom right? She comes in their room & she’s like “look babe, come look under your bed. There isn’t a monster, everything is ok - go to sleep.“ So now they realize that the monster that was having such a negative affect on them isn’t actually real & that their thoughts, their belief in that monster is what gave it power. When the little kid takes away the belief of those thoughts that told them the monster is real, they’re able to go back to being carefree. Look at your negative thoughts as the monster under your bed. Don’t believe in them, don’t believe everything your mind tells you. If you catch yourself starting to overthink, remember that those thoughts aren’t true (unless you’ve got some hardcore proof) & move on to the next. I’m not telling you to have positive thoughts 24/7 because honestly, that’s impossible. But think of it from this perspective. Start being more aware of which thoughts you’re going to believe & you’ll notice a major shift along with a decrease in overthinking.