How to Stop Overthinking

How to Stop Overthinking: A Buddhist Way

What is Overthinking?


Overthinking is a term used often in modern society where we tend to think about something that might happen rather than live in the moment.

Overthinking makes us anxious because we worry about things that may not even happen.

When it comes to cannabis cultivation, being mindful of what’s happening instead of worrying about what might happen is the best way to approach the task at hand.

You don’t want to be overly stressed out because you’ll start thinking about what could go wrong and then you’ll try to prepare yourself for everything that could possibly occur.

You’ll get caught up in the weeds and forget to enjoy your time indoors cultivating cannabis.

What is Overthinking a Symptom?


Overthinking happens when you worry about things that might go wrong, or obsessively think about something even though there’s no real need to.

When you start worrying excessively, you begin thinking about what could go wrong instead of focusing on how much fun you’re going to have at your party.

You’ll spend hours worrying about whether your friends will show up or not, or if you’ll get invited and how your date will react.

If you try to anticipate whether or not you will fail, then you will always end up disappointed.

Not only will you feel disappointing and upset about it, but you’ll spend the rest of the day dwelling on it rather than enjoying your time indoors cultivating cannabis!

So, whatever you’re doing right now, just stay in the moment and enjoy it.

Don’t let those negative thoughts creep in and take over your mind. Just live in the moment and enjoy each step along the way.

What causes Overthinking?


Overthinking takes place when someone is thinking about every possible outcome and consequence of a situation. When this happens, any decision becomes difficult and time consuming.

If you find yourself obsessing about something, take a break and go do something else! If you feel compelled to continue thinking about what happened, chances are you may have already thought about it enough.

Take some time to step away from that situation and reflect on it before you move forward. You won’t regret taking your time and doing what’s right and necessary.

Insecurity:

If you’re feeling insecure, chances are you’re not being genuine with yourself and others around you.

If people tell you how great you look, they mean it. Don’t let negative comments get to you – even if they come from loved ones.

These people don’t know you well enough to make these kinds of statements. Remember that you are beautiful inside and out.

Perfectionism:

Perfectionists think they deserve to have everything perfect in their lives.

While perfection often seems ideal, it’s impossible to achieve for anyone, including yourself.

Accepting imperfections and embracing them as opportunities allows you to create unique experiences and build lasting memories.

Procrastination:

Procrastinators put off starting tasks until the last minute.

While it may seem like a good thing at first, procrastinating rarely ends well. As time goes on, things pile up and become overwhelming.

Do yourself a favor and start working towards your goals today.

Anxiety/Depression:

Anxiety and depression stem from many different factors.

Some people experience these emotions in response to certain situations, while others suffer from them chronically. Regardless, both anxiety and depression are mental illnesses that require professional help.

Seek medical assistance if you suspect you’re experiencing either of these feelings.

How to stop Overthinking?

Overthinking is a mental state where you focus on negative thoughts and emotions instead of positive ones.  If you have a tendency towards over-thinker syndrome, here are some tips to try out when feeling anxious.

Be Careful of Negative Self Talk

When you’ve been worrying for hours, sometimes it’s easier to blame yourself than actually deal with the problem.

Before you end up blaming yourself, ask yourself if you’re really responsible for these feelings.

“What am I doing to make myself anxious? Is there anything else I can do to feel better?”

It’s hard to avoid self-criticism, but reminding yourself that you’re not entirely responsible for your anxiety can help you take control back.

Consider Your Environment

If you tend to overanalyze everything around you, then perhaps it’s time you look outside for some peace and quiet.

Take a walk in nature, go swimming, or just sit quietly somewhere you won’t hear any distractions.

Maybe you don’t want to leave home because you’re afraid of what people will say, but if you’re having trouble relaxing, you may be able to find a way to enjoy yourself without making a big fuss.

Learn to Separate the Facts from the Rest

It’s extremely important to understand the difference between things that are true and things that aren’t true.

Don’t let your mind fill up with information that isn’t factually based. We often imagine worst case scenarios and think about how we would act under certain situations.

But what if you found out tomorrow that the person who rejected you wasn’t interested in dating after all?

What if you realize you didn’t get invited to the party after all?

Do you really want to know these things? Probably not!

So stop dwelling on those negative possibilities and learn to accept whatever comes your way.

Focus on the Present Moment

We tend to overanalyze our past experiences, especially bad memories. The problem with this is that when we dwell on them, it only makes us feel worse.

Remembering something painful makes you sadder, but remembering something that was good makes you happier.

By staying focused on the present moment, you keep yourself in the best position possible to handle future events.

Try Deep Breathing Exercises

Deep breathing helps you relax and lowers your heart rate. Inhale slowly and deeply through your nose while exhaling through your mouth.

Repeat until your chest expands completely. You should be able to feel your lungs expand as well.

After ten minutes or so of slow and steady breathing, you’ll notice your body calm down and your mind become clearer. When you’re ready, move on to the next tip.

Create a Distraction Plan

Distractions are great ways to keep yourself busy when you’re feeling anxious.

You may already have a few distractions planned for the weekend, but if you haven’t thought of something specific, then here are some ideas: Read a book, Go to Gym, Try Swimming and so on.

A Buddhist Way: How to Stop Overthinking?


Let’s try to understand more about How to stop Overthinking through this story.

This story will teach you how to stop overthinking. you will come to know how to let go off.

This story will tell you how to stop minds chatter. In this story you will come to know the fastest way to stop overthinking.

Once upon a time there lived a young man in a village, he was struggled by the habit of not being able to forget all bad memories.

He would always keep thinking about the same thing over and over again. If someone said something to him or something went wrong with him, he would just keep thinking about the Incident all the day.

The same thing kept swirling in his mind all the time, then he would either curse his luck and God for some bad incident that happened in his life.

He would keep thinking of taking revenge on the person who had said something wrong to him or did something wrong with him because of his overthinking habit.

He did not have good relations with people also. He did not know how to do any work.

Well, he was always in a state of stress or mental disturbance, seeing his condition.

A friend of him advised him that his Zen master lived in a nearby Buddhist monastery. So you go to him. He will definitely give some solution to his mental problem.

The young man went to the Zen master and explained his problem to him. He told him about how he kept thinking about the same event over and over again and cannot forget the old, bad memories.

After listening to the young man’s problem, without giving any answer, the Zen master got up and went inside the monastery leaving him like this.

The young man felt a bit strange, but he waited there for him to return.

After a while, the Zen master came back with a glass of water in his hand, the Zen master came and stood near the young man.

The young man also stood in front of him. The Zen master was holding a glass of water in his hand. He straightened his arm and asked the young man tell me how much this glass weight?

The young man said, I cannot tell exactly, but the weight of this class is very little.

The Zen master said all right now. My question is that what will happen if I hold this glass like this for one minute?

The man said nothing will happen.

The Zen master said all right now. What, if I hold this glass for an hour?

The young man said, master your hand and arm will start to ache.

Then master again said okay. Now what would happen if I hold this glass of water for a full day?

The young man said, master your arm could go numb, you might have severe muscle stress  and you might have to go to hospital.

Zen master said great, but did the weight of the glass change in the meantime?

The man said no master, the weight did not change.

Then why was there pain in the arm an ache in the muscle? Asked the master.

The boy kept quiet.

What should I do now to get rid of this pain? The Zen master asked again.

The man said, master, it is simple. Just put the glass down.

The Zen master said exactly.

That’s what I wanted to hear, then he put down the glass and said you see my son.

Life struggles are just like this. People pays too much attention to the life’s problems. If you keep it in your mind for a while and then leave it, you will feel that everything is fine.

If you think about it for more than a while, then you will start to suffer and if you keep thinking about it all the day, then it will start to torture you and then you will be full of anxiety, stress and depression, and you won’t be able to concentrate on anything else.

We all go through struggles in our lives, but it does not mean that we keep thinking about it all the time. Rather, it is important to learn from your past mistakes and move forward in your life.

If you keep on holding do the same thing just like that glass of water, it will only cause pain in your life.

Therefore, it is important to remember to let go of your stresses and worries, no matter what happens during the day as early in the evening as you can put all your burdens down, don’t carry them through the night and into the next day with you.

If you still feel the weight of yesterday’s stress, then it is a strong sign that it is time To put the glass down.


FAQS: How to Stop Overthinking?


How do I Stop being an Overthinker?


The best thing to do in order to avoid overthinking and anxiety is to focus on your present situation. Instead of focusing on the past, make sure you concentrate on what you can control right now.

Don’t look back and dwell on how bad things were in the past, because they won’t change anything.

Instead, pay attention to what is happening right now. What has happened before did not mean anything in terms of what’s happening right now. Instead, just focus on what’s happening right now and stop trying to predict what’s going to happen.

You don’t know what’s going to happen or if you’ll succeed in your endeavors until you actually experience it.

Can Overthinking be Cured?


I think people should try to control themselves less. I mean sometimes we need to accept things and just let them go.

Like, even if you have everything set up perfectly right now, tomorrow might change a little bit. So maybe don’t get too obsessed with everything, you know?

But only after you do some self-reflection about your thinking patterns. If you’re constantly trying to solve problems, you’re going to make yourself anxious.

But if you have moments of clarity where you observe your thoughts, you’ll notice when you start worrying again and you’ll stop it before it starts.

It really depends on the person. Myself personally, I’m not sure how I would react to someone who was always worried about stuff. But then again, I’m probably biased since my biggest fear is being alone.

Being nervous is completely human nature, but everyone has different ways of dealing with it.

And no matter what you do, you cannot ever eliminate the feeling of anxiety. Instead, focus on something else while doing whatever it is that makes you feel better.

Difference between Overthinking and Anxiety?


Anxiety attacks occur when we become so focused on our thoughts that our brain becomes unable to function properly.

Anxiety is defined as the feelings of fear and apprehension. In contrast to anxiety, overthinking is a state where we keep repeating certain patterns of thought without realizing how harmful they are to us.

Overthinking often leads us to feel miserable. We may even find ourselves obsessing about something that doesn’t really have any real importance to us.

Overthinking happens when our mind keeps spinning in circles, focusing only on negative aspects of the situation.

When we repeatedly think about problems, we tend to get stuck in these cycles of thinking. Many times, we start ruminating about things that happened months ago, and begin to dwell on them again just before bedtime.

Why do I Overthink Everything?


I am easily Distracted by my Own Self-doubts

You’ll be tempted to doubt yourself if you don’t have much confidence.

Doubting your capabilities makes you feel insecure. But you shouldn’t ever let insecurity stop you from doing what’s best for you. You should always take action.

If you’re having doubts about something, just go ahead and do it! Don’t wait for someone else to give you permission. If you want to quit smoking, then you need to quit smoking right now! Just do it!

I’m afraid of Failure

When we fail at something, we’re often our own worst critic.

We start doubting ourselves and sometimes find reasons not to try again. But you know what? Failure isn’t the end of the world!

And failure will only make you stronger and smarter. So learn from your mistakes and keep going.

I think I need to Seek Approval before Getting Started

It’s natural to want people’s opinions on things.

But you shouldn’t always ask others’ opinion first. Sometimes, you should get out there and prove to yourself whether you’re ready to do something.

No one knows how hard it really is to do something until they’ve tried it themselves. So don’t procrastinate; get started today!

Be brave and never wait for anyone else’s approval.

I worry about Things that aren’t Even Possible

I wish I could say that worrying about things that won’t happen is pointless, but that’s simply not true. Worrying is a normal thing for humans.

But you should only worry about things that you can control. That way, you can prepare yourself and work towards your goals.

When you’re worried about stuff that isn’t even possible, you’re only making yourself crazy.

I have to Check up on myself Constantly

No matter how good you may be at something, there is always room for improvement. Always strive to be better than you were yesterday. Even if you feel like you can’t improve anymore, you still can. Never stop learning!

Every day, try something new in order to become a better person. Remember that no matter what you accomplish, there is always more to learn.

People tell me to be Confident

But being confident means different things to different people.

Confidence for some people is nothing more than being cocky and arrogant. For others, confidence is a sense of knowing that you truly believe you can do something and that you’ve done your best to achieve it.

Know your strengths and weaknesses, and focus on working on your weaknesses, rather than focusing on your strengths.

Stay humble and don’t assume that you’re perfect. Everyone has their flaws. Learn from them and continue to grow.

My friends don’t Understand Why I’m Struggling

That doesn’t mean that you should isolate yourself. Keep in touch with your friends.

Make sure they know that you care for them. Your friends support you, and they’ll help you whenever you need it. Let them know that you’re struggling too.

After all, everyone wants to see you succeed.

Thanks for checking out this blog post my friends.

Do let us know your thought on this. Leave a comment below.


Featured photo credit: Image by Vinson Tan from Pixabay

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